Making the granting of supplementary pensions to men subject to additional conditions is contrary to Directive 79/7/EEC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security and to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, ruled the Court of Justice of the EU in a judgment delivered on Thursday 15 May (joined cases C-623/33 and C-626/23).
In Spain, two fathers are challenging the Spanish National Institute of Social Security’s refusal to grant them a supplementary pension, provided for in national law for the benefit of women and men who have had one or more children, but whose granting to men is subject to additional conditions. These additional conditions include a detriment to their professional career due to the birth of the child or children and, consequently, to their period of contributions to the social security system.
In particular, the Court found that the status of parent is not sufficient to enable men receiving a retirement pension to be granted a supplement, whereas it is for women with the same status. It concludes that the Spanish regulations result in a difference in equal treatment between men and women.
Furthermore, the European Court is of the opinion that EU law does not preclude national legislation under which the granting of a supplementary pension to a father in accordance with the conditions applicable to mothers results in the withdrawal of the supplementary pension already granted to the mother, where this supplement is granted to the parent who receives the lowest retirement pension and that parent is the father.
In the Court’s view, this abolition was merely the consequence of applying to the father the same conditions as those applicable to mothers as regards the award of the pension supplement in question.
To see the judgment of the Court of Justice (in French): https://aeur.eu/f/gv9 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)