Coordination of Social Security Systems in the European Union. An explanatory report on EC Regulation No. 883/2004 and its Implementing Regulation No. 987/2009

It is estimated that there are 10.5 million migrant workers in the EU, one million people crossing EU borders for work every day and about 250,000 people who have worked in more than one Member State and need to export a part of their pension rights every year. Ensuring the right of social security when the right of freedom of movement is exercised has been one of the major concerns for the EU Member States. To achieve this, it was necessary to adopt social security measures which prevent EU citizens working and residing in a Member State other than their own from losing some or all of their social security rights. This contributes to improving the standard of living of the migrant persons. Recognizing the importance of this issue, the Council adopted new regulations on coordination of social security systems for migrant workers. This report aims to provide a general overview of the modernized EU social security coordination through explanation of key provisions of the Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and its Implementing Regulation (EC) No 987/2009