Luxembourg - Combining periods of insurance or residence abroad

This chapter provides information on your rights in terms of social security if you return or come to Luxembourg after having paid social security contributions in other European Union Member States, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland.

For the UK, each case needs to be assessed individually to determine whether a person falls within the scope of Art 30 of the Withdrawal Agreement, and so the EU Coordination Regulations apply, or whether they fall within the scope of situations described in Art 32 of the Withdrawal Agreement and/or come under domestic legislation and the Protocol on Social Security Coordination attached to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Social security and European regulations

If you have lived, worked and/or paid social security contributions in another EU country or in a country linked by European regulations, the period of your residence in any of these countries, the period during which you have worked or paid contributions there may be taken into account for the calculation of your benefits in Luxembourg.

European regulations guarantee equality of treatment, the unrestricted exporting of social security benefits and the totalisation of insurance or residency periods. Therefore:

in Luxembourg you have the same rights and the same obligations in terms of social security as a Luxembourg citizen;
you can receive social security benefits from your country of origin when you reside in Luxembourg;
your insurance or occupational activity or residence periods in other countries will be added up, if necessary, to access social security benefits and to calculate the amount, for example for retirement pensions, in Luxembourg.

What are the benefits awarded?

European coordination regulations in terms of social security provide for application methods for the awarding of social security benefits. The benefits involved are:

family benefits;
healthcare benefits;
sickness cash benefits (including maternity and paternity);
care benefits (long term care);
invalidity benefits;
occupational accidents benefits;
occupational illnesses benefits;
unemployment benefits;
retirement pensions;
survivor's pensions;
death allowances.

How can I claim?

In order to confirm insurance periods, the social security bodies use specific documents and forms: structured electronic documents and portable documents.

Sickness and maternity benefits

Periods of professional activity in another country are taken into account by the National Health Fund (CNS) to grant maternity benefits.
To maintain your right to healthcare after your disaffiliation in Luxembourg, you must attest to a continuous insurance period immediately prior to the loss of coverage. Insurance in another country is also taken into account and must be stated on the European document.
If you come from a European country or you were insured until the present time, you can voluntarily continue your health insurance in Luxembourg by presenting a certificate for your insurance periods spent in the previous country to the Joint Centre for Social Security (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale - CCSS).

Unemployment benefits

If you have worked in Luxembourg and if you have lost your job, the periods during which you worked in another European Union country, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland will be taken into account in accessing unemployment benefits in Luxembourg.
You should provide Agency for Development of Employment (ADEM) with portable document U1 certifying your insurance or professional activity periods. You can obtain this certification from the social security body and/or the job service of the country you have left. Check with them that you have all the necessary documentation.
You have the right to increased unemployment benefit for children for whom you are responsible, even if your child resides in another State.
If you benefit from unemployment benefits from another European country, you can come to Luxembourg to look for work without losing the payment of these allowances. You should register with ADEM services by presenting the portable document U2 completed by the body providing your unemployment benefits.

Old-age, invalidity and survivors' pensions

Upon your pension request sent to National Pension Insurance Fund (CNAP), you should provide information on:

the country or countries in which you have worked;
the name and address of your employers;
the period during which you worked there;
your social security number.

CNAP will then ask the pension funds of each State whether you have worked or lived there in order to obtain a certificate for the insurance periods P5000 you have completed. These periods will be added to your Luxembourg periods to gain access to a pension and for the calculation of this pension, except where the Luxembourg insurance period is less than 12 months. In this case, CNAP is not required to add the periods, but rather the other State(s) concerned must take into account these insurance months in their calculation of your pension.

Jargon busters

Coordination (in terms of social security): All the rules shared by the Member States guarantee the continuity of social protection rights for people moving around Europe.

Know your rights

The link below provides a legal definition of your rights. It is not a European Commission website and it does not represent the views of the Commission: