1- General information:

Applicable to the following Social Security benefits:

• benefits for illness (medical assistance and temporary disability);
• maternity and assimilated paternity benefits;
• disability benefits;
• old age benefits;
• survivor's benefits;
• work-related injury and occupational disease benefits;
• death subsidies;
• unemployment benefits;
• early retirement benefits;
• family benefits.

Regarding these benefits, remember that:

To acquire the right to the contributory and non-contributory benefits set out in the Regulations, you can add the insurance, employment or residence periods accrued in any other  European Union Member State,  European Economic Area Member State, or Switzerland.

Contributory pensions, income for work-related injury and occupational disease and death subsidies can be claimed by the interested party whether or not they live in the European Union, European Economic Area or Switzerland.

The non-contributory benefits to which the Regulations included in Appendix X of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 apply, may only be claimed by the beneficiary in the territory of the State where they reside and according to local legislation.

Each country will pay its own benefits directly to the beneficiary.

2- Detailed information about benefits:

Important: When this information uses the word "country", this is understood to mean any European Union Member State, European Economic Area Member State, or Switzerland.

Illness, maternity and paternity benefits

For the recognition of the benefits deriving from these contingencies, the authorised institution of the country in question will add, if necessary, the insurance, employment or residence periods covered by the legislation of any other country.

Medical assistance is recognised, according to its national legislation, by the country where the worker is insured, or in the case of a pensioner, by the country responsible for the pension, and provided in the country where the beneficiary resides or happens to be, as established in the legislation applied by that country.

Normally, medical assistance is provided by the country recognising it. However, the people listed below with the right to medical assistance in one country may receive it in a country other than the one recognising it:

• Insured people and their family members residing in a country other than that which recognises their right to the benefit.
• Insured people and their family members who are temporarily in a country other than that which recognises their right to the benefit. (For example, on holiday)
• Insured people (with an illness) who travel to another country to receive non-financial benefits  during their stay. (With previous authorisation)
• Displaced workers who have moved to work in another country (stationed abroad) and their family members.

Documentation needed:

The right to medical assistance benefits in a country other than the competent country is accredited by the document established for this purpose (European Health Card, Provisional Replacement Certificate, portable documents accrediting the right) issued by the authorised institution. In the case of Spain: The National Social Security Institute (INSS), Social Security Attention and Information Centres (CAISS), and the Social Marine Institute.

For State Civil Servants, the Special Regime of the Armed Forces and Justice Officials, only those provisions of Regulation 883/2004 relating to the right to medical assistance benefits during a temporary stay in a country other than the competent one may apply.

In these cases, the authorised institutions, respectively, are: MUFACE, ISFAS and MUGEJU.

Disability benefits

Community Regulations establish a double regulation for acquiring the right to and calculating disability pensions. This regulation depends on the legislation of the Member States which applied to the person. These legislations may be type A or type B.

• Type A legislations are understood to be those where the amount of the pension is independent of the duration of the insurance or residence periods and is expressly included by the competent Member State in Appendix VI, and
• Type B legislations are understood to be all other legislations.

States with type A legislation: Estonia, Greece (legislation relating to the agricultural insurance regime), Ireland, Latvia and the UK.

States with type B legislation: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece (all legislations except that relating to the agricultural insurance regime), Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Sweden.

Settlement of benefits:

• Type A disability: Pensions of people who have been subject to type A legislations only are settled according to the type A regulations.

Type A disability benefits are paid by a single Member State. The competent State will be the one whose legislation applied to the person at the time of the illness leading to permanent disability.

To acquire the right, if necessary, the insurance and/or residence periods accrued in other Member States with type A legislation will be added to the total.

• Type B disability: The regulations governing the settlement of type B disability benefits will apply to pension applications by people who have been subject to type A and type B legislations, or to type B legislations only.

Type B disability benefits will be paid by all the Member States where the worker has been subject to their legislation. They will be settled according to the regulations established for old age and survivor's pensions. When all the conditions required by domestic legislation for entitlement to the retirement pension are met, a double calculation will be made. On one hand, the pension will be calculated according to domestic legislation, and on the other, by adding together the insurance periods, on a pro rata basis.

Pension by domestic legislation: The Authorised Institution of each Member State will determine the amount of the pension in accordance with their domestic legislation, as if the applicant had been subject only to that legislation.

Pension by adding all insurance/residence periods: The Authorised Institution of each Member State will determine the amount of the pension by adding all insurance periods, taking into account all the insurance/residence periods accredited throughout the working life.

To do this, the theoretical pension is calculated according to the completed insurance or residence periods. Next the pro rata pension is calculated, applying the pro rata percentage to the theoretical pension. This percentage is determined by relating the insurance/residence periods accredited in that State for calculating the pension with all the insurance/residence periods accredited throughout the working life which are valid for calculating the pension.

After the double calculation, the interested party has the right to receive the higher of the two calculated amounts from the Authorised Institution of each Member State.

To determine the degree of disability, the Authorised Institutions of the affected State must take into account the documents and medical reports sent by the contact institution.

Old age and survivor's benefits

To determine retirement age, acquire the right and calculate these benefits, the contribution period in Spain will be added to the insurance or residence period covered by the legislation of other Member States.

To acquire the right and calculate these benefits, the contribution periods in Spain will be added to the insurance or residence periods covered by the legislation of other Member States.

When all the conditions required by domestic legislation for entitlement to the retirement pension are met, the Authorised Institution will perform a double calculation. On one hand, the pension will be calculated according to domestic legislation, and on the other, by adding together the insurance periods, on a pro rata basis.

• Pension by domestic legislation: The Authorised Institution of each Member State will determine the amount of the pension in accordance with their domestic legislation, as if the applicant had been subject only to that legislation.
• Pension by adding all insurance/residence periods: The Authorised Institution of each Member State determines the amount of the pension be adding the insurance periods, taking into account all the insurance/residence periods completed throughout the working life. To do this, the theoretical pension is calculated according to the completed insurance or residence periods. Next the pro rata pension is calculated, applying the pro rata percentage to the theoretical pension. This percentage is determined by relating the insurance/residence periods completed in that State for calculating the pension with all the insurance/residence periods completed throughout the working life which are valid for calculating the pension.
• The interested party has the right to receive the higher of the two calculated amounts from the Authorised Institution of each Member State.

To acquire this right and to be awarded the theoretical pension, the following must be taken into account:

Requirement of affiliation or an equivalent situation: When Spanish legislation demands this requirement in order to be entitled to the pension and the person is not affiliated to the Spanish Social Security system, it will be considered to be met if the person was insured against this risk in accordance with the legislation of another Member State on the date of the causal event, or if not, is entitled to a benefit for this risk according to the legislation of another Member State.

Requirement of the specific exclusion period: When Spanish legislation requires a minimum contribution period immediately before the causal event of the pension, and this requirement is not met within the Spanish Social Security system or by the insurance or residence periods completed in other Member States, the requirement will be considered to be met if the interested party is entitled to a pension from another State for the same risk, if this right was taken in the years before the last contribution, whether in Spain or another Member State.

Determination of the base pension: The theoretical Spanish benefit will be calculated based on the real contributions made by the person during the years immediately before the payment of the last contribution to the Spanish Social Security system. When the reference period for calculating the amount of the pension includes insurance or residence periods covered by the legislation of other Member States, the contribution basis closest in time to these periods will be used, updated according to the consumer price index.

The amount of the pension thus obtained will be increased according to the amount of the revaluations calculated for each subsequent year for pensions of the same kind.

The right to orphan's benefits is recognised in States whose legislation protects orphans with a pension, and the pension will be awarded in the same way as old age and survivor's pensions. States whose legislations protect orphans with a pension: Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Sweden.

As a complement to the orphan's pension, in cases where the deceased worker was also subject to any of the legislations of the remaining Member States (Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Malta, the UK and Sweden) where orphans are protected by family benefits, a special or complementary orphan's benefit is recognised.

Benefits for work-related injury and occupational disease:

The right to benefits deriving from work-related injuries or occupational diseases will be determined by the country whose legislation was applicable to the worker on the date of the accident or onset of the ailment.

In the case of occupational disease, if the worker was exposed to the risk of the occupational disease in question in more than one country, the benefit will be paid exclusively by the last country to whose legislation they were subject, as long as the required conditions are met. If necessary, the insurance periods completed in other countries due to the work exposing the worker to this risk will be added together.

Death subsidies:

The right to this benefit is recognised due to the death of the insured person, pensioner or family member, regardless of where the death took place. Death in a Member State other than the competent one is considered to have occurred in the competent state.

The Competent State for paying the benefits is where the deceased worker was insured on the date of death, or which paid their pension.

In the case of death of a person entitled to a pension from the legislation of more than one Member State, who resides in the territory of another State from which they do not receive a pension, the benefit will be paid by the State in which the deceased spent the longest insurance or residence period.

Benefits for early retirement:

To acquire the right to these benefits the insurance or residence periods completed in other Member States are not added together.

Family benefits:

Anyone will have the right, for family members residing in the territory of any Member State, to family benefits according to the legislation of the competent Member State.

However, pension holders will have the right to family benefits according to the legislation of the Member State responsible for their pension.

When family benefits are payable for the same family members within the same period according to the legislation of more than one Member State, the following regulations of priority will apply:

a) In the case of  benefits for different items, the order of priority will be as follows:

1 - rights acquired due to work as an employee or in self-employment,
2 - rights acquired due to collecting a pension,
3 - rights acquired due to residence:

b) In the case of benefits for the same item, the order of priority will follow these criteria:

i) in the case of rights acquired due to work as an employee or in self-employment: The place of residence of the children.

ii) in the case of rights acquired due to entitlement to a pension: The place of residence of the children, on the condition that there is a paying pension according to that legislation,

iii) in the case of rights acquired due to residence: The place of residence of the children.
 
In these cases where rights are accumulated, the benefits will be awarded according to the legislation determined to take priority. However, except for case b) iii), the interested party will also receive a complementary payment when the amount of the benefits set out in concurrent legislations is more than the amount of the benefits set out in the legislation determined to be the priority.

The right to orphan's benefits caused by the death of a worker or pensioner subject at some time in their working life to the legislation of a country which protects orphans with family allowances rather than pensions (Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Malta and the UK), will be determined in the same way as the right to family benefits.

However, when according to regulations on family benefits no right is acquired to orphan's benefits, these benefits will be awarded as a complement to other family benefits, by the legislation of the Member State to which the deceased worker was subject for longest.

Thus, the deceased need only have been subject to the legislation of one of these Member States while working (and meet the requirements of the corresponding legislation) for the Member State in question to pay the orphan's benefits.

3- Application for benefits and information:

To present an application for benefits or request information, the interested party should contact the Authorised Institution of their country of residence.

In Spain:

• Provincial Directorates of the National Institute of the Social Security and the Support and Information Centres of the Social Security (CAISS)
• Provincial Directorates of the Social Marine Institute, in the case of workers included in the  Special Seafarers' Regime.

In other countries, in the Authorised Institutions designated for that purpose.