Coordination of social security systems at a glance 2021

Free movement of persons would not be possible without the guarantee that citizens do not lose their social security protection when moving to another country in Europe. The common rules to coordinate the different national systems of social security cover anyone who moves to another country to settle permanently, work temporarily or study, and even those who are travelling to take a holiday.

The 2021 statistical reports  focus on the most recent developments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic wh…

Free movement of persons would not be possible without the guarantee that citizens do not lose their social security protection when moving to another country in Europe. The common rules to coordinate the different national systems of social security cover anyone who moves to another country to settle permanently, work temporarily or study, and even those who are travelling to take a holiday.

The 2021 statistical reports  focus on the most recent developments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic which strongly reduced intra-EU mobility in 2020. The report explains to what extend the pandemic has impacted the coordination of social security systems.

Key data:

• The number of jobseekers exporting unemployment benefits to another Member State decreased by 19% during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Decline of intra EU tourism led to strong decrease (-30%) of unplanned cross-border healthcare. 
• The number of posted workers decreased by 25% during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• COVID-19 pandemic had no impact on the export of pensions and export of family benefits