Every EU citizen has the right to live or work in any Member State. To facilitate this free movement, the EU guarantees that social security rights are safeguarded under the EU social security coordination system.

This system links the national social security systems and ensures that a person has continuous coverage when they move to other Member States, whether it is for work, on holiday, to retire or for planned healthcare. It also guarantees that citizens do not end up paying social security contributions in two Member States.

Under the system, EU citizens are entitled to equal treatment across all Member States. This means that if someone is working abroad, their healthcare needs are guaranteed to be met in the same way that they would be for someone living in that State.

Other social benefits such as pensions, are also guaranteed. If someone chooses to retire in a different Member State from the one where they spent their working life, their pension cannot be reduced, changed, suspended, withdrawn, or confiscated.

More information on EU social security coordination, how the rules work in practice and how many are benefiting from these rights can be found here. SEM may be contacted on info.sem@gov.mt