Find Your Pension
Mobile researchers often acquire pension rights from being employed in many countries. Pension systems in Europe are as diverse as the member states themselves. Researchers may not understand the legalistic language common in pension contracts well enough to fully understand and protect their pension rights. But the diversity and complexity of pension rights need not be an obstacle to mobility. However, it is necessary to ensure that all relevant information is provided in a way that is accessible to the average mobile researcher. The 'Find Your Pension' portal seeks to offer this information on a clear concise platform. In this way mobile researchers can trace the details of their pension. I have personally made use of this portal to solve one of my own pension queries and can recommend it wholeheartedly.
The development of the Find Your Pension portal is a part of the VBL project 'Partnership for researchers'. The aim is to remove obstacles to the mobility of researchers employed in the public sector with regard to their pensions. The core issue is to improve information services for the target group of mobile scientists. In recent years the European Commission has initiated a number of measures to strengthen the European Research Area. The European Member States have concluded the initiative 'Better Careers and More Mobility - A European Partnership for Researchers' in order to improve the working conditions of mobile researchers. One of the key subjects is the social security and supplementary pensions of mobile scientists. When researchers move from one job to another, questions about the pension systems of all three pillars throughout Europe will naturally arise.
The team behind Find Your Pension have organised many information events promoting pension literacy for mobile researchers. The next one will take place at Goethe University Frankfurt on 28th January 2016. The MCAA German Chapter is very open to promoting such events.
VBL (Supplementary pension institution of public sector employees in Germany) deals with the occupational pension schemes of most of the researchers in the public sector in Germany. The project has been initiated by VBL and is funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research.
