As part of the European Year of Citizens series, EuroparlTV takes a look at pension rights across borders in Europe.

Reporter: Retiring after a career abroad

Pensions have to be built up  in the Member States where you work.

The point is that as a citizen  who is allowed to move,

to circulate freely in the European Union,

that this citizen gets all that he has paid in  in the different Member States.

So for me, it is more a question of  how we can guarantee

the rights on pensions of  every European citizen.

My name is Sara Green and I've been  working and living in France for 20 years.

Previously I worked for about  six or seven years in Britain.

And now I'm beginning to think, because  I'm getting to an age, I'm almost 50,

where I have to start thinking about  retirement and pensions.

I have three children, I have to make sure  that once I'm not working anymore,

I've got a decent level of income,  because they're all still quite young.

I'm really beginning to wonder  how I can ensure that

and whether I need to  take certain steps to make sure

that the pension I paid in to in Britain  before I came to France is accounted for

and is paid to me as it should be  when I do decide to retire.

Someone who has worked  in several EU Member States

can for example transfer their pension  to their place of residence

This facility is made possible  by the EU regulation

on the coordination  of social security systems.

The British system is very different  from the French system.

When I was working in England,  you had the choice between

staying with the centralised  state pensions contribution system

which at the time was mostly considered  to be more interesting financially.

I asked for that fund to be merged  with my fund, my pension here in France,

The other thing that  I guess I'd have to look into,

and that is where  things could get complicated,

is whether it is in my interest  to have the two funds running separately

or whether it would be more interesting  to have them merged.

and I suspect it would be quite a headache  if I had to do that myself.

The system works well. It makes the  process easier for the insured persons.

For example if they’ve worked  in three EU countries –

let’s say in France,  Belgium and Germany –

what they do is they make  a pension request in Belgium

and task a Belgian pensions organisation

with exchanging information on the careers  they’ve had in the other countries.

There is only one request to be made  to this Belgian organisation.

As far as France is concerned,  I've spoken to my 'caisse'

which is called the CIPAV  of independent workers.

Previously I was working as  a salaried employee in journalism,

that my two French ‘caisses’  will match up with each other.

I must say, from a foreigner’s point of view,  even though I've been here 20 years,

The big point is that  our labour force is shrinking.

because we can’t rely on a smaller group  of younger people paying for our pensions.

I didn’t pay into a supplementary pension  fund when I was working in England.

I was still quite young then and  tended to want to keep my money

to spend on going out  and buying records or whatever else,

so I didn’t pay in to a supplementary fund.

Yeah, I think whatever the European  institutions can do to make life easier,

to really make sure that  this is a single Europe, the better.