The European Commission and the EU27 have been working to increase the level of protection of social security entitlements provided by the EU contingency regulation in a no deal Brexit. This includes a unilateral coordinated contingency approach to be applied to all insured persons whose entitlements relate to the United Kingdom before the withdrawal date. Beyond this, the EU27 Member States can choose to unilaterally apply the principle of aggregation to periods of work, insurance and residence in the United Kingdom after the withdrawal or to take further unilateral measures. Based on input from Member States, the Commission has put together an overview of national measures in the area of social security coordination (PDF).
With regard to Slovenia, in brief, the country will continue to guarantee rights currently regulated within the social security coordination until the end of 2020. The rights will be granted to the UK nationals under the condition of reciprocity. Answers to specific questions are shown below, and remember that these are in the event of a no deal Brexit:
Will old-age pensions based on pre-withdrawal periods continue to be exported to the UK? Yes.
Will existing EU rules continue to be applied to reimbursement requests* pending on withdrawal date? (*By Slovenia towards the UK, concerning healthcare costs or costs related to unemployment benefits for frontier workers.) Yes.
Will existing EU rules continue to be applied to post-withdrawal reimbursement requests* for costs for pre-withdrawal medical treatments? (*New claims involving the UK and dealt with Slovenia.) Yes.
Will existing EU rules continue to be applied to costs for planned/necessary medical treatment ongoing on withdrawal date and that could not be interrupted? Yes.
Will existing EU rules continue to be applied to post-withdrawal reimbursement requests for unemployment benefits provided by the UK pre-withdrawal to UK-residing frontier workers working in an EU27 Member State? Yes.
Will it be possible to export cash benefits to the UK (other than old-age pensions) that are based on pre- withdrawal situations? (a) sickness, (b) maternity/paternity, (c) invalidity, (d) survivors’, (e) accidents at work and occupational diseases, (f) unemployment, (g) pre-retirement, (h) family benefits. Yes, for all pensions. Other benefits during the grace period (until the end of 2020) and under the reciprocity principle.
Will a UK insured person residing in Slovenia still be provided with healthcare on the same conditions as EU citizens? If not, under what conditions? Yes, if they join the national healthcare scheme, and you can read the British Embassy’s guidance on healthcare cover if the UK leaves the EU without a deal here.
Under what conditions will UK nationals lawfully resident in Slovenia enjoy social security benefits under national law? The same as nationals during the grace period (until the end of 2020).
For pension purposes, will you continue to take into account (aggregate) post-withdrawal periods of insurance, work or residence in the UK? Yes, during the grace period (until the end of 2020).
If you’d like to compare these answers to those for other countries then you can find the full report here. If you’re interested in what happens to EU nationals in the UK, you can learn more here.
For more information on Brexit, the best sources are the official sources. The Slovenian government has it’ own site (in English) on Brexit here, while the British Embassy’s current advice can be found here, you can sign up for email alerts here, and follow the Ambassador and her team on Facebook. All our posts on Brexit are here.
