A pension fund for European scientists.

Abstract

Scientists are part of a global community who freely exchange ideas and materials; many researchers are engaged in international cooperation and collaborative research projects. In fact, traveling and working abroad is not only a necessity; spending some time abroad as a graduate student, postdoc, or visiting scientist also boosts their careers. Studies that compared data from 16 countries concluded that foreign scientists often outperform their native colleagues and that they have larger international research networks [1], [2]. Generally, given that most scientific knowledge is the result of collaborative research performed in many countries, mobility is important for progress. Many transnational funding agencies—such as the European Research Council, the Marie Sklodowska‐Curie Actions or the Human Frontier Science Program—therefore stress or even require international mobility from their grantees. However, while mobility has its own benefits (even irrespective of a research project), there are also downsides of spending too much time working abroad. The greatest risk for scientists who spend an extensive period in another country is losing out on social security, in particular on pension rights in their home country. The 2005 European Charter for Researchers therefore urged its member states to pay particular attention to “the portability of pension rights, either statutory or supplementary, for researchers moving within the public and private sectors in the same country and also for those moving across borders within the European Union. Such regimes should guarantee that researchers who, in the course of their lives, change jobs or interrupt their careers do not unduly …