The Office for administration and payment of individual entitlements, also known as the Paymaster's Office or PMO is a central office of the European Commission.
The European Commission (EC) is an institution of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the EU treaties and managing the day-to-day business of the EU. Commissioners swear an oath at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg City, pledging to respect the treaties and to be completely independent in carrying out their duties during their mandate. Unlike in the Council of the European Union, where members are directly and indirectly elected, and the European Parliament, where members are directly elected, the Commissioners are proposed by the Council of the European Union, on the basis of suggestions made by the national governments, and then appointed by the European Council after the approval of the European Parliament.
The PMO's mission is to manage the financial rights of permanent, temporary and contractual staff working at the Commission, to calculate and to pay their salaries and other financial entitlements. The PMO provides these services to other EU institutions and agencies as well. The PMO is also responsible for managing the health insurance fund of the Institutions, together with processing and paying the claims of reimbursement from staff members. The PMO also manages the pension fund and pays the pensions of retired staff members.
The PMO's head office, horizontal services and four operational units are located in Brussels, while two other units are located in Luxembourg and in Ispra, where they provide services to local EU staff.
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country and is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region. Brussels is the most densely populated and the richest region in Belgium in terms of GDP per capita. It covers 161 km2 (62 sq mi), a relatively small area compared to the two other regions, and has a population of 1.2 million. The metropolitan area of Brussels counts over 2.1 million people, which makes it the largest in Belgium. It is also part of a large conurbation extending towards Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven and Walloon Brabant, home to over 5 million people.
Ispra is a comune and small town on the eastern coast of Lake Maggiore, in the province of Varese.
The PMO determines and records the financial rights of new staff members of their first day at the Commission, and then calculates and pays their remuneration. The remuneration includes:
Basic monthly Commission salaries range from around €2,300 per month for a newly recruited AST 1 official to around €16,000 per month for a top level AD 16 official with over 4 years of seniority. Each grade is broken up into five seniority steps with corresponding salary increases. Basic salaries are adjusted annually in line with inflation and purchasing power in the EU countries. [2]
Officials are also entitled to the reimbursement of certain expenses, for example travel expenses for taking up their duties or removal expenses, when moving their families to their place of employment.
PMO manages the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS) of the European Communities. Officials and other agents are entitled to benefit from the JSIS, as well as their family members (under certain conditions). [3] The JSIS covers medical expenses at a rate of 80% for medical treatments and is funded by a contribution of ~2%, deducted from the salaries of officials and agents.
An official is entitled to an EU pension after at least 10 years of service (or if he reaches the age of 63). [4] EU officials normally reach retirement age at 63, but it is also possible to take early retirement with a reduced pension from the age of 55, or to work up until the age of 67 (but with no corresponding increase in pension rights).
Officials accumulate 1.9% pension rights every year and are entitled to a maximum pension of 70% of their final basic salary. Upon leaving active service, the PMO calculates the pension rights of officials and other agents, [5] including the rights transferred in from national pension schemes. In the case of the decease of officials, the pension rights are paid to the surviving spouse and/or child(ren).
Officials and other agents contribute to up to 1/3 of the costs of the pension scheme. Their contribution is 9.25% of their monthly basic salary and is deducted monthly.
Temporary [6] and contractual agents [7] may receive a temporary unemployment allowance, when their contract with the Commission expires. This allowance is calculated and paid by the PMO, in accordance with Title 2 of Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities.
The expenses incurred by the officials and agents on their official missions, [8] as well as certain experts engaged by the Commission, are reimbursed. The PMO receives and processes all these claims and then pays the expenses according to the rules governing entitlement.
For the experts' expenses, the following persons are entitled:
The entitlement covers a daily allowance, travel and accommodation expenses. [9]
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