The UM expertise centre ITEM has conducted an ex-ante assessment of the possible effects of this Act on cross-border civil servants who reside or work in Dutch border regions. From January onwards, as a result of this Act, half a million civil servants will move from a public-law appointment to a private-law employment contract. Also, new groups of civil servants will be created. Those who lose their civil servant status will receive a bilateral employment contract. In cross-border situations where work is carried out in two or more Member States, it may therefore happen that instead of the Dutch social security legislation, the legislation of another Member State applies to you.

ITEM dossier on the changing insurance obligation

The report as part of ITEM's Cross-Border Impace Assessment 2019 (currently only available in Dutch) clarifies the financial consequences of changing the insurance obligation. It also describes the currently applicable treaty rules with regard to the allocation of the taxing power of pensions. The report shows, among other things, that with regard to the border regions of the Netherlands, effects can be expected due to the lack of sufficient information, since the entry into force of the Wnra may entail administrative and financial burdens for employers and employees. Foreign authorities will also have to be informed about the entry into force of this new legislation. This may perhaps lead to the (desire of) avoiding (of) cross-border situations by both employees and employers.

The ITEM report illustrates that the legislator hardly paid any attention to the border effects, such as those felt in the Euroregion prior to the adoption of the Wnra, In addition, the border effects have not yet been all fully understood. As far as social security obligations and, particularly, social security contributions are concerned, the effects may depend on the individual situation in which both the employer and the employee will have to pay more in the event of a change in the insurance obligation from the Netherlands to, for example, Belgium. The administrative burden on the Dutch employer may increase because of the employer has to deal with specific requirements of foreign authorities. As far as pensions are concerned, the (administrative) burden may increase due to the fact that pensions have to be split between a public and a private pension. Although the Netherlands has indicated that the introduction of the Wnra will not change the taxing rights over pensions, it is still unclear whether the foreign authorities share this view.

Do you work at UM and do you want to know what the Wnra means to you? On this UM Intranet page you will find more information.