June 2019
The social security treaty signed between Luxembourg and China on 29 November 2017 entered into force on 1 May 2019.
This is the first social security treaty between the two countries and it applies only to pension coverage, it does not cover other risks such as sickness. The treaty also foresees specific provisions for seafarers and aircraft crews.
Under the treaty, an employee who is seconded from one country to the other remains covered by the pension insurance scheme of their country of origin if the duration of the secondment does not exceed 5 years. Beyond this initial period, the assignee may still be covered by the pension insurance of their home country if the authorities in both countries provide their agreement.
As from 1 May 2019, the employees of Chinese companies seconded to Luxembourg may therefore remain within the Chinese pension scheme on.
It is worth noting that for ongoing assignments, the 5-year secondment period is deemed to start on 1 May 2019, so that periods of assignments before that date are ignored.
Joelle Lyaudet
joelle.lyaudet@bdo.lu