Minimum Supplement to Invalidity Benefits and Migrant Workers: Two Different Standards Applied to the Same Right?

Commentary on the Ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 22 January 2026 (Case C-633/24)

Abstract

The Ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 22 January 2026, delivered in Case C-633/24 (Sovisso) by the Sixth Chamber, addresses a request for a preliminary ruling referred by the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation concerning the minimum supplement to invalidity benefits within the Italian Social Security system. The contested legislation required workers who had exercised their right to free movement –specifically, those who had paid contributions in Switzerland and in Italy– to complete a contribution period of ten years in Italy in order to qualify for that supplement, whereas workers who had contributed exclusively in Italy were required to demonstrate only five years of contributions, three of which within the preceding five years.
The Court of Justice held that Article 58 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, read in conjunction with Articles 4 and 6 thereof, precludes such discriminatory legislation, as it infringes the principles of equal treatment and aggregation of periods, which constitute fundamental pillars of the European system for the coordination of Social Security. Accordingly, it concluded that national legislation of this kind is incompatible with EU law in so far as, despite its formal neutrality, it places migrant workers at a particular disadvantage.