Cross-border portability of social security entitlements

Overview

This report examines the barriers and enablers of digital interoperability aimed at enhancing the cross-border portability of social security entitlements across contributory schemes that address key life-cycle risks. Conducted under the Digital Convergence Initiative (DCI), the study combines a desk-based review of the literature and policy frameworks with key informant interviews, complemented by comparative case studies from the European Union (EU), Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to illustrate variations in legal coordination, system maturity, and digital integration. The analysis is motivated by the limited evidence base on portability beyond the EU and the growing potential of digital ecosystems to strengthen coordination, interoperability, and data governance, while acknowledging that the scarcity of documented experiences and practitioner insights constrain the breadth of available information.

Key findings include:

• Pre-savings schemes, such as contributory pensions, are tied to individual contribution records that can be tracked and aggregated across borders and, hence, lend themselves more readily to portability.
• Despite global recognition of its importance, portability remains constrained by fragmented legal frameworks, weak institutional coordination and digitalisation, and limited interoperability across all regions.
• Effective portability depends on the alignment of robust legal coordination, institutional collaboration, and digital innovation.
• Most countries are still at an early stage in using digital systems and interoperable processes to make social security rights portable across borders, with the EU as the most successful case.
• Digitalisation presents a unique opportunity to enhance service delivery by enabling interoperable systems (whether designed for real-time synchronisation or for simpler asynchronous and request-response exchange), common data standards, and broader digital public infrastructure.

Required citation:

Digital Convergence Initiative. 2026. Cross-Border Portability of Social Security Entitlements. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Germany.