An official calculator of salaries for jobs in the European Commission or other EU institutions is not publicly available. To address this gap, this article links to a number of useful resources that will allow you to get an approximate idea of what salary to expect at a particular EU institution.

‘Basic pay’ vs actual salary

EU institutions increasingly list the so called ‘basic pay’ adjusted by the Correction Coefficient in their vacancy announcements. This gives a potential employee some idea of what income to expect, however, it can be way off from the actual figure of ‘take-home salary’ due to allowances and other factors.

As an example, for Administrators AD5 the net monthly take-home remuneration package can range anywhere from 85% to 125%+ of the basic pay amount depending on individual circumstances such as expatriate status, number of dependents, civil status (marriage or recognized partnership), length of time spend outside home country and other factors. The range of variation is similar for other types of contracts and grades.

If you are like most people, you would prefer a bit more certainty before embarking on a new job, particularly, if it involves moving to a new country and relocating your significant other or the whole family with you.

EU agencies’ salary calculators

I have found only one EU institution – EMA, the European Medicines Agency, located in the Netherlands – which has published two salary calculators for their prospective employees. One of the calculators applies to Administrators (AD 5-8, AD 10, AD 12) and Assistants (AST 3-8, AST 10, AST 12), the other to Contract Agents in FG III in grades 8-9 and FG IV in grades 13-14.

Download the European Medicines Agency Simplified salary calculators:

• EMA salary calculator for Administrators and Assistants
• EMA salary calculator for Contract agents

Source: EMA website

Overview of salaries at EMA

EPPO, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, has a different approach to communicating salaries. As far as I’m aware, they are the only EU institution that provides a finely detailed calculation of what European Prosecutors working for the EPPO and European Delegated Prosecutors (like SNEs, but better paid) will receive as salary/compensation. Below is a screenshot from the EPPO document for both categories, but you can find more salary scenarios by downloading and consulting the full file “Remuneration and benefits for European Prosecutors and European Delegated Prosecutors working for the EPPO” (original source).

Of course, the table above provides an insight into what the European Prosecutors can expect to earn, based on their personal situation. If you want to work for EPPO in another position, read the article below.

Overview of salaries at EPPO

While the European Banking Authority in Paris does not provide a salary calculator, it also does provide a somewhat helpful calculation of what an expat AD8 with children would get if employed at EBA. Unfortunately, similar calculations are not available for other function groups and grades.

Overview of salaries at EBA

The European Court of Auditors, the main EU auditing body, has also done a somewhat decent job in listing at least the ranges of basic salaries for function groups AD, AST, AST/SC and Contract Agents.

Visit the ECA website for more details.

If you find a salary calculator or similar information for another EU institution, please let me know and I’ll add it to this article.

Calculation of salaries by EU staff category and grade

In order to compensate for the lack of better information about salaries in EU instituitons, I have collected information from the Staff Regulation and public sources and done an approximate calculation of salaries for Administrators grades AD5 to AD16, Assistants in grades AST1 to AST11, and Contract Agents in grades FGI to FGIV. Click on the links below to find out what will be your salary under a particular job contract, grade and step.

Contract agents

* Contract Agents FG I
* Contract Agents FG II
* Contract Agents FG III
* Contract Agents FG IV

These article series provide an overview of salaries by EU institution that are adjusted by the appropriate correction coefficient, so you would know what you can expect to earn if you will work outside Belgium.

Allowances and other benefits for EU institutions staff

Several allowances and other benefits can quite significantly boost an EU official’s income. This largely depends on whether the person is an expat and has a spouse and/or children. When considering a job at an EU institution, people too often do not take these benefits into account. Important – these benefits are available to Administrators in grades AD 5-16, Assistants in grades AST 1-11, Secretaries and Clerks in grades AST/SC 1-6, and Contract Agents in grades FG I-IV.

• Travel costs on taking up duties. Reimbursement of travel costs for the official and eligible family members from the place of recruitment to the place of employment.
• Daily subsistence allowance. Paid during your initial onboarding period if you must change your residence to take up duties at your place of employment. Staff entitled to the household allowance (staff with a spouse or/and dependents) receive €55.40 per calendar day for up to 10 months (probation period plus one month). Staff without household allowance receive €44.68 per calendar day for 120 days.
• Installation allowance and coverage of removal costs (one-time payments). A lump sum granted upon completing your probationary period when moving your domicile. Single staff receive one month’s basic salary (with a statutory floor of €1,577.18 for officials and temporary agents, and €937.77 for contract agents). Staff relocating with family receive two months’ basic salary (minimum €1,577.18).
• Expatriation allowance or Foreign Residence allowance. Paid to officials who are not nationals of their host country and have not habitually resided or carried out their main occupation there during the five years ending six months before entering the service. It equals 16% of the sum of basic salary, household allowance, and dependent child allowances (subject to a statutory minimum of €714.89 per month). Expats who are not entitled to the expatriation allowance get a foreign residence allowance that equals 4% of the basic salary amount (subject to a statutory minimum of €178.65 per month).
• Household allowance. Calculated as a flat base of €241.21 plus 2% of basic salary for married staff, registered non-marital partners, or single parents with dependent children.
• Dependent child allowance. A flat payment of €527.06 per month per child, granted automatically up to age 18, or up to age 26 while the child is in full-time educational or vocational training.
• European School enrollment for children or Education allowance. Children of EU institutions staff enjoy free tuition at local European Schools. Where no European School is available and university attendance, staff receive a statutory Education Allowance or a Pre-school Allowance. The Education Allowance amount is up to a ceiling of €357.62, and is doubled if there is no European School near the institution’s headquarters. The Pre-school Allowance amount is €128.76 per month. Both allowances are subject to the correction coefficient.
• Healthcare costs reimbursement to a level of 80-85% through the EU’s Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS) for the employee and any direct family members and dependents. 100% reimbursement of costs in case of a serious illness.
• Accident insurance.
• Annual travel grant. An annual flat-rate payment assisting expatriate staff and family members with travel to their official place of origin.
• Birth & adoption grant. A flat-rate grant of €198.31 paid upon the birth or adoption of a child.
• Parental leave allowance. Statutory leave grant of €1,289.65 per month (or €1,719.56 per month for single parents) during approved parental leave.
• Unemployment allowance.
• Removal expenses when leaving your home country and again when leaving your EU institution.
• EU pension, survivors and orphan’s pensions, invalidity allowance.
• Lump sum payments in case of permanent invalidity or death.
• Lump sum funeral expenses. Costs incurred upon the death of an official, their spouse, or dependent child are reimbursed up to a statutory ceiling of €3,365.18. If death occurs while on official mission, the costs of repatriating the body to the official’s place of origin are fully covered by the institution.
• Invalidity & Survivor Pensions: Comprehensive life, disability, and death social security/coverage. In case of accidental death related to duties, a lump sum of 5 times the annual basic salary is paid to eligible beneficiaries, with invalidity and orphan pensions ensuring partial income continuation.

Taxes

Salaries of EU institutions staff undergo a number of deductions (pension contribution, health insurance contribution, accident insurance, special levy (until 31 December 2023)) and are adjusted by the Correction Coefficient before their salaries are paid out. Besides these, EU staff do not have to pay any national taxes, unless they choose to do so and the national social insurance system allows such voluntary contributions to accumulate pension rights under a national system.