This becomes very relevant as I understand that gaining promotion to captain means an obligatory change of base and therefore likely country. Not only could you take a salary slide due to a new contract, but then you could get whacked for higher social premiums, and now have the case where you end up with a rainbow portfolio of various EU national pensions, some worth not a lot after only a couple of years premiums. The slippery slope to destitute retirement just got slipperier.