50With a view to answering that question, it should be borne in mind that, according to settled case-law of the Court, social security benefits must be regarded as being of the same kind when their purpose and object, as well as the basis on which they are calculated and the conditions for granting them, are identical. By contrast, characteristics which are purely formal need not be considered relevant criteria for the classification of the benefits (see, to that effect, judgments of 5 July 1983, Valentini, 171/82, EU:C:1983:189, paragraph 13; of 11 August 1995, Schmidt, C‑98/94, EU:C:1995:273, paragraphs 24 and 31; and of 18 July 2006, De Cuyper, C‑406/04, EU:C:2006:491, paragraph 25).
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