Social policy agreement between Hungary and Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia

The Agreement between the Government of the Hungarian People's Republic and the Government of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia on the settlement of questions relating to the social security of their citizens (hereinafter 'the Agreement) entered into force on 1 June 1958. The Agreement shall apply only in relation to Kosovo.

BENEFITS UNDER THE AGREEMENT FOR WHICH THE PENSION DETERMINATION BODIES ARE RESPONSIBLE

In Hungary:

old age pension,
survivor's pension,
work accident-related survivor’s pension,
work accident annuity

In Kosovo:

old age pension,
disability pension,
survivor's pension

THE FOLLOWING PERSONS MAY APPLY FOR THE ABOVE BENEFITS UNDER THE AGREEMENT

Any person, irrespective of nationality, who has completed a service period based on the payment of contributions or under an equivalent title in Hungary as well as in Kosovo, may claim a pension under the Agreement. In the case of survivors' pensions, the deceased insured person was required to have paid contributions or completed the period of service in both countries.

RULES ON THE PAYMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS

The obligation to pay contributions is, as a general rule, in the country where the person concerned pursues the main occupation or, in the case of a self-employed person, the main activity for the purposes of insurance.

Special rules apply to posted workers, workers in transport and transportation companies, including air transport, shipping, postal workers, workers who control traffic between two countries, and members of diplomatic missions and consular posts.

In order to decide on the decisive activity is and to determine the existence of an insurance obligation, i.e. an obligation to pay contributions, the person concerned must apply to the government office in Hungary acting as the competent health insurance administration body for the place where the employer is established.

SUBMITTING A CLAIM FOR PENSION BENEFITS

In the case of residence in Hungary you should complete the following documents:

for a claim for old age pension benefit, the form called “In the case of a claim for international old-age pension and other benefits in own right for service periods acquired in a contracting party of the agreement”
for a claim for work accident annuity, the form called “Claim for benefit work accident annuity under the scope of Act LXXXI of 1997, Act LXXXIII of 1997 and social policy or social security agreement”
for a claim for survivor’s pension, depending on the type of claim, the following forms are relevant:

for widow(er)’s pension or an work accident-related widow(er)’s pension “Claim for widow(er)'s pension or work accident-related widow(er)'s pension under the scope of Act LXXXI of 1997, Act LXXXIII of 1997 and social policy or social security agreement” or
for orphan's allowance or a work accident-related orphan's allowance the so called „Claim for orphan's allowance or work accident-related orphan's allowance under the scope of Act LXXXI of 1997, Act LXXXIII of 1997 and social policy or social security agreement” or
for parental pension or work accident-related parental pension „Claim for parential pension or work accident-related parential pension under the scope of Act LXXXI of 1997, Act LXXXIII of 1997 and social policy or social security agreement”

The forms required for submitting a claim can be obtained from the pension insurance bodies or downloaded from the "Related forms" menu point next to the Information tab.

The claim form must be accompanied by the available documents relating to the insurance periods completed in Kosovo.

The claim can be submitted in person or by post.

It may be submitted in person at the customer service of the government office of the capital or county according to the place of residence or stay.

If it submitted by post, the envelope must be addressed to the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest and marked with the uniform postal address 1916 Budapest.

The claim may be submitted by the applicant's legal representative (guardian) or by their authorised representative, accompanied by a document proving the representation.

In the case of an application for a survivor's benefit, if a survivor's pension has already been established in relation to the deceased insured person or if the application is for the revival of a survivor's pension previously paid, the claim may also be submitted at the customer service of the Pension Payment Directorate of the Hungarian State Treasury (1139 Budapest Váci út 73.).

The date of submission of the claim in Kosovo is also the date of submission of the claim to the Hungarian pension insurance institution.

The application, the documents attached by the applicant and the certificate of period of service recognised under Hungarian legislation will be forwarded by the Government Office of the Capital City of Budapest to the Ministria e Punës dhe Mirëqenies Sociale Departmenti i Administratës Pensionale të Kosovë (Rr. Pashko Vasa/Baraka Nr. 1.), the pension insurance body responsible for the assessment of the pension in Kosovo.

In case of residence in Kosovo:

For any questions regarding how to apply for a Kosovo pension and any questions regarding eligibility for a Kosovo pension, it is advisable to contact the Kosovo pension administration body in the place of residence.

The contact details of the Central Pension Body are:

Ministria e Punës dhe Mirëqenies SocialeDepartmenti i Administratës Pensionale të KosovëAddress: Rr. Pashko Vasa/Baraka Nr. 1.10000 Prishtinë, KosovëPhone: 00 38-211-663

The application submitted in Kosovo will be forwarded by the Kosovar body to the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest, together with proof of the periods of insurance completed there.

ASSESSMENT OF THE ENTITLEMENT TO PENSION

Under the Agreement, the pension is determined, as a general rule, on the basis of the length of service in Hungary and Kosovo, so that the Hungarian and Kosovar pensions are determined only in proportion to the Hungarian or Kosovar service period, in relation to the total period of service. When calculating the ratio, the service period in years of both Hungarian and Kosovar service shall be taken into account.

A special rule applies if the applicant is entitled to a pension only in Hungary or only in Kosovo. In that case, the pension shall be calculated on the basis of the Hungarian service period only, if the applicant has sufficient service period to be eligible for the Hungarian pension.

The minimum periods required for a Hungarian pension are as follows:

15 years of service period for old age pension,
40 years of eligibility period for women's preferential pension,
in the case of a survivor's pension, the period of service required for the age of the deceased insured person.

As a general rule, this pension will be reassessed if the applicant also becomes entitled to a Kosovar pension.

If the Hungarian pension applied for can only be determined on the basis of Hungarian service period, the applicant has the possibility to request that the Kosovar length of service not be taken into account. In that case, only the Hungarian legislation will be applied to determine the pension.

PAYMENT OF PENSION BENEFITS

Pension benefits are paid directly to the beneficiary in accordance with the legislation of the country that established them. The amount of the established benefit shall remain unchanged for the beneficiary living in the territory of the other country.

The established Hungarian benefits are paid by the Pension Payment Directorate of the Hungarian State Treasury (1139 Budapest, Váci út 73., postal address: 1820 Budapest), detailed information on which can be found in the information " Payment options for beneficiaries living abroad".

Hungarian State Treasury