Hungarian State Treasury

Pursuant to the Agreement between the Hungarian People's Republic and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Cooperation in the Field of Social Security concluded at Budapest on 20 December 1962 (hereinafter: the Agreement), social security benefits shall be determined and paid to the country in which the applicant resides, residence being understood to mean the place where the applicant has permanently settled with the consent of the competent authorities.

Accordingly, Hungary shall award a pension taking into account the service period in the territory of the former Soviet Union if the applicant has settled with the permission of the Hungarian immigration authorities or is a beneficiary of preferential naturalisation under Act LV of 1993 on Hungarian citizenship and lives permanently in Hungary.

In the case of applicants who are not Hungarian nationals, settlement in Hungary is proven if the following conditions are met:

• legal settlement in Hungary is proved by immigration authority documents,
• an official card of residence (address card) in Hungary is available,
• there is habitual residence in Hungary.

A person is considered to be settled if they have:

• a permanent residence permit issued before 2007,
• a national permanent residence permit, or
• EC permanent residence permit.

In the absence of a definitive intention to settle, a person who:

• holds a temporary authorisation for residence, or
• holds a residence permit which was not issued on the basis of an immigration permit or a permanent residence permit

is not considered to be settled.

Hungarian nationals, including beneficiaries of preferential naturalisation, are not required to have a permanent residence permit in order to reside legally in Hungary, and therefore the following conditions must be met:

• they must have an official card proving their residence in Hungary (address card), and
• they have habitual residence in Hungary.

The applicant is considered to have Hungarian residence from the date on which they register their address with the competent Hungarian authority in possession of the settlement permit or naturalisation document. Proof of Hungarian residence must be provided by a valid address card.

• old age pension,
• survivor's pension,
• work accident-related survivor's pension,
• benefits prior to retirement age,
• work accident annuity,
• transitional annuity for miners

Persons who are Hungarian nationals or nationals of one of the successor states of the former Soviet republics listed below may claim Hungarian pension benefits under the Agreement:

• Republic of Azerbaijan,
• Republic of Belarus,
• Georgia,
• Republic of Kazakhstan,
• Republic of Armenia,
• Republic of Tajikistan,
• Republic of Turkmenistan,
• Republic of Uzbekistan,
• Kyrgyz Republic,

Nationals of the successor states of the former Soviet Republics not listed above may be entitled to Hungarian benefits not under the Agreement but under other international legislation, as follows:

• Nationals of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, under Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems in the European Union,
• Nationals of the Republic of Moldova, under the Social Security Agreement between Hungary and the Republic of Moldova,
• Nationals of the Russian Federation, the Social Security Agreement between Hungary and the Russian Federation.

The obligation to pay contributions exists in Hungary if the citizen covered by the Agreement lives in Hungary.

Exceptional rules apply to employees of diplomatic missions, consular posts and trade missions and to posted workers.

In order to determine the existence of insurance, i.e. the obligation to pay contributions, the request must be submitted to the government office acting as the competent health insurance administration body for the place of business of the employer in Hungary.

Benefits claimed under the Agreement must be applied for on the forms below:

• 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 former Soviet socialist republic or its successor state” 
• 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 claim form must be accompanied by available documents relating to the service period abroad and, if the applicant has received pension benefits abroad, a certificate of termination of such benefits issued by the pension administration body abroad.

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 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 is 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.).

In order to determine the benefit, the period of service in Hungary and in the successor states of the former Soviet republics listed must be taken into account, on the basis of a certificate issued by the foreign body.

To do that, the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest, on the basis of the documents relating to the  service period abroad enclosed by the applicant, will ask the foreign pension administration body of the place where the service was completed to certify the periods of pension entitlement.

Service periods abroad may be taken into account on the basis of a certificate issued by the pension authorities of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Georgia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Turkmenistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic or Ukraine.  If the foreign body refuses to issue the certificate or does not confirm the service period abroad on the basis of the documents attached in the certificate sent directly to the government office, the period of service abroad cannot be recognised for the purpose of determining the Hungarian pension.

If the applicant is in receipt of a pension in the successor states of the former Soviet republics listed, the Hungarian pension may be determined only if the foreign pension is discontinued from the first day of the month following the month of settlement in Hungary, in addition to the place of habitual residence in Hungary. The applicant must request a certificate to that effect from the body paying the foreign pension.

The Hungarian pension may be established from the first day of the month following the resettlement at the earliest, provided that the Hungarian eligibility conditions are fulfilled at that time.

The amount of the Hungarian pension under the Agreement may be determined as follows:

• if the applicant has a Hungarian service period, taking into account earnings in Hungary,
• if the applicant has not acquired any Hungarian service period, by applying the average Hungarian professional earnings for the job held abroad.

When applying the average Hungarian professional earnings, the national average of the earnings at the earliest of the dates of the establishment of the Hungarian and the foreign pension benefits shall be taken into account for the longest period of employment abroad, or, in the absence of such a period, for a comparable employment, but for the period prior to 1 January 2013, the maximum amount of the pension contribution ceiling.

The amount of the average professional earnings is determined on the basis of the data published by the National Employment Service on individual wages and earnings.

The established benefits are paid by the Pension Payment Directorate of the Hungarian State Treasury (1139 Budapest, Váci út 73, postal address: 1820 Budapest).

Hungarian benefits established by the application of the Agreement may be paid only if it is proved that the person entitled to the benefit continues to reside in Hungary during the period of payment.

If the person in receipt of the benefit stays abroad for more than 90 days, the payment of the Hungarian benefit established on the basis of the Agreement shall be discontinued. Residence abroad for more than 90 days must be reported to the Pension Payment Directorate within 15 days.