Social Security Agreement between Hungary and Australia

persons who are or have been subject to the legislation of Hungary or Australia, except that, in the case of survivors' pensions, proof of falling within the scope of the legislation of both countries must be provided in respect of the deceased insured person,
a person who is or was a permanent resident of Australia.

RULES ON THE PAYMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS

For persons employed as employees, contributions are payable in the country of employment.

For posted workers, the country in which the posting employer is established is the country where contributions are payable.

For posted workers, the country of place of business of the employer of the posted worker is the country where contributions are payable, provided that the period of posting does not exceed 48 months. If the duration of the posting exceeds 48 months, the obligation to pay contributions in the country of place of business of the employer is subject to the prior agreement of the competent Hungarian or Australian authorities or the competent institutions or authorities designated by them. This rule also applies to public employees.

The provisions of the Agreement do not apply to members of diplomatic missions and consular posts and members of their families.

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 employment in Hungary.

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 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”

When applying for an Australian old age pension, in addition to the Hungarian forms, the Australian forms AUS140HU and Mod. (IA) must also be completed.

The forms required for submitting a claim can be obtained from the pension insurance institutions or downloaded from the "Related forms" menu point.

The claim form must be accompanied by all available documents of residence in Australia.

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 Hungarian 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 Australia is also the date of submission of the claim to the Hungarian pension insurance body.

The application, the documents enclosed by the applicant and the certificate of the period of service recognised under Hungarian legislation will be forwarded by the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest to the Department of Human Services International Services (GPO Box 273, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia), the pension insurance body competent for assessing pension claims in Australia.

In the case of Australian residence:

If you have any questions about how to apply for an Australian old age pension or about your entitlement for an Australian pension, it is advisable to contact the Australian Pension Administration Body in your place of residence.

If you are living in Australia and claiming a pension in Hungary, you may submit your claim to the competent Australian pension insurance body by completing the

form AUS/HU 202 for old age pension,
and form AUS/HU 203 for a survivor's pension.

The contact details of the Central Pension Body are:

Department of Human Services

International Services

Address: GPO Box 273, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia

Phone: 00 61 3 6222 3455

Fax: 00 61 3 6222 2799

website: www.humanservices.gov.au

e-mail: international.services@humanservices.gov.au

The application thus submitted will be forwarded by the Australian body to the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest, together with proof of the periods completed in Australia that may be taken into account under the Agreement.

ASSESSMENT OF PENSION CLAIMS

If the entitlement for the benefit applied for by the applicant exists on the basis of the Hungarian service periods, the insurance periods certified by Australia shall not be taken into account for the determination of the pension.

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

20 years of service period for old age pension,
40 years of eligibility period for women's preferential pension,
for survivor's pensions, the period of service corresponding to the age of the deceased insured person.

If the entitlement for the pension cannot be established solely on the basis of the Hungarian service period, the insurance periods certified by Australia shall also be taken into account for the pension as if they had been completed under Hungarian legislation, provided that they do not fall within the same period.

The period of legal residence in Australia is certified as the period to be taken into account for the purposes of the Australian pension administration body under the Agreement.

The Agreement precludes the possibility of double insurance, but periods of Hungarian service and Australian residence prior to its entry into force may overlap. These periods may be taken into account only once when applying the aggregation rule.

If the applicant has at least 20 years of service period required for a Hungarian pension only by adding up the insurance periods, the amount of the pension must be calculated on the basis of the Hungarian service period and periods of residence in Australia. In the case of a survivor's pension, the period of residence in Australia should be taken into account if the deceased insured person does not have the Hungarian period of service corresponding to their age.

The pension to be determined is the proportion of the insurance periods completed under Hungarian legislation in relation to the total insurance periods. The amount of the Hungarian pension is determined solely on the basis of earnings and income in Hungary.

If the service period in Hungary is less than one year, no Hungarian pension can be established.

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