Social Security Agreement between Hungary and Japan

Any person who has paid contributions in both Hungary and Japan can claim pension benefits under the Agreement, regardless of nationality. In the case of survivors' pension benefits, the deceased insured person had to pay contributions in both countries.

RULES ON THE PAYMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS

The obligation to pay contributions applies, as a general rule, in the country where the person concerned earns the income as an employee or as a self-employed person, irrespective of the country of residence or the country where the employer is established.

For posted workers, the country in which the posting employer is established is the country where contributions are payable. This rule also applies to a self-employed person who carries out their activity in the country other than their registered office in Hungary or Japan.

Members of diplomatic missions and consular posts and members of their families, and persons employed on board of planes operating in international traffic are subject to different rules from those set out above.

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 employer’s place of business in Hungary.

SUBMITTING A CLAIM FOR PENSION BENEFITS

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

To claim Hungarian benefit, the following forms must be submitted, corresponding to the benefit applied for:

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”

To apply for a Japanese pension, the following forms must be submitted in addition to the Hungarian forms, according to the type of benefit requested:

HU-JP1 and HU-JP4 for old age pension claims
and HU-JP2 and HU-JP4 for a claim for survivors' benefits.

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 the available documents relating to the Japanese employment relationship.

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

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 Budapest to the Japan Pension Service, (3-5-24 Takaido-nishi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo, 168-8505, Japan), the pension insurance body responsible for the assessment of the Japanese pension.

In the case of Japanese residence:

If you have any questions about how to apply for a Japanese pension or if you are eligible for a Japanese pension, it is advisable to contact the Japanese pension administration body in your place of residence.

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

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

The contact details of the Central Pension Body are:

Japan Pension Service

Address: 3-5-24 Takaido-nishi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo, 168-8505, Japan

Tel: +81 3 6892 07 45

Fax: +81 3 6892 07 60

website: www.nenkin.go.jp

The application submitted in Japan will be forwarded to the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest, together with proof of the insurance periods completed in Japan.

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 the Japanese Pension Administration Body shall not be taken into account for the determination of the Hungarian 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,

in the case of a survivor's pension, the Social Security Agreement between Hungary and Japan

service periods required for the age of the deceased insured person.

If the entitlement to benefit cannot be established solely on the basis of the Hungarian service periods, the insurance periods completed in Japan, as certified by the Japanese pension administration body, shall also be taken into account for the pension calculation, as if they had been completed under Hungarian legislation, provided that they do not cover the same period.

The Agreement precludes the possibility of double insurance, but service periods in Hungary and Japan 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 15 years of service period required for a Hungarian pension only after aggregating the periods of insurance, the amount of the pension is calculated on the basis of the Hungarian and Japanese periods of insurance. In the case of a survivor's pension, the period of insurance in Japan shall be taken into account if the deceased insured person does not have the period of service in Hungary 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