Pension cases covered by agreements

Social Security Agreement between Hungary and Republic of Serbia

WHEN DID THE HUNGARIAN-SERBIAN SOCIAL SECURITY AGREEMENT ENTER INTO FORCE?

The Agreement on Social Security concluded by Hungary and the Republic of Serbia ('the Agreement') entered into force on 1 December 2014, at the same time as the Law-Decree No 20 of 1959 on the Hungarian-Yugoslav Agreement on Social Policy was repealed for the Republic of Serbia.

According to the Agreement, from 30 November 2014, in pension cases involving service period in Hungary and Serbia, both Hungary and Serbia will determine and pay benefits taking into account the service period completed on their respective territories, except when the applicant has completed less than one year of service in Hungary or Serbia.

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 Serbia:

  • old age pension,
  • disability pension,
  • survivor's pension

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

Anyone who has paid contributions in both Hungary and Serbia can claim pension benefits under the Agreement, regardless of nationality. In the case of survivors' pensions, 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, irrespective of the country of domicile 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 another country other than their place of business in Hungary or Serbia for a maximum of 24 months.

Members of diplomatic missions and consular posts and members of their families, public service employees, persons engaged in international rail, road, air or water transport, freight forwarding, carriage by sea, and persons employed on ships and other vessels are subject to rules different from those set out above.

In order to determine the existence of insurance, i.e. the obligation to pay contributions, the application 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.

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”

To apply for a Serbian pension, you must also fill in the form called ” Pótlap a szerb öregségi nyugdíj vagy korhatár előtti öregségi nyugdíj iránti igény előterjesztéséhez”.

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 available documents relating to the insurance periods completed in Serbia.

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 of 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.).

The date of submission of the claim in Serbia 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 Republicki Fond Za Penzijsko I Invalidsko Osiguranje Zaposlenih (Dr. Aleksandra Kostica 9, 11 000 Belgrad, Szerbia), the pension insurance body responsible for the assessment of the Serbian pension.

In the case of residence in Serbia:

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

The contact details of the Central Pension Body are:

Republicki Fond Za Penzijsko I Invalidsko Osiguranje Zaposlenih

Address: Dr. Aleksandra Kostica 9, 11 000 Belgrad, Szerbia

Phone: 00 381 11 645 022

Fax : 00 381 11 644 093

website: www.pio.rs

e-mail: it@pioz.org.yu

e-mail: contact@pioz.org.yu

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

ASSESSMENT OF PENSION CLAIMS

If the entitlement to the benefit applied for by the applicant exists on the basis of the Hungarian length of service, the insurance periods completed in Serbia are not taken into account for the establishment of 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 service period required for the age of the deceased insured person.

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

The Agreement excludes double insurance, but service periods completed in Hungary and Serbia before the date of entry into force may overlap. These periods may be taken into account only once when applying the aggregation rule.

If, after the application of the above provisions, the applicant is still not entitled, periods of insurance completed in a third state with which both Hungary and Serbia concluded a social security agreement and which provisions cover the aggregation of insurance periods shall also be taken into account.

In this case, periods of insurance completed in the following countries may be taken into account for the purpose of determining entitlement to the benefit claimed:

  • Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, France, Netherlands, Croatia, Canada, Poland, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Germany, Italy, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia

However, in the case of Hungarian nationals, periods of insurance completed in the following countries may also be taken into account for the purpose of determining entitlement:

  • all EU Member States and EEA countries, the United Kingdom and Switzerland,
  • Albania, United States of America, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Mongolia, Republic of Montenegro, Canada, Republic of Korea, Kosovo, India, Japan, Russian Federation, Turkey.

If the applicant has at least 15 years of service 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 Serbian periods of insurance. In the case of a survivor's pension, the period of insurance in Serbia 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 completed insurance period is less than one year and no benefit can be established on that basis in the country where the insurance period was completed, the period of less than one year certified by the Serbian pension body shall be taken into account as Hungarian insurance period, while the Hungarian period of less than one year shall be taken into account as Serbian insurance period.

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.

For a person living in Serbia, Hungarian pension benefits are paid in euros into a bank account held in that country.