Social Security Agreement between Hungary and Russian Federation

The Social Security Agreement concluded between the Russian Federation and Hungary (hereinafter: the Agreement) has been effective from 1 December 2020.

According to the Agreement, from 30 November 2020, in pension cases involving service period in Hungary and the Russian Federation, both Hungary and the Russian Federation 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 the Russian Federation.

Upon the entry into force of this Agreement, the Interstate Agreement between the Hungarian People's Republic and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Cooperation in the Field of Social Security (hereinafter: Hungarian-Soviet Social Policy Agreement) shall be repealed with regard to the Russian Federation.

Facts and circumstances which have an effect on the establishment to or payment of entitlement to Hungarian benefits but which occur in the territory of the Russian Federation shall be taken into account in the same way as if they had occurred in Hungary.

DOES THE CHANGE AFFECT PENSIONS ESTABLISHED BEFORE 1 JANUARY 2020?

In the case of residence in Hungary

Benefits determined by application of the Hungarian-Soviet Social Policy Agreement, taking into account Russian service periods prior to the entry into force of the Agreement, will be paid unchanged as long as the person receiving a benefit is resident in Hungary. If the person receiving the benefit moves from Hungary, the benefit established on the basis of the Hungarian-Soviet Social Policy Agreement shall be discontinued, after which the benefit may be established in accordance with the provisions of the new Agreement, following the submission of a claim.

The benefit due under the Hungarian-Soviet Social Policy Agreement may not be repaid even if the person concerned resides in Hungary again.

Survivor's pension

The Agreement also provides that, in the event of the death of a pensioner after 30 November 2020, the survivor's pension can only be determined in accordance with the rules of the new Agreement, even if the deceased was receiving a pension under the Hungarian-Soviet Social Policy Agreement.

However, in all cases where the death of the pensioner occurred before 1 December 2020 and the widow(er)'s pension was determined on the basis of the Hungarian-Soviet Social Policy Agreement, the widow's pension will also be paid on the basis of the Hungarian-Soviet Social Policy Agreement.

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 the Russian Federation:

old age pension,
disability pension,
survivors' pensions,
benefits based on an accident at work or an occupational disease,
one-off pension insurance payment,
monthly insurance payment,
savings pension,
payment from pension savings.

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

In Hungary:

regardless of their nationality, persons and members of their families, persons recognised as refugees and members of their families who have fulfilled obligations to pay contributions in Hungary and the Russian Federation.

In the Russian Federation:

Persons with Hungarian or Russian citizenship and members of their families, persons recognised as refugees and members of their families who have fulfilled an obligation to pay contributions in Hungary and in the Russian Federation.

RULES ON THE PAYMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS

The obligation to pay contributions applies, as a general rule, in the country where the citizen earns an income, as an employee, self-employed or in a business partnership.

Accordingly, Russian citizens living in Hungary are liable to pay contributions under Hungarian legislation.

Persons who are simultaneously engaged in gainful activities in Hungary and in the Russian Federation as an employed person, self-employed person or business partner are liable to pay contributions in the country of residence.

A further special provision applies to persons who are simultaneously engaged in gainful activities as an employed person in one country and as a self-employed person in the other country. In their case, the country of employment is the country where they have to pay contribution.

After the entry into force of the Agreement, a person who receives a Russian old age pension determined in application of the Agreement or an old-age pension determined solely on the basis of the legislation of the Russian Federation is also considered to be a pensioner in their own right in Hungary, and therefore no social security contributions are payable in their case if they are engaged in a gainful activity in Hungary.

Posted workers and members of their families are liable to pay contributions in the country where the employer of the posted worker is established. Members of diplomatic missions and consular posts and members of their families, travelling by international rail, road, air or inland waterway, and persons employed on board of ships 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 place of business of the employer in Hungary.

HOW TO CLAIM A PENSION UNDER THE AGREEMENT?

For persons residing in Hungary or who are not Hungarian or Russian nationals:

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”

It needs to be indicated on the claim form that the claim is made under the Hungarian-Russian agreement by adding it to the list of conventions. If the type of Russian benefit applied for is not indicated on the form, it must also be indicated. Such type of benefit may be a single pension insurance payment, a monthly insurance payment, a savings pension and a payment from pension savings.

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

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 a claim for a survivor's benefit, if the deceased was a pensioner or the claim is for the revival of a terminated survivor's pension, 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 the Russian Federation is also the date on which the claim is submitted to the Hungarian pension insurance body.

The application, the documents enclosed by the applicant and the certificate of the length of service recognised under Hungarian legislation are forwarded by the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest to the Penza Branch of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, (440008, g.Penza, ul.Zaharova, d.20.), which is competent to assess the pension in Russia.

In the case of residence in Russia:

The pension claim should be submitted to the regional branch of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation competent for the assessment of the Russian pension according to the place of residence.

In case of any questions regarding the way to apply for Russian pension or any questions regarding the entitlement for Russian pension, it is advisable to contact the Russian pension administration body of the place of residence.

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 Russian Federation shall not be taken into account for the determination of the 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,
for survivor's pensions, the service period corresponding to the age of the deceased insured person.

If the entitlement to benefit cannot be established solely on the basis of the Hungarian service period, periods of insurance completed in the territory of the Russian Federation or the territory of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, certified by the Russian Federation, shall also be taken into account for the purpose of determining the pension, as if they had been completed under the Hungarian legislation, provided that they do not cover the same period.

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

The following periods of insurance completed in third countries may be taken into account for the assessment of entitlement to a Hungarian pension:

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

Insurance periods completed in Ukraine or in the other countries of the former Soviet Union cannot be taken into account for the establishment of entitlement, as they are excluded by the Agreement.

If the applicant has at least 15 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 and Russian insurance periods. 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 service period 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.

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 Russian Federation shall be taken into account as Hungarian insurance period, while the Hungarian period of less than one year shall be taken into account as Russian insurance period.

Further information on Russian pensions can be found on the website of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.

PAYMENT OF PENSION BENEFITS

Pension benefits are paid directly to the beneficiary in accordance with the legislation and in the official currency of the country that determined the pension.

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 ".

The determined Russian benefits are paid by the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation (RU-119991 Moscow, ul. Sabolovka 4.)

Hungarian State Treasury