Hungarian State Treasury

As a general rule, a person is entitled to an old age pension if they have reached the age of 65 and have at least 20 years' service periods. In this case, a full old age pension is established.

A person who has not completed 20 years of service but has at least 15 years of service periods is also entitled to an old age pension at the age of retirement. In this case, a partial old age pension is established.

  The retirement age for the old age pension has been gradually increased as follows:

• for persons born before 1 January 1952, the age of 62,
• for persons born in 1952, the 183 days after the age of 62,
• for persons born in 1953, the age of 63 years,
• for persons born in 1954, the 183 days after the age of 63,
• for persons born in 1955, the age of 64 years,
• for persons born in 1956, 183 days after the age of 64,
• for persons born in 1957 and later, the age of 65 years.

The women’s preferential pension is also considered to be an old age pension, to which a woman is entitled regardless of her age if she has at least 40 years of period of eligibility. The period of eligibility is defined as the service period in gainful activity and the period of receipt of child raising benefits, as well as periods considered to be equivalent. The detailed rules on women’s preferential pension are set out in a separate information.

Service periods are defined as periods during which the pension applicant has been in an insured status (insured) and has paid the required pension contributions or pension contributions under a special agreement for the acquisition of service period.

The service period also includes the period of receipt of benefits from which pension contributions are payable, e.g. nursing fee, child care allowance, rehabilitation benefit, etc.

Periods of military (civilian) service, vocational apprenticeships, full-time higher education before 1998 are also periods of service,

For detailed information on the service period which may be recognised for pension purposes, see “Service period entitling to pension benefits".

The old age pension must be applied for from the government office acting as the pension insurance administration body of the applicant's place of residence, using the form "Claim for old age pension, women's preferential pension, fixed old age pension, benefits prior to retirement age, life annuity for dance artists, transitional annuity for miners".

The application for an old age pension can be submitted in person, by post or electronically.

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 marked with name of the government office addressed and the uniform postal address of 1916 Budapest.

Electronically, persons with electronic identification can submit their claim for a pension at www.magyarorszag.hu.

The claim may be submitted by the applicant's legal representative (guardian) or by their authorised representative, accompanied by a document proving the representation.

The contact details of the government offices can be found at www.kormanyhivatalok.hu.

Those persons who receive a benefit prior to retirement age or service benefit for armed forces, and have completed at least 365 days of service period during the payment of the benefit may apply for the amount of the old age pension to be re-assessed after reaching retirement age. However, an old age pension shall be awarded only if its amount calculated on the date of the retirement age is more favourable than the amount of the benefit prior to retirement age or service benefit for armed forces already paid.

An application for a recalculation of an old age pension may be submitted no earlier than the date of reaching the retirement age, but the application may be submitted at a later date as well. The 365 days of service period required for the re-assessment of the amount of the old age pension shall be completed between the date of commencement of payment of the benefit prior to retirement age or service benefit but at the earliest 1 January 2012 and the day before reaching the retirement age.

Women receiving a benefit prior to retirement age or service benefit for armed forces may also apply for women’s preferential pension based on 40 years of eligibility period.

Old age pension may be applied also by persons who receive disability benefit. In order to claim the pension, it is not a condition to complete additional service periods during the payment of the disability benefit.

The old age pension may be awarded only if the claimant has at least 15 years of service period. If the claimant does not have at least 15 years of service period, or if the calculated old age pension is lower than the disability benefit and is therefore not chosen, the disability benefit will be paid for life.

However, at the same time as the old age pension is awarded, the disability benefit ceases.

The claim may be accompanied by documents relating to service periods not previously recognised. Such proof may include:

• labour book, certificate of employment, certificate of insurance and health insurance benefits, outworker's book, membership book of agricultural or fishery cooperatives,
• college or university course book, final certificate, diploma, industrial apprenticeship labour book, vocational apprenticeship certificate, certificate of vocational school in health or agriculture, diploma or vocational school student contract for the period before 1998.

The application form may also need to be accompanied by the following additional forms:

• the supplementary form to provide information on employment and early retirement periods can be downloaded here,
• the supplementary form to provide information on self-employment can be downloaded here.

The administrative time limit is 60 days.

The established pension will be paid by the Pension Payment Directorate of the Hungarian State Treasury within 13 days of the decision being issued.

The earliest date from which an old age pension can be claimed is the date on which the conditions for entitlement are met, or any later date. The claim can be made retroactively for a maximum of six months, which means that the benefit can be paid from the first day of the sixth month preceding the month in which the claim is established, provided that the conditions for entitlement, age and service period, are met.

Membership of a private pension fund affects the amount of the pension if the applicant has paid contributions to a private pension fund for the period before 1 October 2010 and

• at the time the old age pension is determined, the person is a member of a private pension fund, or
• their membership of a private pension fund has been terminated without the amount in their individual account having been transferred to the State budget.

In this case, the old age pension is calculated at a reduced amount.

In order to receive a full pension, it is allowed to re-join the state pension scheme at the time of claiming the pension or afterwards. In this case, after the transfer, the amount of the old age pension is calculated retroactively to the starting date of the pension without reduction.

No appeal may be lodged. If the decision is unlawful, a statement of claim can be lodged against the decision within 30 days to have it reviewed by the court with jurisdiction over the administrative college of the place of residence.

The letter of claim must be lodged, free of charge, with the pension insurance body which took the decision or sent by registered post. 

After electronic identification, the claim can also be filed electronically on the https://epapir.gov.hu interface. After entry, in the subject group "Jogorvoslat" the case type "Közigazgatási szerv határozatának bírósági felülvizsgálata iránti keresetlevél benyújtása" should be selected.