Hungarian State Treasury

The service benefit for armed forces was introduced on January 1, 2012.

This benefit could be awarded to persons in legal relationship with of law enforcement services or with the Hungarian Armed Forces.

Service benefit for armed forces could be awarded by virtue of the law or it is established upon a claim.

On the basis of legal provisions, the benefits of persons receiving a service pension on December 31, 2011 are paid as a service benefit for armed forces until they reach the old-age pension age.

Service benefit for armed forces could be applied for by those who:

• on December 31, 2011, was in receipt a service invalidity pension, a service accident related invalidity pension,
• until December 31, 2011, in computed with the period of payment of the invalidity pension and accident related invalidity pension, have 25 years of service period for a service pension, and
• does not in receipt regular cash payment.

From the point of view of entitlement to a service benefit for armed forces, the following are considered to be regular cash payments: sickness benefit, infant care allowance, adoption fee, child care fee, old age pension, benefit prior to retirement age, service benefit for armed forces, life annuity for dance artists, transitional annuity for miners, work accident sick pay, a job-seeker benefit, job-seeker aid before pension, child raising support, employment substituting benefit, benefit for people suffering from health problems or taking care of a child, public service annuity and benefits of the same type as those provided by a foreign body on the basis of international agreements on social security, as well as EU regulations

If the claimant receives invalidity benefit or rehabilitation benefit on the starting day of the determination of the service allowance, the invalidity benefit and the rehabilitation benefit will be terminated ex officio.

The service benefit for armed forces must be claimed from the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest, using the form "Claim for service benefit for armed forces under the scope of Act CLXVII. of 2011”.

Applications for service benefit for armed forces 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 is submitted by post, the envelope must be marked with name of the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest and the postal address of 1916 Budapest.

Electronically, persons with electronic identification can submit their claim for the benefit attaching to the form "Claim in pension insurance case (NY_KER_01)" available at www.magyarorszag.hu under Pension > Other applications"

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

The claims for service benefit for armed forces are assessed by the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest. The contact details of the government office can be found at www.kormanyhivatalok.hu.

The administrative time limit is 60 days.

The established benefit 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 service benefit for armed forces can be established is the first day of the sixth month preceding the month in which the claim is made, provided that the conditions for entitlement are met on that date.

The basis of the amount of the service benefit for armed forces is the amount of the invalidity, accident related invalidity pension paid January 1, 2012.

This amount is determined by the office in an increased amount according to the annual pension increases.

The Pension Payment Directorate pays out the amount of the service benefit for armed forces in an amount reduced by the rate of personal income tax.

The amount of service benefit for armed forces is not reduced by the rate of personal income tax if

• the service relationship was terminated due to health, mental, or physical unfitness, and the nature of the accident or illness that was the basis for the finding of unfitness was established by a qualifying decision at the time of the termination of the legal relationship
• the amount of the entitled person's service pension for December 2011 did not exceed 150 percent of the monthly minimum wage effective on December 31, 2011, i.e. HUF 117,000.

Mothers raising four or more children, border hunters and persons in the legal relationship of school guards are exempt from deductions corresponding to the personal income tax rate based on a notification to the Pension Payment Directorate. The notification can be submitted by using the form "Notification, declaration, supplementation in pension insurance case (NY_BENYIHP_01)" available at www.magyarorszag.hu under Pension > Other applications".

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.

A person receiving service benefit for armed forces may request that the benefit be terminated until the retirement age is reached. The request to terminate the service benefit for armed forces must be made in writing to the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest. However, in this case, no new service benefit for armed forces or benefits prior to retirement age may be established.

The service benefit for armed forces ceases when the person in receipt of the service benefit for armed forces reaches the retirement age, from which date it is automatically paid as an old age pension without reduction in the amount.

The benefit will also cease if the recipient of a service benefit for armed forces is granted a women’s preferential pension.

In the case of work in addition to the payment of the service benefit for armed forces, the payment of benefits is suspended if the income from gainful activity exceeds 18 times the monthly amount of the statutory minimum wage on the first day of the year.

More information on the rules for working in addition to the payment of the service benefit for armed forces can be found on the website of the Hungarian State Treasury on the page >> Pension >> Pension payment >> Suspension of the pension payment >> Suspension due to gainful activity.

Persons receiving service benefit for armed forces who have completed at least 365 days of service during the period for which the benefit is paid may request that the amount of the old age pension be re-established once they reach the retirement age. The old-age pension is only determined if its amount calculated on the day of retirement age is more favourable than the amount of the paid service benefit for armed forces.

The application for recalculation of the old age pension may be submitted from the date on which the retirement age is reached, but it can also be submitted later The 365 days of service required for the re-establishment of the amount of the old age pension must be acquired between the date on which the payment the benefit prior to retirement age or the service benefit for armed forces starts and the day before the retirement pension age is reached, but not earlier than 1 January 2012.

Women who receive the benefit prior to retirement age or the service benefit for armed forces can also apply for an old-age pension, which can be established for women based on a 40-year eligibility period.