Purchase of service period
Related forms (2)
LEGISLATION
Who can buy service period and in what form?
A person who is not in a legal relationship involving an insurance obligation or whose insurance has been terminated may agree to pay contributions in order to purchase service period.
All types of agreement may be concluded for the benefit of a beneficiary person, in which case the beneficiary must comply with the conditions of the agreement. No agreement may be concluded for the acquisition of the missing part of the eligibility period for the women’s preferential pension. The service period acquired through the payment of contributions under an agreement cannot be taken into account as period of eligibility for the women’s preferential pension, since it is not based on gainful activity.
What types of agreements can be concluded?
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 48 of Act CXXII of 2019 on Entitlements to Social Security Benefits and on Funding These Services (hereinafter: the Tbj.), the following types of agreements may be concluded:
- to acquire service period and pensionable income (in the absence of insurance or in the case of a suspension in insurance),
- for the recognition of periods of full-time education at a higher education institution as service periods;
- to acquire the period of service required for entitlement to a full or partial old age pension, if the old age pension cannot be established solely because the applicant has less than the statutory limit of twenty years' service period, or 15 years' service period in the case of entitlement to a partial old age pension;
- for the year 1998, for the period of home care equal to the period of child home care allowance.
The agreement shall constitute an administrative agreements.
In the case of an agreement for the purpose of acquiring income from service period and pensionable income, the basis for the payment of contributions is the income declared by the person concluding the agreement, but not less than the minimum wage in force on the day the agreement is concluded, at a rate of 22%.
For the recognition of periods of full-time education at a higher education institution as periods of service; and for the purpose of acquiring the periods of service required for entitlement to a full or partial old age pension, an agreement may be concluded with the payment of a pension contribution of 22% of the minimum wage.
In the case of an agreement concluded for 1998 for the same period of home care as the child home care allowance, the contribution is based on the amount of the child home care allowance valid on the day the agreement is concluded, at a rate of 10%.
Before concluding the agreement, we recommend that you consider the benefits available in relation to the burden of the agreement.
Which body acts when concluding agreements?
In the case of a resident, the agreement may be concluded with the capital or county government office acting as the pension insurance administration body competent for the place of residence.
For a beneficiary who does not reside or stay in Hungary, the agreement may be concluded with the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest for the purpose of obtaining a pension benefit.
Initiation of the agreement
The agreement may be initiated by completing the form provided for this purpose. The application must be accompanied by the documents and papers necessary for the assessment of the application or a certified copy thereof.
In the case of an agreement for the acquisition of service period and pensionable income, if the agreement is concluded during unpaid leave, the employer's authorisation certifying the unpaid leave must be attached.
In the case of an agreement for the recognition of periods of full-time education at a higher education institution as service periods, a certificate issued by the higher education institution for each period of study (semester/year) must be attached to the period of full-time education at the higher education institution.
In the case of an agreement for the year 1998 for the same period of home care as child home care allowance, the birth certificate of the child or, in the case of a long-term illness of the child, a certificate to this effect must also be attached.
The form required for concluding the agreement can be obtained from the customer services of the pension insurance administrative bodies or downloaded from the website of the Hungarian State Treasury or from the magyarorszag.hu website.
Agreement that may be concluded for acquiring service period and pensionable income
A person who is not in legal relationship involving an insurance obligation or not covered by compulsory insurance, or whose insurance is suspended (e.g. due to unpaid leave), may conclude an agreement to acquire the service period and pensionable income required for a pension. An agreement to acquire service period and pensionable income and to recognise periods of full-time education at a higher education institution as service period cannot be concluded retrospectively. The pension contribution is payable by the 12th day of the month following the month in question.
The conclusion of an agreement for the purpose of acquiring the service period not required for entitlement to an old age pension shall be initiated within 30 days of receipt of the decision assessing the pension claim.
In the case of an agreement concluded for 1998 for the same period of home care as the child home care allowance, the contribution shall be paid in one instalment within 30 days of the conclusion of the agreement.
Failure to pay the monthly contribution due shall result in termination of the agreement.
Payment of the pension contribution
The pension contribution can be paid by cash transfer order (cheque) or by bank transfer.
At the government office of the applicant's place of residence.
The envelope must be marked with name of the government office of the applicant's place of residence.
The uniform postal address is:
1916 Budapest.