The data is matched to retirees living or residing abroad in March of each year. The process can actually be done in two ways.
As is known, in March every year, a meeting on social security pensions is held 1997 LXXXI. Law Executive Regulations , 168/1997. (X.6) Government Decree (Hereinafter: TnyR.) To carry out the procedure for the settlement of annual statements with pensioners who live or reside abroad, as provided for in Article 76.
There are actually two ways to reconcile.
By contacting the recipient directly
The Directorate of Pension Disbursement of the Hungarian State Treasury, the body that pays pensions, sends the data reconciliation form to the relevant pensioners, which must be completed and returned to the disbursement authority within one month.
An important requirement for validity is that a person’s signature be attested by a court, notary, pension insurance body, other foreign authority, pension fund, payment service provider or Hungarian representative body.
If a person receiving a pension is in a health care institution or social institution due to his/her health or marital status, or receives benefits from this institution, the certificate of the head of the institution or his/her doctor is also acceptable.
Data normalization is TnyR. Subject to the provisions of Section 76(3), it can also be performed on an electronic form within the framework of electronic management. In this case, the reconciliation of paper data should be carried out only every three years.
Great care must be taken to ensure that the data settlement is completed on time, because if the form to be returned is not returned within the required month or is not filled out correctly, the signature may not be verified, which means that the entitlement cannot be generated. It will be paused.
Of course, the unpaid amount will not be lost, if accrual is subsequently established, the allowance will be repaid for a maximum period of five years.
Data reconciliation with the participation of a foreign social security institution
Since 2021, the data reconciliation process has begun, matching annual data involving relevant Social Security departments, without direct participation of retirees, if conditions are met. This procedure is described in TnyR. According to Article 76 (1) (a), it is carried out between an EEA country or a country that has concluded a Social Security and Social Policy Agreement with Hungary and the Hungarian Pension Payment Institution, currently for two countries: Germany and Australia.
This procedure facilitates the status of benefit recipients, and they do not have to do the above with respect to the conciliation form.
However, it is important to know that changes to the pension recipient must still be reported to the agency that pays for the benefits (such as a change in the current account number) directly to the person concerned.
To update your information, see Information on International Pension Payments.
Pension payments for people who live or reside abroad differ in several ways from domestic payment options.
In the case of a local agent, the pension of a person who lives or resides abroad must be paid to his local agent by mail or to a payment account maintained by the Hungarian payment service provider.
Exchange is free in both cases.
The disbursement to the payment account of a qualified Hungarian payment service provider is also optional. In this case, too, the exchange is free.
Another possibility is to apply for a payment account pension with a payment service provider in an EEA country for residents of the territory of an EEA country. In this case, too, the exchange is free.
Those who live in the territory of the so-called contracting state (that is, a state that has concluded a social policy or social security agreement with Hungary) can apply for a pension to a payment account maintained with a payment service provider in the contracting state. Reference in this case is subject to costs.
Persons entitled to a pension living abroad do not have the possibility to pay their pension directly by mail.
In the case of international pensions, it is common for the person concerned to have obtained only a part of the length of service required for entitlement to a pension in Hungary, and the pension is determined by adding up the Hungarian and foreign lengths of service in proportion to Hungary. The total length of service pays part of the pension.
In the case of a short Hungarian vesting period, it is not uncommon for the portion of the Hungarian pension to be small, especially when compared to account management and exchange-related management costs.
To address this issue, the possibility is that those living abroad (whether they live in the European Economic Area, Convention or any other foreign country) can claim their monthly allowance (HUF 28500) up to the minimum old-age pension applicable in Hungary on a quarterly basis or Semi-annually or annually in lieu of the usual monthly payment in Hungary.
In this case, however, the pension is paid retroactively (for example in the case of a quarterly transfer, the benefits accrued between January 1 and March 31 are paid in March, in the case of an annual transfer, the accrual is paid in December against the period from January 1 to December 31).
Transfer to the account of a Hungarian financial institution or postal payment can only be made in HUF currency.
When transferring to the account of a financial institution held abroad in the territory of one of the countries of the European Economic Area or a Contracting State, the transfer may be requested in currencies that are circulated by Magyar Nemzeti Bank, provided that the financial institution accepts the specific type of currency from the requested country.
