Slovak Republic Agreement and foreign pension Information 106-04029000

In the Slovak Republic, national legislation requires the compulsory payment of social security contributions. The pension insurance covers most workers and the self-employed.

Contributions insure individuals against disability and death and provides for income in the form of a pension once the person reaches retirement age. Separate legislation covers unemployment and sickness.

The legislation is the responsibility of the Slovakian government but administration and payment of insurance pensions is the responsibility of the central pension insurance agency.

Social assistance legislation provides benefits for those with low incomes, generally managed by the local municipalities.

The Agreement with the Slovak Republic started one 1 January 2012. There are no previous versions.

For Australia:

Department of Social Services (DSS)

For the Slovak Republic:

Ministerstvo Práce, Sociálnych Vecí a Rodiny - Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family

For Australia:

Services Australia

Note: the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is responsible for double coverage provisions.

For the Slovak Republic:

Sociálna Poisťovňa - Social Insurance Agency

For Australia:

Centrelink International Services (CIS)

Note: the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is responsible for double coverage provisions.

For the Slovak Republic:

Sociálna Poisťovňa - Social Insurance Agency

Under the Agreement with the Slovak Republic, information held about customers may be exchanged between the liaison agencies to determine entitlement to payments under the Agreement and under either country’s domestic legislation (Article 20.1).

For information on bulk data exchange, see International Data Exchange Program and auto-indexation of foreign pensions.

The following liaison form is completed by Centrelink International Services (CIS) and sent to the Slovak Republic:

• AUS187SK - Australia/Slovak Republic Agreement on Social Security

For help with creating and completing the liaison form, see Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs and exchange of information.

These forms are completed by the Slovak Republic and are sent to Centrelink International Services (CIS):

KONTAKTNÝ FORMULÁR - LIAISON FORM (SK/AU3)

This liaison form is used in all communication from the Slovak Republic.

• Section 1 - Insured person: provides personal details
• Section 2 - Claimant:
• SUR only: provides personal details about the survivor
• Section 3 - Status of claim for Slovakian Pension: provides details of submitted Slovakian claims, including arrears
• Section 4 - Request for information: details information requested by the Slovak Republic
• Section 5 - Information provided: provides information on changes in circumstances
• Section 6 - Request for forms and other documents: request for documents including Australian working life residence and medical assessments
• Section 7 - Transmission of forms and other documents: details documents sent to Australia including claims and Slovakian creditable periods
• Section 8 - Confirmation: certification by the Slovakian competent institution

POTVRDENIE O HISTÓRII POISTENIA V SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKE - CERTIFICATE CONCERNING THE HISTORY OF INSURANCE IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC (SK/AU3A)

This liaison form provides information on Slovakian periods of coverage, generally for Australian claims.

• Section 1 - Insured person: provides personal details
• Section 2 - Claimant:
• SUR only: provides personal details about the survivor
• Section 3 - Verification: certification by the Slovakian competent institution
• Section 4/5 - Periods of pension insurance: provides details of individual periods of insurance and totals

Australian disability pensions are not covered by the Agreement. However, the Agreement allows the exchange of existing medical information and to undertake medical examinations on request (Article 20.3).

Existing Australian medical information is also sent on request or with Slovakian disability claims.

Generally, the liaison agency will contact Services Australia and request this be done. There is no provision for reimbursement of costs to either country.

The customer should contact Services Australia if they receive a direct request from the liaison agency to undertake a medical examination. The customer must be advised to undertake Services Australia’s foreign pension medical assessment process. Where the customer has already undertaken a medical examination based on a direct request from the Agreement partner without consulting Services Australia, the customer should contact the liaison agency to discuss any possible reimbursement options.

If a customer is claiming reimbursement of costs based on undertaking a medical examination requested by Services Australia for foreign pension purpose, consider all evidence provided. For example, if incorrect advice was provided to the customer by Services Australia that caused them to seek an independent medical examination which caused the customer to be out of pocket.

See Customer compensation and Act of Grace.

See Agreement Country Document Catalogue (ACDC) for sample forms and foreign pension documents.

The Agreement with the Slovak Republic includes double coverage provisions. Certificates of coverage are used to confirm exceptions.

Any enquiries about double coverage or certificates of coverage should be directed to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website.

Any queries about taxation of pensions or the requirement to lodge a tax return should be directed to:

• In the other country - the tax authority in the other country
• In Australia - the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website

See general information on taxation, including issuing Australian payment summaries.

Tax treaty

Australia has a double tax agreement with the Slovak Republic, which avoids the need for the customer to pay tax in both countries.

A person who is 'resident' in one country (according to the definition in the tax agreement) generally only pays tax on pensions in that country.

Tax deductions from income by one country may be allowed as a credit against tax payable in the other country.

Tax deduction

Slovakian pensions over a certain level may be taxed (daň z príjmu) at the source.

The gross rate of Slovakian pension, before any deduction, is maintained.

Slovakian tax year

The Slovak Republic uses the calendar year (1 January - 31 December) as the tax year.

Australia does not have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with the Slovak Republic.

For general information on health insurance and Medicare coverage.

Any queries about:

• Health insurance coverage in the other country - the customer should be directed to contact the health insurance authority in the other country, and
• Medicare coverage - should be directed to Medicare

Pensioners in the Slovak Republic may have a health insurance deduction (nemocenské/zdravotné) taken out of their Slovakian pension.

The gross rate of Slovakian pension, before any deduction, is maintained.

The official language of the Slovak Republic is Slovakian.

Telephone country code is +421.

Slovak Republic is official name of the country and Slovakia is a standard name used in common speech.

Street address

Title FirstName Surname [Addressee]

Bratislava 97 [Street name + number]

817 99 TRENCIN 1 [Post code + city/town]

SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Rural address

Title FirstName Surname [Addressee]

Soblahov [Village]

913 38 TRENCIN [Post code + district]

SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Post Office Box address

Title FirstName Surname [Addressee]

P O Box 1235 [Post office box + number]

811 02 BRATISLAVA 2 [postcode + city/town]

SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Note:

• A sorting code/number (following the city name) may be used for larger cities
• Post Office Box may be written as postova schranka, but P O Box is the correct text
• Postcode is aligned left before the name of the city/town. Five numbers, with a space after the third number. All Slovak postcodes begin with 0, 8 or 9. Post codes beginning with 1-7 are Czech Republic post codes

Czechoslovakia dissolved into the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic on 1 January 1993.

Entitlement to a pension is based on in which country the person’s last employer was registered. Where necessary, claims sent to the Slovak Republic will be sent to the Czech Republic authorities.

The Slovak Republic does not recognise same-sex marriage or civil unions.

For Australia, the Agreement with the Slovak Republic (Article 2.1) covers:

• Age Pension

Claims for Australian payments under International Agreements use the same methods and processes as domestic claims.

Forms to claim an Australian payment in Slovak Republic can be obtained by:

• downloading the relevant form from the Services Australia website. See Resources
• contacting Centrelink International Services (CIS)
• contacting the Slovakian authorities

Australian forms needed

The customer is to complete and provide the following:

All claims:

• AUS140SK - Australian Pension Claim – Social Security Agreement between Australia and the Slovak Republic
• Mod(iA)SK - Income and Assets – Slovak Republic

Forms can be lodged at any Slovakian social security office.

Under Section 9 of the Administrative Arrangements, the Slovakian liaison agency will:

• accept and date stamp the AUS140 form
• when required, provide a copy of existing medical information
• verify the customer’s identity and personal details, and
• send the form(s) and any supporting documentation to Services Australia with a liaison form specifying periods of coverage in the Slovak Republic and information regarding Slovakian pensions

See Exchange of information and liaison forms.

If a person is not an Australian resident and in Australia on the date the claim is made, they may use the Agreement to meet the residence rules for claims if, on that date, they are:

• an Australian resident or a resident of the Slovak Republic or another Agreement country that accepts claims for Australian pension under another Agreement (Article 12(a)), and
• physically present in Australia or the Slovak Republic (Article 12(b))

Claims under the Slovak Agreement

Claims for Australian payments under the Slovakian Agreement may not be lodged in other Australian Agreement countries.

See the Claim lodgement matrix.

Accepting other Agreement claims

The Slovak Republic will not accept claims for Australian benefits under other Australian social security agreements.

Claim lodgement consideration

There are no specific considerations under the Slovakian Agreement.

The normal rules for working out the date a claim is 'made' and the start day apply to claims under the Agreement with the Slovak Republic. However, the Agreement also allows:

• the date of lodgement of a claim for an Australian payment in the Slovak Republic to be used as the date of lodgement in Australia (Article 16.2), and
• the date of lodgement of a claim for Slovakian old age pension to be used as the date of lodgement of a claim for Australian Age Pension (Article 16.3) (FP claim = AU claim) if the customer:
• specifically requests, or
• declares periods of residence in Australia on the Slovakian claim

The Australian claim must be received in CIS within 12 months of the date of lodgement of the Slovakian claim (Article 16.4).

For coding help, see:

• Claims for Australian payments under International Agreements and
• Start Day (CLK)

The Agreement allows:

• totalisation of periods of qualifying Australian residence and periods of coverage in the Slovak Republic to meet any minimum periods to qualify for an Australian pension, for example, 10 years for Age Pension (Article 12.1)
• the total of any non-continuous Slovakian creditable periods to be considered to be continuous to meet any continuous residence requirement to qualify for an Australian pension (Article 12.2)

Note:

• Overlapping Australian residence and Slovakian periods of coverage are only counted once (Article 12.3)
• Adjoining periods of Australian qualifying residence and Slovakian creditable periods, with a break of up to 3 months in between, can also be considered to be continuous (Policy)

See Resources in International Social Security Agreements for examples of totalisation.

Slovakian period of coverage:

• means a creditable period, for example, a period during which contributions were paid, or any equivalent period, as defined in the Slovakian legislation
• where equivalent periods may include deemed periods, such as for child rearing or military service
• where both actual and deemed periods may be used when totalising for Australian qualification purposes, as long as they are certified and don’t overlap
• must be certified by the Slovakian Competent Institution

To be able to use the totalisation provisions, a person who is not an Australian resident at the date of lodgement must have at least 12 months Australian Working Life Residence (WLR) in Australia of which 6 months must be continuous (Article 12.4(a)).

Note: unlike WLR for rate, this period cannot be rounded.

No minimum WLR is required if the person is an Australian resident at the date of lodgement (Article 12.4(b)).

Customers residing in the Slovak Republic do not meet the ongoing residence requirement for DSP.

For customers outside Australia, the Agreement with the Slovak Republic refers to the overall rate calculation contained in section 12(1) of the Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 but specifically excludes additional chid amounts (Article 13.1).

This means customers paid under the Slovak Agreement have:

• a proportional rate paid according to their Australian Working Life Residence (WLR)
• the Rate Limiter/Limited Rate applied

The Agreement with the Slovak Republic does not include the proportionalisation of any Slovakian pension in the income test (Randisi concession).

Note: in some circumstances their partner’s WLR may be used. See Working Life Residence (WLR).

Non-proportional rate extension

Customers paid under the Agreement and temporarily outside Australia, cannot have their non-proportional portability rate extended if they are unable to return to Australia.

Returns to Australia

The proportional rate continues to apply for the first 26 weeks of a temporary return to Australia (Article 12.2).

• For returns to Australia before 9 June 2018, manually code the Temporary Return to Aust Ind on the Residence Savings (RSS) screen.

Customers in Australia under the Agreement are generally paid a direct deduction rate (Article 12.3).

The Agreement does not include a comparison rate in Australia.

Departures from Australia

The inside Australia rate continues to be paid for the first 26 weeks of a temporary departure from Australia (Article 12.4).

Portability under the Agreement

Under the Agreement, provided the customer remains qualified, Australian Age Pension is payable indefinitely in any country provided the person remains a resident of Australia or the Slovak Republic (Article 5.1).

Third country portability under the Agreement

There is no portability for a permanent departure to a third country for a customer paid under the Agreement.

If necessary, a customer who receives an autonomous payment that stops being payable due to portability reasons can transfer to the Agreement to continue payment if:

• the payment is covered by the Agreement
• the customer is able to meet the lodgement provisions of the Agreement

If transferred to the Agreement, all Agreement rules apply to the customer, including portability and rate of payment.

See Transfers to international social security agreements.

A person who has sufficient Australian qualifying residence (or an exemption) can transfer from the Agreement to autonomous only if they are an Australian resident and in Australia.

On return to Australia, system processing will automatically transfer to from the Agreement to autonomous if the person is an Australian resident who has only used the Agreement to extend their portability while outside Australia.

Former resident provisions may affect customers who transfer to autonomous if they leave Australia again within 2 years of becoming an Australian resident

Australian payments may be issued to customers outside of Australia. If the customer intends to be outside of Australia:

• long-term (12 months or longer), their Australian payment may be issued to an overseas bank account. See Overseas Bank Account Details (OBAD) for payment requirements by country
• for less than 12 months, payment will generally continue to their normal Australian bank account every 2 weeks

See Delivery of payments to Centrelink customers outside Australia.

For the Slovak Republic, the Agreement covers the pension insurance legislation.

Main payments

• Starobný dôchodok- Old Age Pension (AGE)
• Invalidný dôchodok - Disability Pension (INV)
• Pozostalostné dávky - Survivor Benefits (SUR)
• Vdovský/Vdovecký (Widow/er)
• Sirotský (Orphan)

The following known payments are paid by the Slovakian authorities but are not covered under the Agreement:

• Vianočného príspevku (Slovakian Christmas bonus)

For help with:

• Assessment of Slovakian pensions, see Assessment
• Coding of Slovakian pensions, see Eligibility and Coding

The requirement to claim Slovakian pensions applies to Slovakian AGE and INV.

• Customers may voluntarily claim SUR including for other family members using the SUR claim pack.

See Foreign pension claims.

Eligibility and coding of foreign pensions tab contains detailed information on Slovakian payments that are subject to CFP legislation.

Claim packs are available for AGE, INV and SUR.

Claim packs are issued through the Foreign Pension System (FPS). See Assisting customers to claim a foreign pension.

Specific requirements for Slovakian claims

The customer is to complete and provide the following:

All claims:

• ŽIADOSŤ O DÔCHODOK Z DÔCHODKOVÉHO POISTENIA SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY - CLAIM FOR PENSION BENEFITS FROM THE PENSION INSURANCE SYSTEM OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC (SK/AU2)

SUR only:

• Death certificate

Requests for additional information

If information provided with the claim for Slovakian pension is incomplete, Slovakia will send requests for information in Slovakian direct to customers.

• Under the Administrative Arrangements, Slovakian forms can be lodged in Australia at any service centre. See Processing a foreign pension claim.
• All foreign pension claims and supporting documentation must be scanned, and
• The original foreign claim form and copies of supporting documentation must be sent in paper form to Centrelink International Services (CIS). See Processing a foreign pension claim

Centrelink International Services (CIS) only:

CIS will complete the following or arrange for the following to be completed as necessary and attach the documents to the foreign pension claim to send to the agreement country. See Agreement Liaison Detail (ALD) for method of transmission.

CIS staff are required to sign the relevant section in the claim form.

All claims:

• AUS187SK - Australia/Slovak Republic Agreement on Social Security

For help creating and completing the liaison form, see Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs and exchange of information.

INV only:

• E213 – Detailed Medical Report. See Foreign pension medical assessments
• Copy of existing Australian medical information

Enquiries about claims for Slovakian payments in the Slovak Republic or a third country should be directed to the Slovakian social security authorities.

Slovakian payments may be paid by direct deposit in Australia.

Any queries about the non-payment of Slovakian pension should be directed to the Slovakian pension authorities.

Agreement pensions are 12 regular monthly payments but paid every 3 months in arrears.

Note: customers may receive a Christmas Bonus (vianočného príspevku) in early December.

Other benefits or private pensions are normally paid monthly or annually.

Slovakian pensions must be recorded in the source currency – Euro (EUR). Official statements provide the foreign currency amounts.

Amounts recorded in source currency on the Foreign Pension Details (FPD) screen must not be changed to the Australian dollar amount.

Note: payments into Australia are made in Australian dollars.

Slovakian payments are generally increased for Consumer Price Index (CPI, or cost of living) changes annually in January.

For information on bulk data exchanges of information with other countries, see International Data Exchange Program and auto-indexation of foreign pensions.

• directly deducted (Article 13.3) and ignored in the income test (Section 8(8)(zc) Social Security Act 1991) for customers paid under the Slovakian Agreement who are in Australia
• ordinary income (not proportionalised) for customers paid:
• under the Slovak Agreement who are outside Australia (Article 13.1)
• autonomously inside or outside Australia (Article 13.3)
• under another agreement other than the Slovak Republic or New Zealand who are inside or outside Australia

See Rate Calculation for when a direct deduction or proportional rate is applied.

Note: each member of a couple is deemed to receive half of the total amount received by the couple (Article 13.5)

These payments are exempt under the income test for customers paid under the Agreement or autonomously:

• Vianočného príspevku - Slovakian Christmas bonus

May be paid to customers in receipt of a Slovakian old age or early old age pension, disability pension, social pension or widow/er pension who reside in the Slovak Republic. Where a customer is in receipt of more than one eligible Slovakian payments, only one Christmas bonus will be paid.

This payment is made under the Slovakian Social Insurance Act (Zákon č. 592/2006).

Due to the non-standard amounts and uncertainty of payments, policy is that Slovakian Christmas Bonus is exempt from the income test.

The Agreement includes embargo provisions (Article 19.1) but they are not used.

Arrears debts for customers and their partners are raised under s1228A Social Security Act 1991 and recovered via normal methods under the Act. See Comparable Foreign Payment (CFP) lump sum arrears debts.

Where an arrears period is not provided, the arrears period end date can be assumed to be the end of the month prior to the date on the notice.

A contravention debt may also occur if the customer does not advise of the grant of their Slovakian payment within their notification period. See Foreign pension coding.

Life certificates (Potvrdenie o žití) are issued by the Slovak Republic every 3 months.

Slovakian Life Certificates can be certified by an officer of Services Australia.

For information on helping customers with life certificates, see Assisting customers to maintain an existing foreign pension.

Customers in Australia are sent notices at grant and will receive an annual statement.