Belgium Agreement and foreign pension information 106-04007000

In Belgium, federal legislation requires the compulsory payment of social security contributions, usually through deductions from paid employment.

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

Social security coverage is divided into salaried workers, the self-employed and civil servants, including social assistance for those with low income. The legislation is the responsibility of the Belgian federal government but administration, collection of contributions and payment of pensions is the responsibility of the various institutions and semi-public institutions.

The Agreement with Belgium started on 1 July 2005. There are no previous versions.

For Australia:

Department of Social Services (DSS)

For Belgium:

Federal Public Service Social Security (FPS)

Federale Overheidsdienst Sociale Zekerheid (FOD)

Service Public Federal Securite Sociale (SPF)

For Australia:

Services Australia

For Belgium:

Old-age and survivors insurance:

Salaried employees:

• National Pension Office (NPO)
• Bureau conventions internationals (BCI)
• Bureau Internationale Overeenkomsten (BIO)

Self-employed:

• National Institute for the Social Security of the Self-employed (NISSE)
• Rijksinstituut voor de Sociale Verzerkeringen Zelfstandigen (RSVZ)
• Institut National d'Assurances Sociales pour Travailleurs Indépendants (INASTI)

Disability Insurance:

General invalidity:

• National Institute for Sickness and Invalidity Insurance (NISII)
• Rijksinstituut voor Ziekte en Invaliditeitsverzekering (RIZIV)
• Institut National de l'Assurance Maladie Invalidité (INAMI)

Marine merchants:

• Hulp en Voorzorgskas voor Zeevarenden (HVKZ)
• Caisse de Secours et de Prévoyance en faveur des Marins (CSPM)

For Australia:

International Services (CIS)

Note: the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is responsible for anything relating to double coverage. See Double coverage/certificates of coverage.

For Belgium:

See Competent institutions

Note: Belgium has a large number of independent funds, which manage health and disability insurance. These funds have partnered into several larger agencies, for example, the National Federation of Socialist Health Insurance Funds. Liaisons related to invalidity insurance should still be received from, and directed to, RIZIV/INAMI as the liaison body and supervisor of all health funds.

Under the Agreement with Belgium, 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 21.1).

For more information on bulk data exchange, see Exchange of information with agreement countries and the United Kingdom.

The following liaison form is completed by International Services (CIS) and sent to Belgium:

• Australia/Belgium Agreement on Social Security - Liaison Form (AUS187BE)

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

Belgium does not use a liaison form.

For Australian claims, usually a covering letter and copy of the Belgian pension Notice of Grant (NOG) that is issued to the customer or screen print of Belgian pension record is received.

For notifying the result of a Belgian pension claim, usually a copy of the Belgian pension notice that is issued to the customer is received.

For general liaison requests, usually a response written on the Australian liaison form request or screen print of Belgian pension records is received.

Note: Belgium Notices of Grant (NOG) generally only advise the net rate and do not specify the arrears period. A separate notice issued after the NOG, which provides this information should be requested from customers, see Life certificates, notices and documents on the Belgian payments tab.

Australian claims under the Belgium Agreement may be lodged in some other Australian social security agreement countries.

Belgium will accept claims for Australian benefits under other Australian social security agreements. Note: the customer must also satisfy any other rules under the other agreement and other social security law provisions.

See Claim Lodgement Matrix (CLM).

Samples of forms, foreign documents and translations are available through the International Programme. See the Resources page for a link.

Under the Administrative Arrangements, upon request, each country will send copies of existing medical reports to the other institution.

Medical examinations may also be undertaken upon request. There is no provision for reimbursement of costs.

Note: although covered, for DSP, the wording of the Agreement only applies to a person who became disabled while an Australian resident, that is, would be autonomously qualified. This means that a person should not need to use the Agreement to claim DSP.

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

The Agreement with Belgium includes double coverage provisions. Certificates for coverage are used to confirm exemptions.

See Double coverage/certificates of coverage in International Social Security Agreements.

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 directly
• In Australia - the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website

For general information on taxation, including issuing Australian Payment Summaries, see the Taxation information in International Social Security Agreements.

Tax treaty

Australia has a double tax agreement with Belgium. Pensions are only taxable in the country in which the person is resident. Any tax deductions from one country may be used as a credit against any tax payable in the other country.

Tax deductions

Belgian pensions may be taxed at source:

• bedrijfsvoorheffing
• précompte professionnel

The gross rate of Belgian pension (before deductions) is maintained.

Belgian tax year

Belgium generally uses the calendar year (1 Jan - 31 Dec) as the tax year.

Any queries about:

• Health insurance coverage in the other country - the customer should be directed to contact the tax/health insurance authority in the other country, and
• Medicare coverage - should be directed to Medicare, see Medicare phone numbers.

For general information on health insurance and Medicare coverage, see Health Insurance/Medicare information in International Social Security Agreements.

Australia has a reciprocal health agreement with Belgium.

Pensioners in Belgium usually have a health insurance deduction taken out of their Belgian pension:

• ZIV-bijdrage (Ziekte en invaliditeitsverzekering)
• Cotisation AMI (Assurance Maladie Invalidité)

The gross rate of Belgian pension (before deductions) is maintained.

The official languages of Belgium are Dutch, French and German. English is also widely used. Forms for agreement purposes are in Dutch and French.

Naming conventions and pronunciation for:

• Dutch
• French

Telephone country code is +32.

French speaking person, house street address delivery

Monsieur Firstname Surname [Addressee]

Rue du Vivier 7 [Street name + street number]

1000 Bruxelles [Postcode + town]

Dutch speaking person, block of flats street address delivery

Dhr First Name Surname [Addressee]

Zennestraat 32 bus 20 [Street name and number + ‘Bus’ or ‘Bte’ + Box No]

9800 Deinze [Postcode + Town]

Post Office Box delivery

First Name Surname [Addressee]

Boite Postale 15 [Post Office Box]

1000 Bruxelles De Broukere [Postcode + municipality + Post Office name]

Note:

• Only use one language in the address
• Use the terms bte, bus, box, boîte in front of the box number

Belgium have recognised same-sex marriage since 1 June 2003, they were the second country in the world to legalise it.

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

• Age Pension
• Disability Support Pension (DSP) for severely disabled

Notes:

• although covered, for DSP, the wording of the Agreement only applies to a person who became disabled while an Australian resident, that is, would be autonomously qualified. This means that a person should not need to use the Agreement to claim DSP. Autonomous DSP (severely disabled) may transfer to the Agreement to extend portability, see Portability
• additional child amounts, also known as Overseas Child Component and Additional Child Payment, are included in the proportional rate calculation. See Rate calculation

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

Forms to claim an Australian payment in Belgium can be obtained by contacting the Belgian authorities or International Services (CIS). Forms can also be downloaded from the Services Australia website. See the Resources page for a link.

Forms required:

Note: available in bilingual English/Dutch and English/French.

For all payments:

• AUS140BED/AUS140BEF - Australian pension claim - Agreement with Belgium
• Mod(IA)BED/Mod(IA)BEF - Income and assets - Dutch/French

Note: there are no DSP related forms.

Forms can be lodged at any Belgian social security office.

Under the Administrative Arrangements, the Belgian Liaison Agency will verify the customer’s identity and send the claim to CIS with a form specifying periods of coverage in Belgium and information regarding Belgian pensions, see the Exchange of Information and liaison forms on the General information tab for the Belgian 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, a resident of Belgium or another agreement country that accepts claims under other agreements (Article 15.1, and
• physically present in Australia, Belgium or that third country (Article 15.2)

Note: although covered, for DSP, the wording of the Agreement only applies to a person who became disabled while an Australian resident, that is, would be autonomously qualified. This means that a person should not need to use the Agreement to claim DSP. Autonomous DSP (severely disabled) may transfer to the Agreement to extend portability, see Portability.

Australian claims under the Belgium Agreement may be lodged in some other Australian social security agreement countries.

Belgium will accept claims for Australian benefits under other Australian social security agreements.

Note: the customer must also satisfy any other rules under the other agreement and other social security law provisions, including portability. For example, DSP can be claimed in a third country but has an ongoing residence requirement. Therefore, if the claimant is:

• living in the other country, DSP cannot be paid
• temporarily in the other country, DSP may generally be paid for the period it is portable under domestic legislation

See Claim Lodgement Matrix (CLM).

The normal rules for working out the date a claim is 'made' and the start day apply to a claim under the Agreement with Belgium, however, the Agreement also allows:

• the date of lodgement of a claim for an Australian payment in Belgium to be used as the date of lodgement in Australia (Article 23.1), and
• the date of lodgement of a Belgian pension as the date of lodgement of the corresponding Australian payment (FP claim = AU claim) if:
• the person declares a period of residence in Australia at the time of claiming the Belgian payment (Article 23.2)

See Claims for Australian payments under International Agreements) and Start Day (CLK) for coding assistance.

The Agreement allows:

• totalisation of periods of qualifying Australian residence and periods of coverage in Belgium to meet any minimum periods to qualify for an Australian pension , for example, 10 years for Age Pension (Article 16.1)
• the total of any non-continuous Belgian periods of coverage to be considered to be continuous to meet any continuous residence requirement to claim an Australian pension (Article 16.2)

Notes:

• Overlapping Australian residence and Belgian periods of coverage are only counted once (Article 16.3)
• Policy advice is that adjoining periods of Australian qualifying residence and Belgian periods of coverage, with a break of up to 3 months in between, can also be considered to be continuous

Belgian periods of coverage means any period recognised as such by the Belgian legislation, including any ‘equivalent’ periods, as certified by the Belgian authorities. Both ‘Periods insured’ and ‘Equivalent periods’ are to be used when totalising for Australian qualification purposes.

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 16.4(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 16.4(b)).

The Agreement allows the ongoing residence requirement for DSP to be met if the customer continues to reside in Belgium (Article 5).

The Agreement with Belgium (Article 17.1) refers to the overall rate calculation contained in the Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 (S12(1)).

This means:

• customers paid under the Agreement who are outside Australia are paid a proportional rate according to their Australian Working Life Residence (WLR)
• the Rate Limiter/Limited Rate applies, and
• additional child amounts are included. These amounts are paid automatically as a component of the Australian pension if the customer is qualified (S14A SS(IA)A 1999)

The proportional rate also includes the proportionalisation of Belgian pensions (Randisi concession) for use in the income test (Article 17.1). The rate of foreign pension used in the income test is the customer’s Australian WLR divided by 300. The Agreement determines the Randisi proportion (300 months). This is different to the legislation that is used to determine the proportional rate (420 months in most cases).

Autonomous customers who are paid a proportional rate and in receipt of a Belgium pension will also have the Randisi concession applied to their Belgium pension (Article 17.2).

Although a person may be qualified for an Australian payment or portable outside Australia, if the customer has no WLR the rate of payment outside Australia will be nil.

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

When a person is paid a proportional rate under an agreement, Rent Assistance (RA) cannot be paid. Other add-ons such as Energy Supplement and Pension Supplement are payable under normal add-ons portability rules. See Portability of Add-ons.

Examples of when a customer is paid a proportional rate includes (but not limited to):

• permanently overseas
• temporarily overseas longer than 26 weeks for age pension
• former resident transferring to the agreement for portability
• resident in Australia and paid a proportional rate due to the comparison rate

Returns to Australia:

The proportional rate continues to apply for the first 26 weeks of a temporary return to Australia (Article 17.3).

If there is no change to the country of residence, any movement is considered temporary and a review is set to automatically change the rate after a continuous period of 26 weeks. If a delegate determines that a person has changed their country of residence, coding the Country of Residence (CRES) screen will automatically apply the correct rate calculation.

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 paid a direct deduction rate (Article 17.4). That is, all Belgian payments covered by the Agreement, including social welfare payments, are not assessed as income but will be deducted dollar-for-dollar from the maximum rate of the Australian payment before the application of the income or assets test.

The Agreement includes a Comparison Rate in Australia, that is, the higher of direct deduction or proportional rate is paid (Article 17.6).

Note: it is important to remember that if a person is paid a proportional rate inside Australia they can be paid all components of the Pension Supplement, the Energy Supplement but no other add-ons such as Rent Assistance. However, all other parts of the agreement proportional rate calculation apply such as additional child amounts and the proportionalisation of the foreign pension in the income test.

Note: customers on a Comparison Rate who are accruing Australian WLR, for example, DSP, should be reviewed every 12 months from the date of lodgement.

The rate paid from grant of a new claim is based on where the customer is present, even if resident in the other country and irrespective of the 26 week temporary departure provision.

For example, a person who is resident in Belgium lodges a claim while temporarily in Australia:

• If granted from a date when they were or are still in Australia, they will be paid the inside Australia rate from grant. The rate will swap to the proportional rate from the date they leave Australia.
• If granted from a date when they were again outside Australia, for example, early claim, they will be paid the proportional rate immediately.

Departures from Australia:

The inside Australia rate continues to be paid for the first 26 weeks of a temporary departure from Australia (Article 17.5).

The Agreement with Belgium specifies the rate calculation that applies 'where an Australian pension is payable, whether by virtue of this Agreement or otherwise, to a person who is outside Australia' (Article 17.1). See Outside Australia in Rate calculation.

Note: 'or otherwise' refers to autonomous customers.

Payments exempt under the Agreement are generally exempt for autonomous customers (section 8(8) (zc) Social Security Act 1991).

See Assessment and exempt payments on the Belgian payments tab.

Under the Agreement, provided the customer remains qualified, Australian payments are payable indefinitely in both countries, that is, for temporary or permanent absences (Article 5.1).

Portability to third countries for a customer paid under the Agreement is the same as for an autonomous customer leaving Australia (Article 5.3). See Portability of payments.

If necessary, a customer in receipt of an autonomous payment covered by the Agreement may be able to transfer to the Agreement if they are in Belgium when their normal portability period expires. The portability under the Agreement then applies, see Portability.

Note: the customer must meet the transfer requirements and satisfy any payment specific requirements under the Agreement, for example, being severely disabled for DSP.

Once a customer transfers to the Agreement, they are then considered to be paid by virtue of the Agreement and all provisions of the agreement apply, including rate of payment. See Rate Calculation.

See Transfer to international social security agreements.

A person who has sufficient Australian qualifying residence (or an exemption) can only transfer from the Agreement to autonomous 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,

Customers who transfer to autonomous may be affected by the former resident provisions if they leave Australia again within 2 years of becoming an Australian resident. See Former resident provisions.

For Australian payments made into bank accounts outside Australia. See Overseas Bank Account Details (OBAD).

Retirement Pension (AGE)

• Rustpensioen
• Pension de retraite

Invalidity Pension (INV)

• Arbeidsongeschiktheid
• Incapacité de travail

Suvivors Pensions (SUR)

• Overlevingspensioen
• Pension de survie

Supplementary payments:

• Aanvullende uitkeringen/Aanvulling
• Prestations complémentaires

Note: a number of other supplements may be paid subject to certain conditions. May be paid as ongoing payments or a lump sum.

Holiday payment

Note: salaried workers only werknemer/salarié

• Vakantiegeld
• Pécule de vacances

Annuities

• Rente
• Ouderdomsrente (AGE)
• Weduwenrente (SUR)
• Rentes
• Rente de viellesse (AGE)
• Rente de veuve (SUR)

Heating Allowance

• Verwarmingstoelage
• Allocation de chauffage

The requirement to claim Belgian pensions applies to Belgian AGE and SUR.

Note: INV only applies to a person who was disabled in Belgium.

Belgium may request employment periods for a customer. The response is to be provided via the AUS187BE liaison form. Employment periods are to be manually recorded in section 4 - Australian periods for the purposes of Article 12 instead of the auto-populated WLR details. In the Other information text box note that employment periods have been provided.

The Eligibility and coding tab contains detailed information on Belgian payments that are subject to CFP legislation.

Claim packs available: AGE/SUR.

Although Belgian invalidity payments are covered, the wording of the Agreement only applies to a person who became disabled while subject to the Belgian legislation. This means that a person should not need to be claim in Australia and so there is no screening for Belgian invalidity.

Claim packs for Belgian payments can be issued through the Foreign Pension System (FPS).

Specific requirements for Belgian claims:

All claims:

The customer is to complete and provide the following:

Note: available in bilingual English/Dutch or English/French.

• Application for a Belgian retirement or survivor’s pension (AUS-B2)

SUR claims:

• death certificate

Requests for Additional Information

Where information provided with the claim for Belgium pension is incomplete. Belgium will send requests for information in Dutch or French, direct to customers.

Return of foreign pension claim

Under the Administrative Arrangements, Belgium forms can be lodged in Australia at any service centre.

• 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 via internal mail to International Services (CIS). See Processing a foreign pension claim

International Services (CIS) only:

CIS will complete the following and attach to the foreign pension claim to send to the agreement country. See Agreement Liaison Detail (ALD) for method of transmission.

All claims:

Australia/Belgium Agreement on Social Security - Liaison Form (AUS187BE)

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

Enquiries regarding claims for Belgian payments in Belgium or a third country should be directed to the Belgian social security authorities. See Authorities, Institutions and Liaison Agencies on the General information tab.

Belgian payments may be paid by direct deposit in Belgium or Australia.

Note: any queries about the non-payment of Belgian pension should be directed to the Belgian pension authorities, see Authorities, Institutions and Liaison Agencies on the General information tab.

Customers receive 12 monthly payments per year. Coded as Freq: 'MTH'.

Payments from the fund for salaried employees (RVP-ONP) also receive a Holiday Payment in May each year.

Note: holiday payment is not paid in the year of grant and only a proportion is paid in the year following grant before becoming a regular amount. It is usually the same as a regular monthly payment but may vary.

Where known, the annual amount of holiday payment must be divided by 12 and added to the Basic Amount: field of the main pension.

A number of supplements are paid annually in July so, where known, should also be divided by 12 and added to the Basic Amount: field of the main pension in the same way.

Payments into Australia are paid in Australian dollars. All foreign pensions must be recorded in the source currency (Euro). Official statements provide the foreign currency amounts.

Note: amounts recorded in source currency on the FPD screen must not be changed to the AU dollar amount.

Belgian payments are increased ad hoc when the average cost of living (CPI) index exceeds specified levels.

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

Belgian AGE/INV/SUR are:

• proportionalised according to the customer’s WLR before being included in the income test where the Australian rate is proportional, including Agreement and autonomous customers (Article 17.1), and
• ordinary income in Australia for autonomous customers and direct deduction if paid under the Agreement (Article 17.4)

Each member of a couple is deemed to receive half of the total amount received by the couple (Article 17.7).

Note: where a person in receipt of AGE is granted SUR, only one payment is received. In these cases, the rate of AGE should be updated and 'FIN-NOM' recorded against SUR in the Foreign Claim Details (FGD) screen.

Any supplementary payments under the old-age, survivors or disability insurance in addition to the main pension is assessed in the same way as AGE/INV/SUR.

See also Other known payments.

Amounts that are treated as a direct deduction under an agreement are exempt from the income test (section 8(8) (zc) Social Security Act 1991).

Note: payments that are exempt from the income test are included in a direct deduction rate, for example, under an agreement rate calculation or for Special Benefit (SpB).

There are no exempt payments under the Agreement with Belgium.

The Eligibility and coding tab contains detailed information on the coding of Belgian payments covered by the Agreement.

Note: Belgian pension may also have a social insurance deduction:

• Solidariteitsbijdrage
• Cotisation de solidarité

See also Double coverage/Taxation and Healthcare on the General Information tab.

The gross rate of Belgian pension is maintained.

Supplementary payments

Added to the Social Welfare Amt: field of the main pension.

Note: if paid as annual payment, included after the conversion of the monthly amount into Freq: 'MTH'. See Payment Method and Indexation (CPI).

The Agreement includes embargo provisions (Article 27.2) 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 lump sum arrears.

Note: for bonus payments frequencies, see Payment method and Indexation (CPI).

Arrears periods are generally not provided by Belgium. Customers will generally receive a separate statement (Decompte/Afrekening) after the Notice of Grant (NOG).

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

Life certificates are issued by Belgium to selected customers and may not be required each year. Certificates are in English.

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

For information on assisting 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 in between January and March each year and when holiday payment is made in May.

Note: Belgian Notices of Grant (NOG) generally only advise the net rate. Arrears periods are generally not provided by Belgium. Customers will generally receive a separate statement Decompte/Afrekening) after the (NOG).

Payments into Australia are paid in Australian dollars. All foreign pensions must be recorded in the source currency (Euro). Official statements provide the foreign currency amounts.

Note: amounts recorded in source currency on the FPD screen must not be changed to the AU dollar amount.

• Pensioendienst voor de Overheidssector (PDOS)
• Service des Pensions du Secteur Public (SdPSP)

Note: payments are actually made by the Treasury:

• Centrale Dienst der Vaste Uitgaven-Pensioenen (CDVU)
• Service central des dépenses fixes-Pensions (SCDF)

Assessment: Ordinary income.

Coding: Type: 'OPN' on Foreign Pension Details (FPD) screen.

Pension paid for periods of employment in the Belgian Congo

Assessment: Ordinary income

Coding: Type: 'OPN' on Foreign Pension Details (FPD) screen

For assistance with coding other generic benefits paid by the Belgian Government (including by funds not covered by the Agreement), see Foreign pension coding.

For assistance with any other income received from Belgium, see Foreign income and assets.