Orphan´s pensions

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR the entitlement to ORPHAN’S PENSION FROM THE PENSION INSURANCE SYSTEM

OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Eligibility criteria for an orphan’s pension

A dependent child is entitled to an orphan’s pension if he/she is the survivor of the death of his/her parent or adopter who

1) up to the day of his/her death was receiving an old age pension, or a disability pension, was entitled to an early old age pension or

2) up to the the day of his/her death fulfilled the eligibility criteria for entitlement to an old age pension or

3) up to the the day of his/her death achieved the number of years of pension insurance required for entitlement to a disability pension or

4) he/she died due to a work accident or an occupational disease.

A dependent child who is in foster care after the death of his/her fosterer or such fosterer’s spouse is not entitled to an orphan’s pension.

Entitlement to the orphan’s pension occurs on the day of the parent or adopter’s death, which is the day of death stated in the death certificate or the day given as the day of death (or the day on which the missing person did not survive) in a lawful court ruling on the parent or adopter who is reported as dead.

The amount of orphan’s pension is 40% of the pension to which the parent (adopter) of the child was or would have been entitled.

Limitation of action for the orphan’s pension

Entitlement to the payment of an orphan’s pension or its part falls under the statute of limitations after the expiration of a three-year period from the day on which the orphan began receiving the orphan’s pension or its part. The given period does not begin to run during the orphan’s pension proceeding or during the period in which the participant of this proceeding is dependant on a guardian but this guardian has not yet been appointed.

Termination of the entitlement to an orphan’s pension and its payment

Entitlement to the payment of the orphan’s pension ends, although it still lasts after the adoption of a dependent child. Upon the abolishment of this adoption, the entitlement to the pension occurs again. Entitlement to the orphan’s pension also ends on the day on which the child is no longer a dependent. Entitlement to the payment of the orphan’s pension is renewed from the day on which the child again becomes a dependent.

Entitlement to the orphan’s pension ceases

• on the day of entry into force of a court ruling according to which the dependent child intentionally caused the death of his/her parent or adopter, or
• after reaching the age of 26.

A child is a dependent

• until the end of his/her compulsory school attendance (compulsory school attendance ends after the end of the child’s tenth year of school but at the latest after the end of the school year in which he/she reaches the age of 16),
• during the period from the end of the child’s compulsory school attendance until reaching the age of 26 if
  • he/she is attending a systematic vocational training program,
  • he/she can not attend a systematic vocational training program nor can he/she perform a gainful activity due to a disease or health state which requires special care according to the law, or
  • he/she is unable to attend a systematic vocational training program nor can he/she perform a gainful activity due to his/her long term unfavorable health state (for this purpose, the health status of the child is assessed by the medical assessor of the Social Insurance Agency).

A child is not a dependent if

• although he/she attends a systematic vocational training program, he/she has already achieved a university education of the 2^nd degree and he/she was granted a university degree or
• he/she receives a disability pension due to his/her decreased ability of more than 70 % to perform a gainful activity.

The entitlement of a natural person who fulfilled the eligibility criteria for entitlement to an orphan’s pension and the eligibility criteria for the payment of a orphan’s pension ends on the day of his/her death, unless Act No. 461/2003 Coll. on Social Insurance as amended by later regulations states otherwise.

Claiming the orphan’s pension

A proceeding on the claiming of an orphan’s pension from the pension insurance system of the Slovak Republic begins on the basis of a written claim of a natural person (the claimant) who is claiming the pension and its payment.

If the claimant’s residence is on the territory of a different state, to which the coordination regulations of the European Union pertain, or on the territory of a contractual state, the request for an orphan’s pension from the pension insurance system of the Slovak Republic is in principle submitted through the institutions of the social insurance system of that state; this also applies to the situation if the claimant does not claim a pension from the pension insurance system of the state, on the territory of which he/she has his/her residence.

If the claimant’s residence is on the territory of a state, to which the coordination regulations of the European Union do not pertain, or which is not a contractual state, the request for an orphan’s pension from the pension insurance system of the Slovak Republic is claimed at the Headquarters of the Social Insurance Company in Bratislava; or the claimant can file for it by completing the form “Request for Pension Filled Abroad” (see the Forms on slovak page: http://www.socpoist.sk/formulare-ohc/48016s).

 Documents necessary to claim the pension from the Pension insurance scheme of the Slovak Republic
 Declaration of Honor

Transfer of an orphan’s pension

Pensions are paid in advance to a state, to which the coordination regulations of the European Union pertain, in regular monthly periods and always on the regularly repeated periodicity pay dates. In the case of a state, to which the coordination regulations of the European Union do not pertain, pensions are paid in regular three-month intervals always postponed after the submission of the “Life certificate of the pension beneficiary”.

The periodicity pay date is determined for each person who is granted a pension benefit by the Social Insurance Company Headquarters.

An Orphan’s pension may be transferred

• to the bank account (maintained in a domestic bank or the branch of a foreign bank) of the pension beneficiary
• in cash if the pension beneficiary so chooses
• on the account of husband (wife) of the pension beneficiary in a domestic bank or in a branch of a foreign bank but only provided that the pension beneficiary submits a written claim, the husband (wife) as an account holder agrees with this type of a transfer and the pension beneficiary has the right of disposal to this account during the time of his/her receipt of the pension.