Recovery of claims

Since 1 July 2017, an amendment to the Social Security Act has introduced a new way of recovering the Social Security Agency’s claims. This is a recovery carried out and managed by the Social Security Agency from its official authority using ‘administrative enforcement’.

The Social Security Agency recovers outstanding contributions, penalties, fines and overpayments in respect of benefits from debtors in three main ways: by administrative enforcement, through mandated administration, or via a bailiff, but always after the decision on the obligation to pay the corresponding claim has been delivered to them, which they may appeal against within 15 days. Debtors must always pay their obligations to the Social Security Agency’s account at the State Treasury. In the event that a demand is sent on behalf of the bailiff to pay the Social Security Agency’s claim, we recommend verifying the existence of your obligation directly at a Social Security Agency branch and, at the same time, verifying whether the account number given in the demand corresponds to the account that the bailiff has published on the website of the Slovak Chamber of Bailiffs.

The Social Security Agency may recover a debt from a natural person (individual) by:

• ordering the claim against a bank account
• deductions from wages
• deductions from benefits paid by the Social Security Agency.

The Social Security Agency may recover a debt from a legal person by:

• ordering the claim against a bank account.

In accordance with the new method of debt recovery, banks are required to communicate to the Social Security Agency the account numbers of debtors and the corresponding balances. The Social Security Agency has information on the employers of natural persons and on the receipt of benefits from its own sources.

The existing arrangements for the recovery of claims continue after 1 July 2017. The debtor may always apply to the Social Security Agency for authorisation of payment of the amounts due by instalments (repayment schedule) until recovery is initiated. If the debtor meets the conditions, the repayment schedule may be granted for a period of 24 months. Where bankruptcy is declared, including the discharge of an individual’s debt or authorised restructuring, the Social Security Agency also pursues claims in these proceedings. The same applies where a legal entity enters into liquidation. After the death of a debtor (natural person), the Social Security Agency lodges its claims in probate proceedings. In the event of suspicion of a criminal offence of evasion, non-deduction and non-payment of contributions, the Social Security Agency will file a criminal complaint.