On 1 January 2012, the pension system radically changed by two main organising principles: Pension on one's own right can be granted only to persons who have reached and are above the retirement age, aside from two exceptions. The exceptions: pensions granted to women with at least 40 years of entitlement time, and pensions (under the retirement age) granted to the former members of armed forces born before 1955. New awards of the latter may not be granted from 2012.
The different kinds of early old-age pensions granted before 2012 to those who were under the retirement age (such as early old-age pension, old-age pension with age-preference, early retirement pension, miners' pension, pension for certain artistic activities, etc.) have been transformed to benefits under retirement age, service provision (for former members of armed forces born in 1955 or after), temporary annuity for miners and annuity for ballet dancers. New awards of these benefits - under certain conditions – may be granted temporarily from 2012. After reaching the retirement age, these provisions (collective term: age-related benefits) are classified automatically as old-age pensions above retirement age.
The second significant change is the introduction of two new benefits, the disability and the rehabilitation benefit, for persons with reduced working capacity. At the same time, the disability pension, the accident-related disability pension, the regular social annuity and the temporary annuity were abolished. New awards of rehabilitation annuity may not be granted from 2012 and the existing annuities are running out of the pension system by degrees. Disability pension of persons who reached the retirement age before 2012 is provided as old-age pension from 2012. Temporary annuity was transformed to disability benefit, and – depending on the age of recipients and the degree of their disability - disability pensions under the retirement age and regular social annuity were transformed to disability benefits or rehabilitation benefits.
Recipients of pensions, benefits, annuities and other provisions: Those, who receive financial benefits disbursed by the Pension Payment Directorate. Before changing the pension system in 2012, the term "Pensions, pension type benefits" was in use.
Approving resolutions of new pensions and other benefits: resolutions of state administrative procedures embodying the positive appraisal of claims to grant pension or other benefit.
Full provision: main and supplementary provisions together.
Main provision: there is ranking among various benefits if several benefits are paid to the same person. The ranking up to 31 December 2011: pension, annuity, pension-type social benefit. Within the pensions the ranking is as follows: pension on own right is at the first place and within that, old-age and old-age-type pensions are on the first place. Ranking from 2012: old-age pension, age-related benefits, benefits of persons with reduced working capacity, survivors' pension benefits, agricultural co-operative benefit, accident annuity, disability annuity, spouse supplement, other provisions.
Supplementary provisions: in case of receipt of more provisions the provision transferred beside the main provision.
Pensions and benefits on one's own right: collective term for old-age pensions, age-related benefits and benefits of persons with reduced working capacity in the pension statistics.
Full old-age pension shall be granted to the person who reached the retirement age stipulated in law and has at least 20 years of service time. In addition to old-age pensioners above the retirement age, there are two groups classified as old-age pensioners as well, despite they are under the retirement age. They are the women with at least 40 years of entitlement time and the former members of armed forces born before 1955. After reaching the retirement age, they are classified automatically as old-age pensioners above retirement age.
Pension granted to women with 40 years of entitlement time: Irrespective of age, full old-age pension shall be due to any woman who has at least 40 years of entitlement time, that covers the gainful activities and the child-raising activities as well, and at least 32 years are obtained by means of gainful activities. The period of eligibility prescribed as 32 years shall be reduced if the claimant has raised at least 5 children in her own household.
Age-related benefits (benefits due to persons under retirement age): benefits granted to persons who are under the retirement age. These benefits have replaced the different kinds of early old-age pensions from 2012. The age-related benefits (benefit under retirement age, service provision, temporary annuity for miners, annuity for ballet dancers) are classified automatically to old-age pensions after reaching the retirement age.
Benefits of persons with reduced working capacity: collective term for benefits provided to persons with reduced working capacity in the pension statistics. They include the disability benefit, the rehabilitation benefit and the miners' health impairment annuity.
Disability benefit: a health insurance benefit which is payable to persons with reduced working capacity who satisfy the required entitlement conditions. At the time of introduction the previously granted 1st and 2nd degree disability pension, the temporary annuity, the 3rd degree disability pension and the regular social annuity of those who reached the age of 57 years were transformed to disability benefit. New awards of disability benefit may be granted if the claimant's state of health is maximum 60% and the rehabilitation is not possible. For those who are in the same state of health but their rehabilitation is possible the benefit may be granted provided that they reach the retirement age within 5 years. The amount of the newly awarded benefit depends on the state of health and the possibility of rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation benefit: a health insurance benefit which is payable to persons with reduced working capacity who satisfy the required entitlement conditions. At the time of introduction the previously granted 3rd degree disability pension and the regular social annuity of those who did not reach the age of 57 years were transformed to rehabilitation benefit. (The final form of their provision will be defined after a complex health check.) New awards of rehabilitation benefit may be granted if the claimant's state of health is maximum 60% and the rehabilitation is possible. Rehabilitation benefit is paid for the period of the rehabilitation, but for 3 years at most. The amount of the newly awarded benefit depends on the state of health and the possibility of rehabilitation.
Pension by own right: old-age, disability and accident disability pension and pension on employment policy grounds and rehabilitation annuity.
Source of data: Central Administration of National Pension Insurance (CANPI), National Office for Rehabilitation and Social Affairs (NORSA), Directorate-General for Social Affairs and Child Protection (DGSACP).
Sick-pay data contain data of employees, self-employed persons and members of enterprises, including data on the Hungarian State Railways. Up to 1998 data exclude of those individual contracted with National Health Insurance Fund Administration. From 1999 data of professional staff of armed forces, law enforcement organizations and national security services are excluded.
Sick-pay: it is a compensatory payment for income loss, paid for the period of inability to work during the insured status, but for one year at longest. The employee may receive sick-pay only after utilization of the sick-leave days, except for child nursing sick-pay and occupational accidents, when sick-pay is due from the first day of sickness. Entitled is a person who became unable to work during his/her insurance period and is obliged to pay a sickness insurance contribution stipulated by the Act on Compulsory Health Care Insurance.
Sick-pay days: those of the days of unfitness to work for which the insured person received sick-pay (in calendar days).
Sick-pay case: cases of unfitness for work for which sick-pay was paid and which started during the accounting period.
Child nursing sick-pay is payable to the insured parent who have to care for her/his sick child, therefore incapable for work.
Accident sick-pay is payable to an insured person or a person entitled to accident benefit who becomes unfit for work by consequence of an industrial accident or occupational disease. Self-employed persons conducting supplementary economic activity and employed pensioners are only entitled to accident sick-pay.
Sick-leave: an employee is entitled to 15 days' sick-leave per calendar year to cover periods of unfitness for work occurring by reason of sickness. The employer bears the expenses of sick-leave. (Between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 1995 sick-leave was set as 10 working days.)
Source of data: National Health Insurance Fund Administration (NHIFA), Ministry of Human Capacities (MHC).
Average number: quotient of the number of benefit days during the period and number of calendar days in the period.
Number of recipients: number of persons claiming benefit for at least one day during the period.
Infant-care benefit: Before 2015 this provision was called pregnancy and confinement benefit. The mother is eligible for that wage-depending and insurance-based provision for the period corresponding to that of maternity leave (168 days) if she had been insured for at least 365 days during the two years preceding birth and gives birth during the period insured or within 42 days following the cessation of insurance or beyond the 42 days while receiving accident sick-pay or within 28 days after that payment.
Maternity allowance: Any woman, who participates at least four pregnancy counselling sessions (concerning premature birth one session is required) is eligible for maternity allowance.
Child-care benefit (gyed): It is a wage-depending provision entitled to the insured parent, paid after the expiry of the maternity leave (168 days) for a period according to the length of time the parent had been insured during the two years before the birth, but up to the child's 2nd birthday, if the parent was insured for at least 365 days during the two years before the birth. In case of twins the eligibility period shall be extended by one year. Full-time attendee at an institution of higher education could be entitled to the so-called "graduate gyed" in respect of her child who was born after 31 December 2013, up to the child's 1st birthday. This type of provision was abolished in 1996, and relaunched on 1 January 2000.
Child-care allowance (gyes): A fixed amount provision provided by individual title for the parent, the foster parent or the guardian raising the child in her/his own household up to the child's 3rd birthday (in case of twins up to the end of the year they reach the compulsory schooling age) or up to the 10th birthday of a child who is chronically ill or physically or mentally disabled. The grandparent can be additionally entitled to the allowance if the child reached 1st year of age, is reared in the parent's household and the parents resigned from the child care allowance on the grandparent behalf.
Child raising support (gyet): A fixed amount provision provided by individual title for the parent, the foster parent or the guardian rearing three or more minor children and the youngest child is between the ages of 3 and 8 years.
Family allowance: A provision granted by the state monthly to promote the upbringing and schooling of the child. From 30 August 2010 it is granted in two forms: as child-care assistance benefit for non-school age children and for chronically ill or severely disabled children who are over the age of 18 years and do not attend school and as schooling support for children in the compulsory schooling age, for children who are over it but still studying in public educational system up to their age of 20 years, for chronically ill or severely disabled children up to their age of 23 years. Increased amount of family allowance: It is paid on persons who are chronically ill or severely disabled.
Father's leave: The father is entitled to 5 days rest leave (7 days in case of twins) in the first 2 months after the birth, even in case of stillbirth or death of the child.
Source of data: National Health Insurance Fund Administration (NHIFA), Hungarian State Treasury (HST), Central Administration of National Pension Insurance (CANPI), Ministry of Human Capaities (MHC).
Taking the child under protection: if parent is not able or does not want to eliminate endangerment of the child through the optinal use of basic provisions, however, it is presumable that, with assistance, development of the child within a family environment may be ensured, the notary of the local goverment or the guardian's offices shall take the child under protection. Until 2012 give the data the notary the local government, from 2013 the guardian's offices. Until 2012 give the data the notary the local government, from 2013 the guardian's offices.
Minors under guardinaship: children not supervised by parents, and for whom the Public Guardianship Authority assigned a guardian. The concept includes also minors living in children's homes, in another family of with a third person.
Persons under truesteeship: persons with incapacity or limited capacity placed under interdiction by court.
Setting up home: fincancial support which aims to facilitate temporary or permanent housing of young persons leaving short-term or long-term foster care.
Professional child protection provision: within the framework of professional child protection, home-like provision shall be ensured for the child temporarily placed or taken into foster care, further after-care for young person as well as full provision for the child requiring professional provision for other reasons. The provision can be provided in children's homes, at foster parents or in nursing and care institutions.
Minor: a person who has not passed his or her 18th birthday, except married persons.
After-care provision: this provision may be ordered by the guardianship office at the request of a young adult who was previously under child protection if he/she is unable to provide for himself/herself, is in full-time education or is waiting for admission to a residential social institution. After-care provision can be required up to the age of 25. After-care provision shall be provided by foster parents, children's homes, after-care homes and in outside places (especially sublets) maintained by the afore-mentioned institutions or by the competent district professional child protective services.
Basic child welfare provision: in case of these provisions, the parental custody remains in each case. Types: child welfare services, infant nursery, family day homes, sure start children centre, child minding at home, substitute parent, temporary home of families.
Infant nursery: Day-care institution providing professional care and education for children under three years of age and living in families. A child over three years of age whose level of physical or mental development is not sufficient for nursery education may remain in infant nursery care until 31 August following his or her fourth birthday. Children with special educational needs may attend the nursery service until 31th of August of the year they reach the age of 6. Due to the legislative changes from January 2017, the nursery care system was transformed. Apart from the fact that family day care has ceased, four new types of infant nursery has appeared: infant nursery, mini infant nursery, workplace infant nursery, family infant nursery.
Enrolled children: the number of children admitted to nurseries – entered on the records – as of 31 December up to 1992 and as of 31 May from 1993 onwards.
Qualified child care assistant: a person holding a certificate of baby and infant care.
Out of school care: privides day-time supervision care, education, food and activities for children in accordance with their age living in families. Data include 98-99 percent of all out of school care institutions.
Family assistance service: basic benefit for persons or families that are endangered or in crisis owing to social or mental health problems.
Recipients of family assistance service: Family assistance services may be used through personal contact. Provided services – on the request of the applicant as well as his/her legal representative – may be used in a voluntary and cost free way.
Child welfare service: a service performing child welfare tasks. Its types are: independent child welfare service provider, child welfare service, child welfare centre.
Recipients of child welfare services: persons who take services to solve social, mental hygiene, life style or financial problems. Services are voluntary and free of charge on the request of the applicant or his/her guardian. Recipients: persons receiving social basic care based on care plan, who are placed under child protection and who receive after-care. From 2010 data include children in professional care provision too. Data do not include minors receiving special care. Every child is registered once, either according to the status on 31 December or, if the care was finished during the year, the child is registered by the status of the last form of care.
Basic social services: by organising the basic social services, local governments assist socially disadvantaged persons to maintain an independent life in their own home or dwelling, as well as to resolve problems arising from their health or mental condition or for some other reason.
Domestic care: basic social service provided to persons being unable to care for themselves in their home as well as to psychiatric patients, disabled persons and addicts who, due to their condition, need help in performing the tasks necessary for independent life.
Day care institutions: institutions ensuring daytime shelter, catering, social relations and meeting basic hygiencic needs for people living in their own home or for homeless people. Several types of care can be provided in one institution.
Long-term residential social institution: institutions providing continuous care on a permanent basis, day and night accommodation, nursing, care or rehabilitation for people who are in need of social support.
Home for the aged: long-term social institution providing nursing and care for persons over retirement age who do not require regular hospital treatment. Persons over 18 years of age who, owing to illness, are unable to look after themselves are also eligible for admittance to homes for the aged.
Home for the disabled: long-term social institution providing nursing, care or/and rehabilitation for disabled persons who can only be cared for, educated, trained and employed within institutions. Young people and adults must be cared for separately in such homes.
Home for psychiatric patients: llong-term social institution providing nursing, care or/and rehabilitation for psychiatric patients who are not in a condition representing a danger, do not require regular hospital treatment, and are unable to look after themselves because of their health and social condition.
Home for addicts: long-term social institution providing nursing, care or/and rehabilitation for persons who require treatment stabilizing and improving mental and somatic conditions, and who are temporarily unable to care for themselves, but do not require compulsory institutional care.
Home for homeless persons: long-term social institution providing nursing, care or/and rehabilitation for persons who cannot be provided with a place in temporary shelters or rehabilitation institutions, and require a higher level of nursing or care for reasons of age and health.
Short-term residential social institution: institution providing full care for a maximum of one year with the exception of the temporary shelter and night shelter of the homeless people.
Temporary home for the aged: social institution providing temporary home for elderly people or sick people over 18 years of age who are temporarily unable to look after themselves in their homes because of illness or other reasons.
Temporary home for disabled persons: social institution providing temporary home for disabled people who cannot be cared for by their families or whose temporary accommodation is necessary in order to relieve the burden on their families.
Temporary home for psychiatric patients: social institution providing temporary home for psychiatric patients who temporarily cannot be cared for by their families or in other institutions but do not require long-term institutional or hospital care.
Temporary home for addicts: social institution providing temporary home for addicts diagnosed by psychiatrist or addiction specialist who temporarily cannot be cared for by their families or in their surroundings.
Temporary shelter for homeless persons: social institution for temporary accommodation of homeless people who are able to care for themselves by means of lodging and social work.
Night shelter for homeless persons: social institution providing night shelter for homeless people who are able to care for themselves and to keep the rules of peaceful coexistence.
Other home: homes which can't be classified by any of the above-mentioned types. Their numbers have decreased from 2004 and then they ceased to exist because of the methodological change.
Regular social assistance: is an income supplement in the form of cash, provided by the local government of the settlement. Its aim is to guarantee a minimum standard of living for those who have no income. On 1 July 2006 the conditions of the provision and the way of calculation of the amount of support changed. Before that the local government awarded regular social assistance to a person who was over 18 years of age, was of active age, and had lost at least 67 per cent of his or her working ability or received blind persons' benefit, or to a person who was of active age but not in employment if their subsistence was not provided by other means. Under the new terms, only one person in a family is entitled to the support. The assessing of the entitlement and the amount of the assistance is based on the income projected to the consumer unit instead of the previous income per capita. The consumer unit is the rate which shows the structure of consumption within a family. The first major member of the family and the disabled child's rate is 1.0 while that of the companion (spouse) and a child is lower (0,9–0,7). The amount of support is variable and supplements the family's effective total income up to the limit of the entitlement. On 1 January 2009, the support system for people of active age who are disadvantaged in the labour market changed. According to the new regulation, they are eligible to the so-called active age provision, and they can receive regular social assistance or availability support as benefit in cash. Regular social assistance can be provided under new titles of the social act. In addition to people whose health deteriorated, those are also eligible for the support who are over the age of 55 or who rear a minor under 14 years of age and are unable to ensure institutional daytime care for the child. Instead of the title "not-employed", the assistance can be continuously provided under the title "supported job seeker" introduced on 1 January 2007. Since 1 January 2009 new applications for regular social assistance under title 'supported job seeker' cannot be accepted by local governments, but previously granted title continues to exist. Local governments can expand the scope of eligibility criteria for regular social assistance in their own territory by issuing a decree since 1 January 2010.
Availability support: Persons who are eligible for active age provision and fit for work but not employed for a reason, which is not attributable to themselves, may receive availability support. Its monthly amount is equal to the current minimum old-age pension, which has been 28 500 HUF since 1 January 2008.
Nursing allowance: financial contribution to a major relative who nurses at home a person requiring long-term care. From September 2005 those who nurse disabled persons needed increased nursing receive a higher amount of nursing allowance, its amount is 30 per cent higher than the normal nursing allowance. From 1 January 2019 a part of recipients became entitled for child home care allowance.
Child home care allowance: The allowance was introduced on 1 January 2019. It can be provided to parents caring for their child unable for self-care due to serious disability or to chronic illness.
Old age allowance: financial support for elderly people who do not have income sufficient to ensure their own subsistence. Until 31 December 2005 the old age allowance is payable by local government to a person who is over the applicable retirement age and neither his own monthly income nor the per capita monthly income calculated by taking his own together with that of his spouse exceed 80 per cent of the current minimum old-age pension or 95 per cent in the case of a person living alone. From 1 January 2006 the amount of this allowance is differentiated by the law according to the marital status and age. Higher amount of old age allowance is provided for persons at 75 years of age and over and living alone if the person’s total income is lower than 130 per cent of the current minimum old-age pension.
Temporary assistance: the local government may provide emergency financial support to persons whose subsistence is endangered by extreme conditions or who are contending with temporary or permanent subsistence difficulties. Temporary assistance may also be provided in the form of non-bank interest-free credit; irregularly or on a monthly basis. The principal target group of the assistance contains persons unable to ensure subsistence for themselves or their families otherwise or who are in need of financial assistance because of occasional extra expenses, particularly expenses related to sickness or natural catastrophe.
Home maintenance support: the local government may provide benefit to a family or person whose conditions correspond to law (normative support), who are on debt attendance support, or correspond to the local government's decree (local home maintenance support) for regular expenses of housing. Normative support is payable to a person or a family whose per capita monthly income is less than 150% of the current minimum old-age pension if the home running expenses are more than 20 per cent of the total income of the household.
Debt Management Service: support in kind for those people who have difficulties in financing their home maintenance expenses and they are in debt (public utility bills, bank loans). There are two parts of the service: debt reducing assistance and debt management guidance. The assistance is provided by the local government if claimants’ income and housing conditions meet the criteria specified by the local government decree, they are ready to pay their remaining debt and take part in debt management guidance during the period of program.
Extraordinary child protection benefit: the local government provides extraordinary child protection benefit, of which amount is defined in local government decree, for a child who lives in a family contending with temporary subsistence difficulties or whose subsistence is endangered by extreme circumstances.
Funeral support: the local government may provide funeral support to a person who arranged the funeral for a deceased person despite not being obliged to do so, or who was a relative and obliged to do so but bearing the funeral expenses endangered his or her own or family’s subsistence.
Disability support: Financial support for severely disabled persons over the age of 18, who are unable to care for themselves or need permanent assistance from others.
Source of Methodology: Yearbook of welfare statistics 2008 (KSH, Budapest, 2009).
Comprises the statistical data of EU member states' social protection systems. Expenditure and receipts of social protection are collected according to the standard methodology for international comparison.
Social protection: Encompasses all interventions of public or private bodies intended to relieve households and individuals of the burden of a defined set of risks or needs, provided that there is neither a simultaneous reciprocal nor an individual arrangement involved.
Expenditure of social protection schemes: is classified by type, which indicates the nature of, or reason for the expenditure. The ESSPROS distinguishes four main categories of expenditure:
1. social benefits are resources, which are provided to beneficiaries in the form of cash or goods and services;
2. administration costs;
3. transfers to other schemes;
4. other expenditure.
Social benefits: Consist of transfers in cash or in kind by social protection schemes to households and individuals to relieve them of the burden of a defined set of risks or needs. Social benefits are classified by function and by type. The function of a social benefit refers to the primary purpose for which social benefit is provided, irrespective of legislative or institutional provisions. Defined risks or needs of persons or households in the ESSPROS:
1. sickness/health care;
2. disability;
3. old age;
4. survivors;
5. family/children;
6. unemployment;
7. housing;
8. social exclusion not elsewhere classified.
The type of benefit refers to the form in which the protection is provided. General classification of social benefits by main type: cash benefits, periodic, lump sum payments and benefits in kind.
Purchasing Power Standard (PPS): Shall mean the artificial common reference currency unit used in the European Union to express the volume of economic aggregates for the purpose of spatial comparisons in such a way that price level differences between countries are eliminated. 1 PPS thus buys the same given volume of goods and services in all countries, whereas different amounts of national currency units are needed to buy this same volume of goods and services in individual countries, depending on the price level.
Early estimation: estimation of ESSPROS main aggregates of expenditures by function in October after the reference year, estimation for 2018 provided by the Grant project on improvement of ESSPROS data collection funded by the European Union. It is compiled and published earlier the annual regular ESSPROS publication and is therefore based on a different methodology.
Source of methodology: Eurostat, ESSPROS Manual 2016.