Hungary’s Human Resources Minister Zoltán Balog and US Ambassador to Hungary Colleen Bell have signed an agreement regulating social security issues between the two countries. According to the agreement, citizens will be eligible for pensions regardless in which country they have earned the right for it, while those citizens who only spent less than five years in the partner country, will only have to pay contributions in their home country.
The agreement ensures fairer conditions for people who have worked in both countries, the US Ambassador said. It eliminates parallel payment of social security contribution in the two countries, the Colleen Bell said. Creating more transparent conditions for the take-up of jobs is in the interest of both the United States and Hungary, she said. “This is the culmination of six years of hard work and permanent consultations between the governments of the two countries. Such a high-level cooperation indicates mutual respect among our countries, as well as the joint desire to create a more transparent and sustainable business environment”, she added.
“The aim of the agreement is to mutually increase the quality of life for citizens in both countries” – Zoltán Balog explained at the signing ceremony. The agreement establishes favorable regulatory environment on social payments by Hungarian citizens staying for various reasons in the United States and by US citizens in Hungary, Balog said. It also includes regulations on pensioners and employees living with disabilities, he added. He noted that talks started in 2008 for the agreement which affects more than 10,000 people.
A statement by the US embassy said that when the agreement takes effect, US and Hungarian employers and their employees will contribute to either the US or Hungarian social security system, but not both. “Before this Agreement can take effect, the U.S. Congress and the Hungarian Parliament must review it. The United States has similar social security agreements with 25 other countries, including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, and many other countries in the European Union,” it added.
via hungarymatters.hu and kormany.hu photo: Gyula Bartos – kormany.hu