When planning for retirement, many people ask themselves what counts as years of service. It is not only a classic full-time job, but also other periods that can significantly affect the resulting amount of the pension. Understanding these rules is crucial for anyone who wants to be in control of their future.
This is because periods other than full-time work are also included in the pension insurance. The system takes into account various life situations that can affect the total number of years required to receive a pension. That is why it makes sense to understand the basic principles.
Which periods count towards retirement?
Not only classic work is counted in years of service. In fact, these are all periods during which a person was pension insured. The period of pension insurance is: the period of compulsory pension insurance, the period of voluntary pension insurance, the period of service as a policeman, professional soldier and preparatory service soldier, if during this period the policeman, professional soldier and preparatory service soldier did not acquire the right to a long-service pension and were not granted a disability pension, disability pension or partial disability pension, the period of receiving a disability pension after December 31 2007 until reaching retirement age or until early old-age pension is awarded, if the disability pension was granted and paid by the Social Insurance Company, the period for which additional pension insurance premiums were paid, i.e. the period when the natural person had interrupted insurance, when he was included in the register of unemployed citizens or continuously prepared for a profession by studying at a high school or university after reaching the age of 16, the period that was obtained before January 1, 2004 as a period of employment and replacement period.
The system also takes into account periods when a person does not work. Some periods can be counted additionally if pension insurance is paid for them. This concerns, for example, studies after the age of 16, the period of registration at the labor office or the time when the insurance was interrupted.
The pension insurance period also includes the period of study after completing compulsory schooling at an apprenticeship, high school and university. The period of study is evaluated until December 31, 2003 and is proven by an apprenticeship certificate, high school diploma, university diploma or confirmation from the school from when – how long the study lasted.
The period of study obtained after December 31, 2003 is evaluated only if the insured person was voluntarily pension insured or paid extra for the insurance for this period.
The pension insurance period also includes studies at high school and university until December 31, 2003, and is taken into account for the calculation of the pension amount. Anyone who has studied at a high school up to this time is counted. Be careful, however, if you want your studies to be counted, you must submit documents about your studies. If you do not do so, these years will not be counted.
Since January 1, 2004, studies at high school and university are no longer a period of pension insurance and are therefore not evaluated for the calculation of the amount of the pension. However, the student can pay voluntary insurance premiums after reaching the age of 16, in which case the studies will be evaluated for pension calculation. The insurance premium for the period of study can also be paid additionally, e.g. upon retirement.
Years obtained before 2004, when different rules applied, are also taken into account. On the contrary, if no contributions were paid for a person in a certain period and he did not even have an assessment base, this time will not be included in the pension. In some situations, however, the insurance is also paid by the state.
It is especially important whether the levies have been paid for the given period. Without it, most years will not count towards retirement. It is the payment of the pension insurance that decides whether the specific time is counted towards the years of service at all.
Entitlement to old-age pension
As he also informs Social Insurance Companythe right to an old-age pension arises when a person reaches retirement age. At the same time, he must have worked for at least 15 years, during which he was pension insured. It does not have to be just a classic job, as a person can also pay for insurance himself as a self-employed person or voluntarily, or in some situations the state pays for it.
However, the retirement age is not the same for everyone. It is lower, for example, for women who have raised children, while it is reduced by six months for each child. If education is not taken into account for a woman, it can also be taken into account for a man.
Early retirement also applies to people who worked in more demanding professions included in privileged job categories, if they meet the specified conditions.
Entitlement to an early retirement pension
In the Act on social insurance the conditions of early retirement are set relatively clearly, even if they seem complicated at first glance. The right arises for a person who has been pension insured for at least 15 years and at the same time has no more than two years before the regular pension, or has already fulfilled the required number of years of service.
At the same time, the amount of the pension must exceed the limit set by law, which depends on the subsistence minimum. This is 1.6 times the amount of the subsistence minimum.
It is also important that an early pension must be applied for and the entitlement arises no earlier than the day the application is submitted. At the same time, it is not possible to receive it if a person is still compulsorily insured, for example as an employee or self-employed person. If he were to start working again and pay contributions during the collection period, the pension payment may be interrupted.
In the case of early retirement, not everything is counted in years of service. Only the periods when a person actually worked or ran a business and contributions were paid are counted. On the contrary, the time during unemployment, study, retraining or the period that a person has paid back is not taken into account. Therefore, the conditions for early retirement are stricter than for regular retirement.
The required number of years is not fixed, but is calculated as the retirement age minus 23 years, so it varies according to the year of birth.
