Barry Foster

Hello I have recently moved to Hungary and am looking for advice with regards to private health insurance. I am 57 and have no plans to work. I have just received my 5 year residency visa and address card. I am in good health but as we all know you never know what's around the corner.As I am not at official retirement age or on benefits I believe I cannot get the Hungarian TAJ healthcare unless you know otherwise so I need to look for suitable cover. If you have had experience in purchasing and pricing this will be very helpful. I Have no health issues so a standard cover is needed.Many thanks in anticipation. Barry.

Peter_in_Hungary

As a resident are you sure you can't get a TAJ card ? did you ask at the Nemzeti Egészségbiztosítási Alapkezelő, (NEAK) office ? Are you in receipt of any pension? I started my draw down pension when I was about 60, not because I needed the pension (I didn't have to take anything after the initial 5k to trigger the start) but that gave me the status of 'pensioner' which put me in a different category for the TAJ system which meant I didn't need to pay any more contributions. But the rules may have changed now.

Another option - if you are employed and then go unemployed you are entitled to pay your own TAJ contributions - so get a job (for a couple of months) then resign and pay your own TAJ after that.

Health warning... the above is just my understanding - I might be wrong

Barry Foster

Hello Peter thanks for your response, I contacted my lawyer in Budapest who dealt with my immigration application who said I would not qualify because I wasnt a student or retired.. Interestingly I draw down on my private pension only upto the yearly uk tax allowance to prevent paying additional tax.Though I am technically retired and drawing down on my pension pot I wouldn't have thought I would be applicable as retirement age here is 65. This I didn't mention to my lawyer that i was drawing down, I will ask the question to find out if this information will then trigger me being able to use the TAJ system. I will also see about the employment route then hand in my notice option. My lawyer said i could pay into the TAJ but would cost 100 thousand forints a month rather than the 7,000 forints a hungarian would be able to pay in if they were not employed. The lawyer said the social security system was poor here and not worth the money paying into. It also seems you have to pay into the TAJ for 2 years to get the same level of cover as Hungarians which doesn't sound too great anyway.
Do you have i dependent health care cover here, or how do you find the TAJ (Hungarian health care system works for you). I have been recommended by my lawyer a company called TestŐr” who i will look into.
Thanks for your help and anyone else who has information would be greatly appreciated. Barry.

scrubbedexpat142

My situation (as was) - lucky enough to take early retirement (at 60, 8 years ago) when I retired here. Winged it (ie payed for a very small bit of heath care privately) in my first year - then, joined the Hungarian (TAJ) scheme, at a cost (then, of approximately 7000Ft) per month - bearing in mind that I was not working and live(d) solely off pension income. I guess you can do the same. Obviously if you work here (or whatever) then the contribution is different.

Barry Foster

Hi Patrick yes I am in the same situation living off savings and pension. Have you used the TAJ healthcare and if so how did you find the service I might be able to work for a short period to qualify for TAJ if it is worth it
I have met a lady from here on line so early days for me seeing if I want to make Hungary my big life step...
Btw any regrets moving to Hungary what have been the good and bads for you.

Peter_in_Hungary

There is UK / Hungary tax agreement that predates Hungary joining the EU and survived Brexit which says that tax on rental income is charged in the country of the property and pension is taxed in the country in which it is received which means that your drawdown is taxed in Hungary and has nothing to do with your UK tax. Pensions in Hungary are zero rated for tax - so no tax to pay unless your pension is from a UK government employment job when it is taxed in the UK. But note the UK state OAP is tax free here. (The agreement also covers paid work income tax but this gets messy if you have cross boarder employment).

I believe the eligibility for TAJ card on retirement is based on being retired (= receiving a pension) rather than any specific age.

I have been here for close to 27 years and have been part of the TAJ system all of that time. My experience of the health system here has been good - and better than what I am hearing about the NHS from my siblings. E.g I live about 10 mins drive from the town and recently when an ambulance needed to be called it took 15mins to get here. If I need to see my GP then I just rock up to the surgery (no appointment needed) and the wait is usually between 10 - 30 mins. Hospital in-patient treatment is adequate to good. I needed some physiotherapy recently and I went to the Hospital on a Wednesday to arrange it and they said "can you start next Monday". We have also once taken taken advantage of spa treatment for age related creaking bones for an absolute minimum fee and paid travel, I know people who do this as an annual event. Try doing that on the NHS. Dentistry here is a bit like the UK in that you pay for more than basic care but here you can get a NHS dentist easily and ours is by appointment more so that he knows who is coming rather than weeks wait. We have always had an appointment for the next surgery. Non NHS work is usually within a week depending on the treatment.
So all up I think it is much better than what I am hearing about the UK NHS.

scrubbedexpat142

I joined the TAJ card system after 1 years residence.
My wife has had 2 occasions to use the public health system this year, first after breaking her arm and now to have cataracts treated. The experience has been excellent, in both cases, way better than the NHS as was and, apparently, now is.

No regrets moving here. Life is very easy, the people (the most important factor for me) are great. Bureaucracy initially troubled me but I have grown to appreciate how thorough it is - and we have never come across "computer says no" syndrome.

Bear in mind that we live, by choice, in Budapest. Living in the countryside (as most of this forum's members do) is obviously very different.

Go for it!

ETA: Re cataracts. Dr apologised for the 2 month wait for the op! How good is that.
Re​​​​​ GPs. Ours closed down about 6 months into covid. I had been concerned about being able to get the vaccinations. No need, the system picked us up & allocated a GP to my wife and made appointments for me at Semmelweis Uni over the road.