State Healthcare Contributions
Jan 18th 2023, 6:11 am
#1
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Location: North east Croatia
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State Healthcare Contributions
I realise that my situation is not typical so members may not know the answer to this question. When I lived in Hungary I was not working but was also not on a pension. My only income was from renting out my house in UK. As such I needed to make monthly contributions to be included in the state healthcare system. My question is, would I have had to make these payments for the rest of my life or would they have ended when I reached retirement age? If they would end on reaching retirement age, would that be Hungarian retirement age or UK retirement age?
I am asking on here after asking the same question on a Croatia group. I only wanted clarification of the rules but got treated as some kind of scrounger who wants to sponge off the Croatia economy. I also realise that Hungary may have different rules to Croatia but I would still be interested to know how it works.
I am asking on here after asking the same question on a Croatia group. I only wanted clarification of the rules but got treated as some kind of scrounger who wants to sponge off the Croatia economy. I also realise that Hungary may have different rules to Croatia but I would still be interested to know how it works.
Jan 18th 2023, 6:56 am
#2
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Location: Arcos de Valdevez "Onde Portugal se fez"
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Re: State Healthcare Contributions
Upon reaching UK state pension age you would be eligible to apply for cover under the S1 arrangements, whereby the UK becomes responsible for your healthcare costs provided no other EU member state is :
Planning your healthcare abroad
That's the general UK EU-wide arrangements and presumably means the end to any contributions from you in any of the EU member states whenever the UK becomes responsible for your healthcare.
If you move to an EU country or Switzerland and you receive a UK State Pension, you may be entitled to state healthcare paid for by the UK.
You'll need to apply for a certificate of entitlement known as an S1 form. S1 forms show that your state healthcare is paid for by the UK if you live in an EU country or Switzerland.
If you’re applying for an S1 form in Switzerland, you'll need to satisfy additional nationality criteria to be eligible. You'll only be issued with an S1 in Switzerland if you're a UK national, a Swiss national, an EU citizen, a refugee or a stateless person, or if you're the family member or survivor of someone who has one of these nationalities or statuses.
If you receive both a pension from the country you now live in and your UK State Pension, you cannot get an S1 form. This is because the country you live in will be responsible for your healthcare.
If you receive your UK State Pension as well as a pension from an EU member state, but are now living in a different EU state, the country to which you paid contributions toward your pension for the longest period becomes responsible for your healthcare.
You'll need to apply for a certificate of entitlement known as an S1 form. S1 forms show that your state healthcare is paid for by the UK if you live in an EU country or Switzerland.
If you’re applying for an S1 form in Switzerland, you'll need to satisfy additional nationality criteria to be eligible. You'll only be issued with an S1 in Switzerland if you're a UK national, a Swiss national, an EU citizen, a refugee or a stateless person, or if you're the family member or survivor of someone who has one of these nationalities or statuses.
If you receive both a pension from the country you now live in and your UK State Pension, you cannot get an S1 form. This is because the country you live in will be responsible for your healthcare.
If you receive your UK State Pension as well as a pension from an EU member state, but are now living in a different EU state, the country to which you paid contributions toward your pension for the longest period becomes responsible for your healthcare.
That's the general UK EU-wide arrangements and presumably means the end to any contributions from you in any of the EU member states whenever the UK becomes responsible for your healthcare.
Jan 18th 2023, 12:58 pm
#4
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Location: Arcos de Valdevez "Onde Portugal se fez"
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Re: State Healthcare Contributions
You're welcome.
I don't know why anybody would see fit to criticise you for asking a straightforward question like that. It's quite obviously supposed to work in this manner for precisely the opposite reason you were given, ie that it relieves Croatia (or wherever else you may have been given the right to reside) of any cost burden when responsibility for your welfare lies elsewhere because of where you contributed during your working years. You're not diddling anybody out of anything.
Hope you gave them some back!
I don't know why anybody would see fit to criticise you for asking a straightforward question like that. It's quite obviously supposed to work in this manner for precisely the opposite reason you were given, ie that it relieves Croatia (or wherever else you may have been given the right to reside) of any cost burden when responsibility for your welfare lies elsewhere because of where you contributed during your working years. You're not diddling anybody out of anything.
Hope you gave them some back!
Jan 18th 2023, 6:26 pm
#5
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Posts: 2,772
Re: State Healthcare Contributions
I'm living here on NHS pension (retirement age 60) and private pension, one more private pension to come and then later UK government pension. Not had any luck trying to get hungarian health care provision via S1. I met a brick wall from every UK government agency despite UK government websites stating as I received Disabled Living Allowance I should be entitled to S1. So paying for private health care. Not used any private health care yet!!!
Scrounger - that's got me thinking ...... do any Hungarians in my village think of me as a scrounger .... probably do or don't! I don't tell them anything about my private financial affairs or property I owned in the UK. A small circle of family and friends do know a few details but I hope they haven't divulged too much. They do not know the property value or the exact area I owned property.
It's your business renting out your UK property and living off the rental income. I'd have done that if I could be bothered to have to organise maintenance, etc. or chase up the estate agency on any issues.
Scrounger - that's got me thinking ...... do any Hungarians in my village think of me as a scrounger .... probably do or don't! I don't tell them anything about my private financial affairs or property I owned in the UK. A small circle of family and friends do know a few details but I hope they haven't divulged too much. They do not know the property value or the exact area I owned property.
It's your business renting out your UK property and living off the rental income. I'd have done that if I could be bothered to have to organise maintenance, etc. or chase up the estate agency on any issues.
Last edited by FenTiger; Jan 18th 2023 at 6:29 pm.
Jan 18th 2023, 8:35 pm
#6
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Jan 19th 2023, 4:48 am
#7
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Re: State Healthcare Contributions
I repeatedly asked for S1 form to fill in before that date but got passed from one UK government agency to another. I also applied via Hungary but they wrote back to say my application was suspended. My Hungarian wife received same letter but as she worked in Hungary before she moved to UK she was able to join.
Jan 19th 2023, 6:13 am
#8
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Location: Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen Hungary
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Re: State Healthcare Contributions
As far as I understand. until you reach UK State retirement age, even though you may live in another country, (not necessarily in the EU) you can continue to pay your contributions into the UK as if you are still living in the UK.
I'm aware this might have changed but this certainly was the case when I lived in South Africa. It might be worth enquiring from the appropiate UK department if this is still correct.
I'm aware this might have changed but this certainly was the case when I lived in South Africa. It might be worth enquiring from the appropiate UK department if this is still correct.
Last edited by Sachina; Jan 19th 2023 at 6:30 am.
Jan 19th 2023, 6:49 am
#9
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Posts: 2,772
Re: State Healthcare Contributions
As far as I understand. until you reach UK State retirement age, even though you may live in another country, (not necessarily in the EU) you can continue to pay your contributions into the UK as if you are still living in the UK.
I'm aware this might have changed but this certainly was the case when I lived in South Africa. It might be worth enquiring from the appropiate UK department if this is still correct.
I'm aware this might have changed but this certainly was the case when I lived in South Africa. It might be worth enquiring from the appropiate UK department if this is still correct.
With regards to enquiring with the relevant UK department I get passed from one department to the other! I will have to wait until retirement age, three and half years to go, then try again.
On a separate topic I never found DWP helpful. I used to get communication support grant from DWP when I was working but then when it was up for renewal they reduced it. Luckily, my NHS employers sympathised with my situation so paid for additional support. Others I knew who were getting similar grants received no cut-backs! Year on year they got more money to pay for things. I have been told it was a DWP decision not to approve S1 for myself!
Ah, well, you win some, you lose some, so I'm just going to get on with my life and not let DWP or any other UK government try to make my life harder!
Last edited by FenTiger; Jan 19th 2023 at 7:00 am.
Jan 19th 2023, 7:33 am
#10
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Joined: Jul 2014
Location: Arcos de Valdevez "Onde Portugal se fez"
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Re: State Healthcare Contributions
There was a change to eligibility for S1 cover for people in receipt of certain exportable benefits (not the state pension, though). This took effect as of 1st Jan 2021 but didn't affect anybody already covered by the arrangements. If you didn't have a S1 by then, you couldn't subsequently get one, even if previously you would have qualified.
Whatever the reason for your being passed about / refused prior to that date doesn't (to the best of my knowledge) apply in the case of people in receipt of a UK state pension. I haven't seen any complaints on the matter on any of the country forums I frequent (chiefly Portugal but also regularly dip in to France, Spain and Italy for a nose on general EU matters post Brexit).
