Private Employee Benefits SLOVENIA 2014
Your Local Link to IGP in Slovenia: ERGO SLOVENIA VICTORIA-VOLKSBANKEN Versicherungs-AG (nowadays called ERGO Versicherungs Aktiengesellschaft) was founded in Austria in 1891 and is one of Austria s largest providers of employee benefits. VICTORIA-VOLKSBANKEN is a member of the ERGO Insurance Group. VICTORIA-VOLKSBANKEN, ZAVAROVALNA DELNIŠKA DRUŽBA was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Ljubljana and it was renamed in April 2012 to ERGO zavarovalnica, podružnica v Sloveniji and operates as a branch office in Slovenia. The branch office is subject to supervision by the Austrian Financial Market Authority. Key Products in 2013: Life CPI Personal Accident Car insurance Home insurance As of the beginning of 2013 all life products have been offered by ERGO Življenjska zavarovalnica d.d. (life insurance products provider). ERGO Življenjska zavarovalnica d.d., member of ERGO Insurance group, was established in 2008 as life insurance company in accordance with the Slovenian legislation and it is supervised by Insurance Supervision Agency of Slovenia. ERGO Življenjska zavarovalnica d.d. is mainly active in bank assurance, cooperating with local UniCredit Bank and Sberbank. Key Products in 2013: Life Unit linked Index linked Term life CPI Additional Riders on the existing Unit linked products (accidental death and accidental disability) Information on both ERGO companies in Slovenia can be found on the website: www.ergo.si 2014 International Group Program 1
Social Security Pension reform started on January 1, 2000 with the implementation of the Pension and Disability Act 1999; the reform will be in full effect by 2022 when the old system will totally cease to exist. The pension reform introduced a three-pillar system. The first (public and mandatory) pillar consists of earnings-related programs financed through social contributions and related to employment. Benefits are calculated in line with the pay-as-you-go mechanism and financed through contributions paid by employers, employees and through state compensatory contributions. Additionally pensioners with low incomes or incomplete contributions can apply for a pension income supplement. It is based on the means-tested logic. Social assistance is then given to people in need through the national pension. The second (private and voluntary) pillar is then represented by supplementary pension funds. Schemes must be approved by the Ministry of Labor, Family and Social Affairs. Supplementary mutual funds must be regulated by the Securities Market Agency, while for pension management companies and insurance companies the regulator is the Insurance Supervision Agency. The third pillar is private and voluntary, consists of individual savings in the form of life insurance and administered by insurance companies. Premiums paid to this third pillar are subject to tax relief. (Source: Slovenia The Reformed Pension System ; David Natali, Observatoire social européen, 2004) First Pillar - Types of Coverage Social Security refers to the following types of insurance: a) Old Age Pension b) Disability pension c) Survivors Pension d) Health e) Unemployment f) Maternity Leave Contributions: Fund Employee (%) Employer (%) Pension insurance 15.50 8.85 Health insurance 6.36 7.09 Unemployment 0.14 0.06 Maternity leave 0.10 0.10 Total 22.10 16.10 Key Benefits Old Age Pension Pensionable age is between 58 and 65 for men and between 58 and 63 for women (to be reached in 2022). Retirement from insured employment is necessary. Early pension: There is no early pension. Deferred pension: A deferred pension is possible 2014 International Group Program 2
State pension (means-tested): age 65 and does not qualify for social insurance pension or a pension provided by another country; the beneficiary must have stayed in Slovenia permanently for at least 30 years between his 15th and 65th birthday. The state pension is 33.3% of the minimum pension basis. Disability Pension Payable for the loss of all working capacity (total disability) or a greatly reduced capacity for the usual or similar work (partial disability). The insured must have at least 3 months of insurance coverage if younger than age 20; have insurance coverage in at least 1/4 of the years if younger than age 30 (1/3 of the years after age 20). The disability is assessed and reviewed by a board of medical examiners of the Institute for Pension and Invalidity Insurance of Slovenia. Survivor s pension The deceased had at least 5 years of insurance coverage or received or qualified to receive the old-age pension or disability pension. Eligible survivors are a widow(er) older than age 53; children younger than age 15 (age 26 if a student); a dependent mother older than age 53 and 6 months (age 54 in 2007) or disabled; a dependent father older than age 58 or disabled; and dependent grandchildren, and siblings. Health, Unemployment, Maternity Death benefit, Funeral allowance 2014 International Group Program 3
Private Benefits (second pillar) In connection with the Pension Reform of 2000 the government approved provisions on supplementary pension insurance as part of the new Pension and Disability Insurance Act (the ZPIZ-1). Compulsory supplementary insurance occupational schemes Insurance paid by employers for their employees who have work that is particularly difficult or is harmful to health, and duties that cannot be performed professionally after a certain age. The minimum contributions amount from 4.20 % to 12.60 % for men and women. Premiums paid by the employers are not subject to tax deductions. There are no deductions or ceilings. In payments, only annuities are possible no lump sum. Provider may be a compulsory supplementary pension insurance fund or a pension company that has been granted the consent of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. Collective supplementary pension insurance for civil servants The introduction of collective supplementary pension insurance in exchange for the wage increases waived in August 2003. Voluntary supplementary insurance Individual Independent decision as relief: deferral of personal income tax (the entire amount of the premium, but only in the settlement of income tax for the previous year), Policy holders can claim tax relief on premiums of 19.99 to 5.84% of gross earnings, up to an absolute maximum of 199.17 per month. The premiums are only paid by employees. There is no tax effect for the employer. Collective A minimum of 51% of a single employer s employees must be covered by the same pension plan Maximum tax relief: deferral of personal income tax in the entire amount of the premium, no need to pay Social Security contributions on the premium amount. Tax relief can be claimed on premiums of 19.99 to 5.84% of gross earnings, and up to an absolute maximum of 199.17 per month. Premium payment can be made: by the company alone, by the employee alone: in this case the company can deduct the sum from the employee s wages, the employee thus avoiding taxes and contributions on this sum and transferring the entire sum to his or her savings account, partly by the company and partly by the employee, employees paying the premium from their gross wages. The premiums represent company expenses for the employer, as they are directly deductible from the base for corporate income tax. 2014 International Group Program 4