With effect from the 1st of January 2014, there are some law changes in Hungary.
The main viewpoint is to incentive parents with young children, so that they can return to work with more favourable conditions at the same time.
According to the regulation of previous years, it was possible to claim only one allowance at the same time, however this rule has been changed from the beginning of the new year.
„Child-care benefit extra”
As a result of the change, it is possible to determine and pay more benefits for the parents at the same time, however the conditions of it is to have more than one child in the household and one of the children shall be born after the 31st of December 2013. However, only one of the parents shall continue to claim the allowances, based on their own choice. This means that one parent may be entitled to two allowances, but two parents cannot be entitled to two allowances (except child-care allowance). It is necessary to forward the claim for the allowances to the employer.
With effect from the 1st of January 2014, parents with young children can return to work in unlimited work-time – in the case the child has reached the age of one – and do not have to disclaim or suspend the payment of the allowances (child-care benefit, child-care allowance).
Mothers shall be entitled to the paid allowance and the salary as well at the same time. This rule concerns the mother as well, who gave birth to her child before the 1st of January 2014.
It is not required to inform the office - which pays the child-care benefit or the child-care allowance to the mother – about the fact that the mother returns to work, it is enough to inform the employer, that the mother receives child-care benefit as well beside work.
If the mother returned to work - before the child reached the age of two - earlier and suspended the payment of the child-care benefit, with effect from the 1st of January 2014, it is possible to ask for the relevant office to continue the payment for the rest of the period that left from the entitlement. The application form for the continuity of the payment shall be forwarded to the payment office, which paid the allowance before the suspension. Mothers - who worked and received child-care allowance at the same time and are entitled to child-care benefit from January 2014 as well – are able to claim the child-care benefit by enclosing the disclaim declaration of the child-care allowance.
In the case of twins - born after the 31st of December 2013 -, the period of the entitlement for the child-care benefit is extended by one year and may last even until the children reach the age of three. However it is not possible to claim double child-care benefit as the children were born from the same pregnancy.
Changes concern mothers being college- or university students.
There is the so-called „Graduate child-care benefit” in the case the student of the higher educational institution becomes mother and claims allowance. This new rule is relevant for the mother, who gives birth to her child after the 31st December 2013, during her studies or within one year after the termination of her studies. The entitlement is valid in the case of the existence of more conditions at the same time and the period of the entitlement last until the child reaches the age of one.
The biological father may be entitled to the „Graduate child-care benefit” if the biological mother dies or does not fulfil all conditions determined by the legislators.
The requestor shall forward the claim by the application form published by the Hungarian Health Insurance Fund.
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Family benefit may be claimed by the private individual that is entitled to family allowance. The monthly amount of the family benefit is HUF 62 500/child in the case of one or two dependent beneficiaries, HUF 206 250/child in the case of three or more beneficiaries.
Divorced parents, who raise their child in joint supervision based on legal decision, are entitled to family allowance in 50-50 per cent, so they may validate the family benefit in 50-50 per cent as well.
The family contribution benefit is a new rule as well: if the amount of the gross salary is lower than the amount of the family benefit – that can be taken into account -, and the private individual is not able to claim it fully, then 16 per cent of the rest of the amount can be validated in the amounts of the health care contribution provided in kind (4 per cent), the health care contribution provided in money (3 per cent) and the pension contribution (10 per cent), in this order, which are due to be paid in the current month. The employer shall take the family contribution benefit into consideration automatically, which means that if the employee does not intend to claim it, it shall be noted in the family benefit declaration. In the case of unfounded claim, 12 per cent difference penalty may be determined.