POSSIBILITY OF LINKING EMPLOYMENT SERVICE PERIODS TO QUALIFY FOR A PENSION

SARAJEVO, FEBRUARY 10 /SRNA/ - Persons who spent part of their working life in BiH and part in Australia will be able to combine their employment service periods to qualify for retirement, with each country paying its portion of the pension corresponding to the period of insurance completed.

Negotiations on a social security agreement between BiH and Australia, as well as an administrative agreement for its implementation, have been concluded, thereby resolving a key existential issue for a large number of people who spent part of their working lives in BiH and Australia, the Ministry of Civil Affairs within the Council of Ministers announced. Relevant Minister Dubravka Bošnjak said that this is the first social security agreement that BiH has concluded with an overseas country. "By signing it, a fairer system is created for everyone who worked and contributed in different countries. This agreement recognizes people’s entire working and life paths, regardless of whether they spent their years in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Sydney, or Melbourne," Bošnjak said. She explained that each country, in accordance with its own regulations, will pay the portion of the pension corresponding to the periods of insurance or residence completed under that social security system. The agreement will allow pensions earned in one country to be paid without interruption to recipients who reside in the other country. The agreement applies to all persons who have been or are covered by pension schemes in BiH and the Australian social security system, regardless of nationality.