17.10.2022

INSURANCE INTERNSHIP WITH CHILDCARE ALLOWANCE

The insurance systems in Bulgaria are the basis of social security in the country. It was built in order to protect people from negative phenomena, from the so-called social risks or insurance events (risks). These risks include old age, sickness, death, occupational accident and disease, disability, unemployment, maternity incapacity, payment of treatment and specific risks.

In order to enjoy their rights in the insurance system for some of the risks, people should have accumulated relevant insurance experience based on previously paid insurance contributions. The law in our country gives the right in certain cases to acquire social security experience even without making social security contributions. One of the cases is when benefit is used for raising a child. What are the grounds for this?

For insurance service, without making insurance contributions, the time of paid and unpaid child-rearing leave, paid and unpaid leave for temporary incapacity for work, leave for pregnancy and childbirth and for adoption of a child up to the age of 5 is taken into account. of unpaid leave up to 30 working days in a calendar year, as well as the time during which the person received unemployment benefits.

With the changes to the Labor Code from August 1, 2022, the Social Security Code was also amended and supplemented. It contains amendments and additions related to the insurance experience of employees who have not made contributions to social insurance. To the above grounds, a point is added that for insurance experience, without making insurance contributions, the time during which self-insured persons who are insured for disability due to general illness, old age and death and for general illness and maternity received cash benefits for temporary incapacity for work, pregnancy and childbirth, raising a child up to the age of 2, adopting a child up to the age of 5 and raising a child up to the age of 8 by the father (the adoptive parent), and the periods of temporary incapacity for work, pregnancy and birth, raising a child up to the age of 2, adopting a child up to the age of 5 and raising a child up to the age of 8 by the father (the adoptive parent), during which they were not entitled to monetary compensation.

This text of the law refers to the time that is considered as insurance service without making insurance contributions. By supplementing the provision after the amendments of August 1, 2022, the legislator includes and considers as insurance experience the time during which a self-insured father (adoptive) who is insured for disability due to general illness, old age and death and for general illness and maternity, has received cash benefits for temporary incapacity to care for a child up to the age of 8. The periods of temporary incapacity for raising a child up to the age of 8 by the father (adoptive parent), during which he was not entitled to monetary compensation, are also taken into account.

The addition to the norm was made in order to include the periods during which the father (the adoptive parent) was entitled to and received the benefit for looking after a child up to the age of 8 or looked after the child, but did not have the right to benefit during the time counts as insurance experience without paying insurance contributions for self-insured persons. For the insured persons, these periods are considered to be insurance experience on the basis of Art. 9, para. 2, item 1 of the Social Insurance Code (the time of paid and unpaid child-rearing leave).

Reference:

Art. 9, para. 2, item 1 of the Social Security Code

Art. 9, para. 2, item 5 of the Social Security Code