Frequently asked questions

You can consult the online services of the Overseas Social Security by activating your digital keys and your My e-box.

Digital keys allow you to access the online governmental services in a secure way. The safest way to do so is with your eID or using itsme.

• eID: using your eID (electronic identity card) and a card reader, you can have access to governmental online services anytime from anywhere. Don’t you have an eID, is it not actif or did you forget your personal PIN code?
  Contact the municipal services in your place of residence when you are still living in Belgium.
  Are you (already) abroad? Contact the nearest career consulate or embassy, or check the page Identity card for Belgians living abroad on the Foreign Affairs website of the Belgian Government(New window).
• Itsme: activate your itsme account. It only requires a Belgian bank card or an actif eID, a card reader and your smartphone. Check the itsme website(New window) to get started. Once you have activated itsme, you can get access to the online government services in an instant.

My e-box is your personal digital mailbox. It allows you to receive and manage a lot of governmental documents in a secure way. For you as an expat it is an ideal way to stay digitally connected. Activating your My e-box is easy. You only need an eID or an itsme account. Look into the My e-box website (in French)(New window) to activate your mailbox, and you’re all set to receive government documents digitally.

Do you currently use e-mail to receive all documents from the Overseas Social Security? We still strongly advise you to activate your My e-box.

It is a safe way to digitally receive all kinds of information. Not only from the Overseas Social Security, but from a lot of governmental instances. Your My e-box will thus become the place to manage all your government documents.

All depends on how long you will be staying abroad.

• Are you staying abroad up to a year at a maximum? In that case you can keep your official residence in Belgium. Inform your municipality on your temporary stay abroad and make sure to inform them on your foreign address.
• Are you staying abroad for more than a year? In that case you cannot hold on to your Belgian residence address. Have your foreign address registered as your official residence at the embassy or the consulate in the country of residence.

Upon affiliating with the Overseas Social Security you have provided some contact data, bank details and other personal information. It is important these stay up-to-date at all times. That is why you need to report any change by e-mail or by phone, so we stay on top of things as well.

Please check our Contact page for all information on how to reach us.

Activate your My e-box as well, in case you haven’t done so already. This makes you reachable at all times, wherever you are. Check the website My e-box (in French)(New window) to activate your mailbox.

Any changes in your situation could have an impact on your affiliation. So get in touch to report them, so we can make sure all your dependants enjoy the appropriate cover.

Please check our Contact page for all information on how to reach us.

Is there a change in your professional situation? Do you have a new role in the company, got a new employers or did your work address change? Let us know.

Please check our Contact page for all information on how to reach us.

Contact us as soon as possible, as this will mean you can no longer stay affiliated with the Overseas Social Security. We will gladly help you prepare for your reintegration in the best possible way.

• Are you affiliated as an individual? Please request the termination of your affiliation using the form Request to cease application(.pdf-New window).
• Are you affiliated through your employer? Please ask your employer to get in touch with the Overseas Social Security.
• Attestation of affiliation: if needed you can obtain an attestation of affiliation. It will provide you the required continuity upon your reintegration in Belgium. Please note! The Overseas Social Security only can give you an attestation after all due payments have been made.

Our insurance policies for companies are comparable to those for private individuals.

The basic package:

• pension,
• incapacity for work/disability/pregnancy, and
• deferred insurance policy for medical care.

The supplementary insurance policies:

• medical care, and
• workplace accidents, with an optional Accidents in private life.

You enter into a collective contract with the Overseas Social Security. In this, you decide whether you only offer the basic package or possibly also supplementary insurance policies. It is also possible to insure only one employee.

To a large extent, you choose the amount of the contribution yourself.

For the basic package, you pay a contribution of between and euro every month. The amount of the contribution determines the amount of your employee's pension. Use our simulation tool to find out which contribution provides which pension.

The contributions are broken down as follows:

• 70% goes to finance the retirement and survivor's pension, according to the principle of personal individual capitalisation.
• 20.5% goes to finance solidarity services such as indexation.
• 6.90% goes to finance the deferred insurance for medical care.
• 2.60% goes to finance sickness and disability insurance.

You are working or will soon work outside the EEA, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, and you are looking for dependable social insurance for yourself, and possibly your family.

Find more information on the page about affiliating as a private individual.

No. Just like the pension, the contributions are linked to the index. It is therefore dependent on the cost of living. The moment at which it changes is therefore unpredictable. In recent years it has been adapted about every year and a half.

Contributions to supplementary insurance contracts are never tax deductible.

However: have you kept your domicile in Belgium, do you pay your taxes there, and are you individually affiliated with the Overseas Social Security? Then you can deduct your contributions from your taxable income. Upon request, the Overseas Social Security will provide you with a certificate to that effect. The final decision on the deductibility of your contributions lies with your tax office. So it is best to contact your local tax office for a definitive answer.

The amount of your retirement pension depends on:

• the amount of your contributions,
• the number of years you have paid contributions,
• the age at which you begin to make your contributions, and
• the age at which you go on your pension.

Use our simulation tool to get an idea of which contributions provide which pensions.

At 65 years of age.

You can also retire early, from the age of 60, but then your pension will be reduced proportionally.

More about the retirement pension of the Overseas Social Security

The survivor's pension is based on the amount of the pension of your deceased spouse. It depends on various factors, including the age difference between the spouses.

More about the survivor's pension of the Overseas Social Security

No. You will need to apply for it yourself, 4 months prior to your desired retirement date.

No. The scheme for paternity or adoption leave has been introduced in the Belgian sickness scheme, but does not apply to the Overseas Social Security.

Maternity leave under the Overseas Social Security can be granted for a 15 weeks: 7 weeks prenatal and 8 weeks postnatal leave.

Under the Belgian sickness scheme, you are in principle obliged to take your prenatal rest from the 7th day before your expected date of delivery. This obligation does not apply for the Overseas Social Security.

The sickness and disability insurance entitles you to a benefit payment as soon as you are incapacitated for work. With the supplementary insurance contract Accidents in private life, you will also receive a daily allowance from the 31st day of incapacity for work.

The sickness and disability insurance reimburses the costs of medical care according to the NIHDI scales. With the supplementary insurance contract Accidents in private life, these costs are reimbursed in full, as will the transport and repatriation costs resulting from your accident. In addition, there is also an allowance in the event of long-term incapacity for work and, in the event of death, cover for the funeral costs and an annual stipend for the beneficiaries.

The supplementary insurance policies of the Overseas Social Security (Overseas Social Security) offer a worldwide coverage.

Please bear in mind there is a difference between countries in which you have coverage and countries in which you can affiliate.

The condition to affiliate is that you are working outside the Member States of the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland or the United Kingdom.

However, there are some exceptions to this condition.

You need to make a distinction between the Outermost Regions (ORs) and the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) in order to determine whether you can affiliate or not.

What are Outermost Regions (ORs)?

Outermost Regions are geographically very remote from the European Union, but still belong to the EU. This means that European laws, rights and obligations are applicable in these regions.

In case you start working in an Outermost Region, you cannot affiliate to the Overseas Social Security.

What are Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs)?

OCTs are countries and territories that are not part of the European Union as such, but have special relationships with the EU Member States, more specifically Denmark, France and the Netherlands, as well as a number of territories that have special relationships with the United Kingdom.

In case you start working in one of these OCTs, you can affiliate to the Overseas Social Security.

Examples:

• You are working in France. You cannot affiliate to the Overseas Social Security. Consequently you are not entitled to coverage by the Overseas Social Security.
• You are working in the Congo. You can affiliate to the Overseas Social Security. If you have opted for the basic package and the supplementary healthcare insurance, you will be covered worldwide for your medical costs, even when you are for example going on holiday in Spain.

In case you affiliated until 31/12/2020 to the Overseas Social Security, nothing changes. For all affiliations starting from 1/1/2021, specific conditions apply. Find more information on the Brexit-page.

EEA or Swiss nationals already residing in the UK before 1/01/2021, keep all accrued rights. But, if you work in the UK, before or from 01/01/2021 onwards, you cannot affiliate to the Overseas Social Security. Find more information on the Brexit-page.