A Look at the Belgian Social Security System

If you are moving abroad to live in Europe in Belgium then you may be able to receive benefits under the Belgian social security system. Under current rules and regulations the Belgian social security system offers benefits to all residents of Belgium. So, if you are classified as having resident status as opposed to non resident status in Belgium you will be able to receive benefits from the Belgian social security system.

The Belgian social security system offers a number of benefits to residents of Belgium. Available benefits include unemployment insurance, health care, work accident insurance, long term care insurance, old age and invalidity pensions. The quality of the services under the Belgian social security system is high as is the cost of providing those services, with employers contributing up to 40 percent and employees contributing up to 20 percent of their gross pay.

Employees and self employed workers in Belgium are automatically enrolled in the system with benefits extended to dependents. Sometimes non dependents, such as an au pair, can be covered as well. If you are drawing some sort of wage replacement benefit you are also covered by the system.

If you are not a resident of Belgium you may still be able to receive benefits under a reciprocal agreement. Belgium has a number of reciprocal social security agreements with other countries such as the United States and all of the European Union countries. You may even be able to continue contributing to your home country's social security system for up to five years.

If you are American you should know that the reciprocal agreement only covers pension. This means that medical and survivor benefits such as Medicare are not payable to you if you are not living in the United States.

If you are insured under the social security system of another European Union country but you are working presently in Belgium you will be able to claim benefits from that EU country. And if you want to claim your benefits from Belgium's social security system your contributions to your home country's system are taken into consideration when assessing your eligibility. European Union citizens can get information on their social security rights from the European Union website here.

Contributions to the Belgian social security system will be automatically deducted from your paycheck if you are working in Belgium. Typically an amount equal to 13.07 percent of your salary will be withheld while your employer will contribute somewhere between 25 to 30 percent of your salary. You will also see a crisis surcharge that equals three percent taken from your pay. That also is a contribution to the social security system.