An Introduction to the Social Security System in Costa Rica

If you are planning on moving abroad to Costa Rica to live and work you may be interested to see what type of social security system is in place in the country. There is a national social security system in Costa Rica. The Costa Rican social security system is managed by the Costa Rican Social Security Bureau, which is a public institution. It manages the national health care system in conjunction with the Costa Rican Ministry of Health.

If you are wondering if you are eligible to receive benefits from the Costa Rican social security system the answer lies in if you have contributed to it or not. The Costa Rican health system is paid for through the mandatory contributions that are made by employees and their employers. So, if you have been legally working in Costa Rica then you have been contributing to the system, which means that you are eligible for benefits from the system. Under the contribution scheme employers are liable for 14 percent of a worker's salary and the employee is liable for nine percent of the salary.

The Costa Rican social security system includes the health care system, which offers medical treatment for illnesses as well as maternity benefits, and what it termed the 'obligatory pension' system, which offers benefits for disability, old age, and death. You are also allowed to carry your own private insurance or health plan in addition to taking advantage of what they system offers. The Costa Rican social security system also has benefits for employment and income insurance.

There are actually several different benefits that relate to work insurance. There is unemployment insurance, adolescence work insurance, domestic help insurance, and income insurance.

Unemployment insurance, known as seguro de desempleo, offers temporary income based on average salary over the last three months in the even that you find your self unemployed. Not all types of unemployment are covered and this insurance is only available to workers that get their salaries at the BAC San Jose bank. You must be at least age 18 to get this benefit and it may go until retirement age.

Adolescence work insurance, known as seguro de riesgos para adolescentes, is for self employed workers between the ages of 15 and 18. It covers accidents and illness as the result of work related activities.

Domestic help insurance, known as seguro de riesgos del trabajo hogar, covers accidents or illness of domestic employees. There are two different policies. One covers one permanent domestic aide and an occasional worker that works no more than three days a month. The other covers two permanent domestic aides and one occasional worker that works no more than three days a month. You can add on additional workers.

Income insurance, known as proteccion crediticia, protects you in the event that you lose your job. There are two different policies offered. The credit card protection policy (proteccion crediticia tarjeta de credito) will pay your credit card payments for a period of 12 months if you are unemployed. The unemployment protection policy (proteccion crediticia por desempleo) covers your mortgage payments for 12 months if you are unemployed. To qualify for these you will have to be a legal resident of Costa Rica, at least age 18 and have been employed for six months before losing your job.

There is also a worker protection law that states that all workers must have an individual retirement account paid by employers and employees. The money can only be withdrawn for retirement, death or handicap.