On 1 July 2024, the Social Security Agreement concluded between the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Moldova on the cooperation of the countries in the granting and payment of pensions, insurance indemnities, state social security benefits, funeral benefits and benefits to the spouse/partner of a deceased pension beneficiary to persons residing in Latvia and Moldova entered into force.
The agreement will also regulate the application of mandatory state social security contributions to income earned in these countries, eliminating the need to pay contributions in both countries at the same time.
The competent authority responsible for the implementation of the agreement in Latvia is the State Social Insurance Agency (SSIA), and in Moldova – the National Office of Social Insurance.
Entitlement to a pension from the Republic of Moldova for residents of Latvia
Latvian citizens may receive an old-age pension, disability pension and pensions for the loss of provider from the competent authority of Moldova for periods of work and periods equivalent to work in the territory of Moldova, provided that no Latvian pension has already been granted for these periods.
A Moldovan old-age pension may be claimed by people:
- who have reached the retirement age determined by law in Moldova,
- the recipients of a Latvian old-age pension, whose Moldovan period was not included in the Latvian insurance period.
A Moldovan disability pension and pension for the loss of provider can be claimed for periods of insurance in Moldova if the conditions required for the granting of a pension have been met.
If the Moldovan insurance period is shorter than that provided for by Moldovan national legislation, the competent Moldovan authority may use the Latvian insurance periods confirmed by the SSIA to determine pension entitlement. The Moldovan pension is calculated on the basis of the insurance periods accumulated in Moldova. If the Moldovan insurance period is shorter than one year, no pension shall be granted.
To apply for a Moldovan pension, a person residing in Latvia must apply in person at any customer service centre of SSIA, and demonstrate the documents that confirm the periods of work and equivalent periods in Moldova, as well as other documents that are required for granting the particular type of pension (for instance, documents confirming the fact of death of the provider and the dependant’s relationship to the deceased). Documents should be completed according to the requirements of the national language of Moldova or the language of cooperation of the Agreement, therefore, the person may need to have documents translated to Romanian or English. SSIA will send the documents received from the person to the competent institution of Moldova. The SSIA will prepare the documents and send them to the competent authority of Moldova.
The Moldovan competent authority will pay the pension to persons residing in Latvia on a monthly basis by a bank transfer to the credit institution account in Latvia indicated by the person.
Entitlement to a pension from the Republic of Latvia for residents of Latvia and Moldova
As of 1 July 2024, periods of employment and equivalent periods in Moldova will not be included in the Latvian insurance period of the citizens of Latvia, as the pension for these periods must be granted in accordance with the national legislation of Moldova.
Latvian pensions granted until 30 June 2024, the calculation of which already takes into account periods of work and equivalent periods in Moldova, will not be reviewed.
If the length of insurance in Latvia is not sufficient to qualify for a Latvian old-age pension, disability pension or pension for the loss of provider, the Moldovan periods of insurance certified by the competent authority of Moldova will be taken into account in determining entitlement, but only the length of insurance in Latvia will be used for calculations.
Example. In 2024, the Latvian insurance period of a person is 14 years and 7 months, which is insufficient to be eligible for a Latvian old-age pension (from 1 January 2025, 20 years of insurance will be required to be eligible for a Latvian old-age pension). The Moldovan insurance period is 1 year and 6 months. This period of insurance, confirmed by Moldova, is taken into account in determining entitlement to a Latvian old-age pension, but the pension is calculated based on the Latvian period of insurance only.
Moldovan residents can also claim a Latvian pension if they have accumulated periods of work and equivalent periods in the territory of Latvia and have not been granted a Moldovan pension or a pension from another country for such periods. An application for a Latvian pension and the required documents must be submitted to the competent authority in Moldova, which will send them to the SSIA.
The pension granted by Latvia to a pension beneficiary residing in Moldova will be paid monthly in euro currency to the account of a Moldovan credit institution indicated by the person.
Death grant and benefit for the spouse of the deceased pension beneficiary
If the pension beneficiary dies after 1 July 2024, the death grant is payable by the country, which paid the pension up to the date of death, in accordance with the Agreement and national legislation of the respective country, including the cases where pensions were received from both countries.
However, only Latvia grants benefits to the spouse/partner of a deceased pension beneficiary. This benefit is available to the surviving spouse/partner of a deceased Latvian pension beneficiary, who is receiving a Latvian old-age, disability, retirement or special state pension.
State social security benefit
Moldovan citizens residing in Latvia who have been issued a temporary residence permit in Latvia will be entitled to a state social security benefit in the event of old age and disability. Until now, state social benefits have only been granted to people who are permanent residents of Latvia.
To qualify for state social security benefits, you must have lived in Latvia for at least 60 months or five years. The Agreement also provides that the period of residence in Moldova must be taken into account if the period of residence in Latvia is insufficient.
Example: A Moldovan national, who has been issued a temporary residence permit in Latvia, has been living in Latvia for the last 20 months, but has lived and worked in Moldova for the remaining 40 months needed to establish eligibility. The person is entitled to state social security benefits because the person has resided in Latvia and Moldova for a total of 60 months.
To claim state social security benefits, a person must submit an “Application for the Granting of State Social Security Benefit” to the SSIA, which can be submitted:
- in the latvija.gov.lv portal,
- electronically, by signing with a secure electronic signature that contains a timestamp and sending by e-mail to: pasts@vsaa.gov.lv,
- in person at any of the SSIA Customer Service Centres, or,
- by post to the address of SSIA at: Lāčplēša iela 70a, Riga, LV-1011.
Insurance indemnity related to accidents at work or occupational diseases
In accordance with the terms of the contract, the insurance indemnity shall be granted by the country where the work accident occurred or work leading to the occupational disease was performed.
If a person resides in Latvia and has been diagnosed with a disability in Latvia, but the accident at work happened in Moldova or the occupational disease was diagnosed with a Moldovan employer, Moldova shall be the competent country for granting the compensation.
When visiting the SSIA, you must submit an application in free form requesting the granting of benefits, addressed to the competent authority of Moldova. The following information must be indicated in the application:
- (personal) identification number in Moldova,
- the employer that the person was working for when the work accident took place in Moldova,
- the date on which the accident occurred,
- credit institution account number,
- proof that the person does not receive a pension from another country.
The SSIA will prepare the documents and send them to the competent authority of Moldova. The indemnity will be granted and paid by Moldova to the account of a Latvian credit institution indicated by the person.
Meanwhile, if a person resides in Moldova and has been diagnosed with a disability in Moldova, but the accident at work happened in Latvia, Latvia shall be the competent country for granting the compensation. Furthermore, if the death of a person has occurred as a result of a work accident in Latvia, the dependant family members of the respective person, who were wholly or partly dependent on the deceased, shall be entitled to compensation for the loss of provider. In this case, upon the receipt of the respective documents from Moldova, Latvia will grant and pay the insurance indemnity to the person residing in Moldova by transferring it to the Moldovan credit institution account indicated by the person on a monthly basis in euro currency.
Issuing a certificate on the applicable regulatory enactments
The Agreement determines which country’s law shall be applied:
- if the employer has sent a person to work in the territory of the other country for a fixed period of time,
- if a person works in both countries, for instance, if a person is employed in international transport,
- if a person is working in one country but their employer is registered in the territory of the other country.
The person shall be subject to the law of the country where he or she is employed or self-employed. This means that national social security contributions must be paid in the country where the person actually carries out their work. This also applies to those situations where the employer is registered in the territory of the other country.
Example. A person living in Latvia has an employment contract with an employer registered in Moldova. According to the employment contract, the person has been hired as a programmer and performs their duties remotely, working from the territory of Latvia. The person is subject to Latvian law and social insurance contributions must be paid in Latvia.
If a Latvian company operating in Latvia sends its employees to work in the territory of Moldova for a time period that does not exceed 24 months, Latvian law shall apply. Therefore, the employer continues to pay social security contributions in Latvia for these employees. No contributions shall be paid in Moldova.
Example. A company registered in Latvia and operating in the sector of construction services in Latvia enters into a cooperation agreement with a company registered in Moldova to carry out interior works at a residential building in the territory of Moldova. A Latvian company sends ten employees to perform works in Moldova for 12 months.
Employees of a Latvian employer who are sent to work in the territory of Moldova are subject to Latvian laws and regulations and the employer continues to pay state social insurance contributions for these employees in Latvia.
The Agreement provides that the 24-month period may be extended by a further period of 12 months by mutual agreement between the competent authorities of Latvia and Moldova, if such extension is in the interests of the workers.
The conditions shall apply for personnel seconded as of 1 July 2024.
The SSIA shall issue a certificate to an employer who sends an employee to work in Moldova, which confirms that the person is covered by Latvian social security legislation during the period specified in the certificate and that social insurance contributions for that person are payable in Latvia.
To obtain the certificate, the employer shall submit the “Application for maintaining the status of a socially insured person in Latvia, while working in a country with which an inter-state agreement has been concluded” to the SSIA.
The application may be submitted:
- electronically, by signing with a secure electronic signature that contains a timestamp and sending by e-mail to: iemaksas@vsaa.gov.lv, or
- in person at any of the SSIA Customer Service Centres, or
- by post to the Contributions Division of the SSIA at: Varakļānu iela 2, Riga, LV-1019