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DISABILITY PENSION

Definition of disability

Disability exists if an insured person suffers a full loss of work capacity, or if there occurs a full loss of capacity to perform professional military service, resulting from the changes in his overall health condition caused by work injury, occupational disease, or injury or illness unrelated to work, that cannot be healed through treatment or medical rehabilitation. Disability can result from an illness, injury unrelated to work, work injury or occupational disease.

Eligibility conditions

In order to be eligible for disability insurance, an insured person should, simultaneously, meet the conditions regarding:

- the existence of disability
- the insurance coverage period

The law stipulates various conditions regarding the insurance coverage period, depending on the causes of disability, and they are as follows:

− if disability is caused by a work injury or occupational disease, regardless of the insurance coverage length

- if disability is caused by an injury or illness unrelated to work, under the condition that the loss of work capacity occurred prior to the years of age stipulated as eligibility condition for old-age pension and that the contributor has no less than five years of insurance coverage length.

Exceptionally, the insured person whose disability is caused by an illness or injury unrelated to work occurred before 30 years of age, is eligible for disability pension under more favourable conditions in relation to the insurance coverage period, if:

- the disability occurred before the insured person reached 20 years of age – in the case of which the eligibility condition is a year of insurance coverage
- the disability occurred before the insured person reached 25 years of age – in the case of which the eligibility condition is two years of insurance coverage
- the disability occurred before the insured person reached 30 years of age – in case of which the eligibility condition is three years of insurance coverage

Work injury is considered to be the following:

− injury of the insured person caused by direct and short-term mechanical, physical or chemical impact, sudden change of body position or other changes in physiological state of the body that happened in spatial, temporal or causal relation  with the work on the basis of which the person is insured

− injury sustained by the insured person on his regular way from home to workplace and vice versa, as well as during travelling on business and travelling for the purposes of taking up the job

− illness of the insured person developed immediately after or developed as a sole consequence of an accident or vis major during performing the work on the basis of which the person is insured

− injury of the insured person sustained in relation to exercising the right to health care on the basis of a work injury or occupational disease, and

− injury the insured person sustains while taking part in activities of saving from or defending from natural disasters, or taking part in military drill, as well as activities in a work camp or while taking part in a competition.

Occupational diseases are the diseases developed during the insurance coverage period, caused by a longer direct impact of processes and conditions of work in workplaces or jobs of the insured person.

Professional diseases are regulated by the Regulation on determining occupational diseases (‘Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia’, n. 105/03).

The procedure of exercising the right

The procedure of exercising the right on the basis of disability is initiated, at the request of insured person, and is submitted along with the proposal for determining disability (form no. 1) issued by the chosen doctor  at the local health care centre.

The fact of disability existence and the cause thereof is to be determined by the bodies providing expertise in their reports, opinions and estimations pursuant to the Regulation on forming and the method of work of expertise bodies of the Republic Fund for Retirement and Disability Insurance (‘The Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia’, no. 59/08 and 75/08, and the correction 24/11).

Disability pension is to be paid as of the day of insurance cessation.

When the right to disability insurance is exercised following the cessation of insurance, and disability existed prior to submitting the application, disability pension is to be paid out as of the day of developing disability, but not longer than for the period of six months from the day of submitting the application.

When submitting the application for disability pension, the following should be enclosed:

• Form no. 1 issued by the chosen physician, along with the original medical documentation (specialist’s reports, scans, discharge certificates, etc.). If the proposal is not given by the chosen physician, the contributor is to submit the certificate on the paid, prescribed expertise costs
• Job certificate with a description of work and activities being performed by the insured person at the moment of submitting the application
• Notification of work injury, if sustained by the insured person
• Proof of completed compulsory military service (military record book photocopy or the certificate by military authorities)
• Proof of exercising the right, namely the proof of being registered with the National Employment Service
• Personal ID card photocopy
• Health insurance book photocopy
• Proofs of the insurance coverage period completed in the Republic of Serbia – concluded work book, certificate of the insurance period calculated as increased length, other documents related to the insurance coverage length (decisions, certificates and the like) in original or as a certified photocopy
• Certificate of self-employment to be issued by the competent municipal institution, or competent association or alliance (for the period up to 31st December 2005), or the decision of the Serbian Business Registers Agency (for the period as of 1st January 2006).
• Certificate by Tax Administration on the paid contribution for the retirement and disability insurance (with stated bases for contributions and the amount of paid contribution) for the period of self-employment. The certificate is not required for freelance artists, film-makers and sportsmen for the period up to 31st December 2002, and for the clergy and religious institutions officials for the period up to 31st August 2004.
• Certificate of Tax Administration on the paid contribution for retirement and disability insurance (with stated bases for contributions and the amount of paid contribution) issued for the period of performing work in agriculture.

Control examination

Compulsory control examination is to be done no later than within the period of three years from the day of determining disability. In certain, prescribed cases the control examination is not to be performed.

Changes in the state of disability which influence the right to disability pension are to be determined in a procedure initiated at the request of beneficiary or ex-officio.

A beneficiary of disability pension failing to turn up for the compulsory control examination is to have the payment of his pension stopped until obeying the obligation of compulsory control examination.