Social security contributions
Your social security contributions guarantee your pension, child benefit for your children, your health care and cover you against bankruptcy. As long as you pay the correct amount, on time...
- Legal social security contributions guarantee your right to a pension, child benefit, health care and replacement income, social security in the event of bankruptcy.
- How is my social security contribution calculated?
- How are my contributions as a starter calculated?
- How long can you pay your provisional social security contributions as a starter?
- How much do I need to pay?
- How much do I pay for the first three years?
The legal social security contributions guarantee your right to:
- pension: because you have paid contributions to social security, you are entitled to a monthly pension.
- child benefit: if you have children, they will receive a contribution from the social security fund. Your contributions grant you the right to a birth premium or adoption premium, monthly child benefit, increased benefit for disabled children or orphans, and a bonus for children of disabled self-employed persons.
- health care and replacement income in the event of inability to work: if you are up to date with your contributions to the social security fund, you are entitled to:
- the legal reimbursement for your health care costs;
- a replacement income in the event of being unfit for work;
- or a replacement income for maternity leave for the self-employed titleholder and for an assisting partner.
- social security in the event of bankruptcy: did your bankruptcy occur through no fault of your own, and have you paid all your social security contributions? And is this the first time you’ve gone bankrupt? If so, you will receive up to 12 months’ replacement income to tide you over during this difficult period.
If you’d like more info about this replacement income, click here.
How is my social security contribution calculated?
The contributions of one whole year are normally calculated on the basis of the amount of the net operating income of three years previously, the reference year. They are equal to a percentage of the income of that year. The contributions are calculated by indexing the operating income of the reference year.
How are my contributions as a starter calculated?
When you are a self-employed starter, there is of course no reference year. What’s more, you don’t know exactly how big your income will be. So, as a starter you pay a provisional amount, the legal minimum. As a self-employed starter in primary occupation you can opt to pay contributions on the basis of an estimate of your income, which is actually more sensible than choosing the legal minimum.
How long can you pay your provisional social security contributions as a starter?
The start period extends for at least 12 quarters (3 years) with a maximum of 15 quarters. For the year 2009, a self-employed starter (primary occupation) will pay the following minimum contributions:
- €629.33 per quarter up to the end of the first full tax year;
- €644.68 per quarter for the second full tax year;
- €660.03 per quarter for the third full tax year;
As soon as the social security fund knows your real income, it will start up a procedure of the provisional contribution, year by year.
How much do I need to pay?
Every quarter we send an invoice for your social security contributions. The size of your quarterly contribution depends on your income and your status as self-employed person. Securex advises you to pay your social security contributions by direct debit.
How much do I pay for the first three years?
Because you have no reference income* as a starter, you pay contributions on the basis of an estimated income. So it is important that you keep a close eye on your income for these first few years: we will then adapt your contributions to your situation. If it turns out that you have paid too much, there will be a regularisation.
* Reference income: for the purposes of calculating social security contributions, the reference income is the income of three years ago. Thus, for 2009 the social security contributions for self-employed persons are calculated on the net income of 2006. Because starters do not have a reference income from 2006, their contributions are calculated at a fixed minimum. However, in 2011 the tax department will send details of the actual income to the Social Security department. The Social Security department will then use this information to regularise the contributions already paid. The risk is that in 2011 the self-employed starter will not only have to pay his social security contributions for that year, but also possible regularisation payments for the previous years. Because the regularisation payments can be big, the self-employed starter can ask his social security fund if he can pay social security contributions on an estimated income instead of the provisional fixed payments.
