EPFO Updates: A bilateral Social Security Agreement has been signed between India and other countries to ensure the perpetuity of social security coverage of workers posted in another country
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has a Social Security Agreement with 19 countries including Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark France, Luxembourg, and South Korea, among others.
An SSA is an agreement between two countries that provides for the protection of the interests of cross-border workers. The agreement ensures that workers of both nations are treated equally in terms of social security.
This reciprocal arrangement also generally helps avoid the issue of ‘double coverage.’ It also ensures that the workers of both the host country and the home country are treated on par in terms of social security.
Provisions Covered Under SSA:
- International workers that work in a country having an agreement on Social Security with their home country are not required to contribute to the social security system in the host country, provided they are contributing to the social security system of their home country.
- Exportability of Pension: Provisions of payment of pension benefits directly without any reduction to beneficiary choosing to reside in the territory of the home country as also to beneficiary choosing to reside in a third country as outlined in respective SSA.
- Totalisation of Benefits: Service rendered in SSA country is added to service rendered in India to determine eligibility for pension.
- Equality of Treatment: Equality of treatment to IWs from an SSA country with host country workers.
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