Disability pension

The disability pension amount depends on your gender and age, the disability cause, the achieved pension qualifying period and your salaries or insurance bases.

The disability pension is paid out to you from the moment the compulsory insurance ceases to be valid. If you are not insured, then it is from the moment of the onset of disability if the application for the establishment of disability had been submitted within six months following the disability onset.

You will receive the first transfer of the pension within one month following your receipt of the decision.

You are also integrated in the compulsory health insurance at ZZZS on the day of your retirement.

Answers to questions are given below:

When and under what conditions do I obtain the right to a disability pension?

What affects the disability pension amount?

Changes of the disability status

When and under what conditions do I obtain the right to a disability pension?

To obtain the right to a disability pension, an appropriate disability category must be established and you also need to fulfil some other conditions:

• if the disability cause is occupational injury or occupational disease, you obtain the right to a disability pension regardless of the pension qualifying period that you achieved,

• if the disability cause is a non-work-related injury or sickness, then you obtain the right to a disability pension providing you have achieved the pension qualifying period that covers at least one third of the period from reaching the age of 20 to the onset of disability. This period is called the prescribed active-life period and includes the time period from when the insured person reached the age of 20 until the onset of disability. 

What affects the disability pension amount?

The corresponding disability pension amount generally depends on multiple factors, namely on:

• the pension basis amount,
• the disability cause,
• the achieved pension qualifying period and the age of the insured person on the day of the onset of disability,
• the gender of the insured person.

How is the disability pension amount determined?

How is the pension basis determined?

The disability pension is assessed from the basis that is calculated the same way as the old-age pension assessment.

An insured person who obtains the right to the disability pension with a shorter insurance period, from which the basis for the calculation of the pension basis for assessing the old-age pension (shorter than 24 years) is considered, is exempt from such a calculation. Such an insured person’s pension basis is calculated on based on the bases from which contributions in each year of the insurance period were paid even by less than 6 months, except in the calendar year in which the right to the disability pension is exercised.

The insured person who, except in the year in which they are exercising their right to the disability pension, was not insured, the disability pension is assessed from the lowest pension basis.

The disability pension is also assessed from the lowest pension basis if the disability occurred during the period of insurance for special cases and the pension basis cannot be determined otherwise.

How is the disability pension assessed?

The disability pension is assessed from the pension basis in percentages, the amount of which depends on:

• the disability cause,
• the achieved pension qualifying period,
• the calculation period if the insured person is eligible, and
• the gender of the insured person.

The scale of percentages for the assessment is the same as with the old-age pension.

The assessment of the disability pension if the disability cause is non-work-related injury or sickness

The percentage for assessing the disability pension in this case does not depend only on the duration of the actually achieved pension qualifying period, but also on the age of the insured person on the day of the disability onset, which affects the calculation of the so-called calculation period.

The calculation period is a fictitious pension period that is added to the actually achieved pension qualifying period of the insured person who has not reached the age of 65 year, thus increasing the percentage for the assessment of the disability pension. The length of the calculation period depends on the age of the insured person on the day of the disability onset.

If the disability occurred prior to the age of 60, then the calculation period amounts to:

• two thirds of the period from the day of the disability onset to the day when the insured person reached the age of 60, and
• half of the period between the date when the insured person would reach the age of 65 and the date when they would reach the age of 60.

If the disability occurred after the age of 60, then the calculation period is half of the period between the date when the insured person would reach the age of 65 and the date of the disability onset.

The length of the period that serves for determining the calculation period is calculated only in years and months.

A period that is longer than 15 days is considered to be one month.

If the insured person became disabled after reaching the age of 65, then they are no longer eligible to the calculation period.

Determining the highest assessed percentage:

The percentage of the assessed disability pension, which takes into consideration the calculation period, must not surpass the pension amount for the disability which was caused by occupational injury or occupational disease, except:

• when the achieved pension qualifying period (without considering the calculation period) exceeds 40 years, or
• when the assessed percentage for the achieved pension qualifying period for females is higher than the assessed percentage for 40 years of the pension qualifying period for males.

The assessed percentage may also be increased for the percentages defined in Article 37, paragraph 10 of the law (childcare).

The assessment of the disability pension if the disability cause is occupational injury or occupational disease

Determining the highest assessed percentage:

The disability pension granted to a person with a disability caused by occupational injury or occupational disease is assessed from the pension basis in a percentage that is defined for a male with a pension qualifying period of 40 years, regardless of the age and length of the achieved pension qualifying period, unless:

• when the achieved pension qualifying period (without considering the calculation period) exceeds 40 years, or
• when the assessed percentage for the achieved pension qualifying period for females is higher than the assessed percentage defined for a male with a pension qualifying period of 40 years.

Even when the disability pension is assessed due to the occupational injury or occupational disease, the assessed percentage may, under certain conditions, be increased for percentages that are defined in Article 37, paragraph 10 of the law (childcare).

The assessment of the disability pension if the disability cause is occupational injury or occupational disease and non-work-related injury or sickness (combined cause of disability)

With combined causes, the disability pension is assessed by separately assessing the disability pension as if it had been caused by an occupational injury or occupational disease and the disability pension as if it had been caused by a sickness or non-work-related injury. The percentage of each cause is then assessed on the basis of both results above and the total disability is then calculated. 

The amount of such an assessed disability cannot exceed the disability amount that was assessed from the pension basis in the percentage that is defined for males with a pension qualifying period of 40 years.

Even when the disability pension is assessed in such a way, the assessed percentage may, under certain conditions, be increased for percentages that are defined in Article 37, paragraph 10 of the law (childcare).

The calculation period due to personal circumstances is also taken into account in determining the pension qualifying period for the assessment of the disability pension.

Changes of the disability status

If you were a beneficiary of the disability pension and your health situation improved, then the period of receiving the disability pension is not added to the prescribed active-life period when assessing the condition of the achieved insurance or pension period in the event of a new disability.

If your health situation improved, your disability pension is still paid out to you, providing you register at the Employment Service of Slovenia within 30 days after receiving the decision on the extinction of the right.