social security - FOD Sociale Zekerheid

International aspects of social securityA. IntroductionOur economic and social lives are becoming more and more international.Would you like to go on holiday, to reside, to work, to find a job or to study in another country?Are you entitled to social security benefits in this other country? After all:- can you receive health care if you fall ill abroad? Will your health insurance fundreimburse these costs?- do you preserve your retirement when you go living abroad?- if you work abroad, in which country will you pay your social security contributions?Important remarkBefore leaving Belgium, if you receive social security benefits, get in touch with theinstitution that pays you these benefits, in order to know what you have to do. (You can findinformation on https://www.socialsecurity.be/CMS/fr/leaving_belgium/index.html.)If you pursue your activity outside the territory of the European Community, you can jointhe social security scheme of the Overseas Social Security Office (OSSOM) on a free basis.When you come to live or work in Belgium, you will have to affiliate with a mutualinsurance fund or with the “Auxiliary fund for sickness and invalidity insurance”.For salaried persons, the employer will take care of the other formalities.The workers (salaried, self-employed or apprentices) who come to work in Belgium haveto be declared electronically to the Belgian competent institutions before the beginningof the activity in Belgium. You will find more information on http://www.limosa.be.B. International agreements on social securityIn order to improve movement of people from one country to another, Belgium has undersignedinternational agreements on social security.The international agreements on social security are concluded between several countries(multilateral agreements) or between two countries (bilateral agreements).66