Social services
In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Social Services, citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, foreign citizens including stateless persons who have a permanent or temporary residence permit in the Republic of Lithuania, other persons in cases stipulated by international treaties, have the right to receive social services in Lithuania.
Local governments are responsible for the provision of social services. If you are in need of social services, you must contact the social affairs department of your local government or elder (according to your place of residence).
Social payments
Only insured persons receive social benefits in Lithuania, or those who work and pay social security contributions, or who have a permanent residence permit in Lithuania and are insured by the state. For payments, you must contact your local social support office. For some payments (for example, pensions), bilateral agreements are concluded with other countries, and it is recommended to inquire whether an agreement about crediting the length of service or other social benefits has been concluded with the country from which you came and worked.
Information about social protection is provided by calling the reference telephone 8 700 70080 (information is provided in Lithuanian, English and Russian). Detailed information about social security rights in Lithuania is on the website www.sodra.lt.
Each employee working under an employment contract pays taxes from the wages. A person who pays taxes is entitled to sickness, maternity, or paternity benefits.
Sickness benefit
This allowance is granted in case of temporary incapacity for work, in the event of illness or caring for a child, as well as the illness of a family member if he needs care. This benefit is paid if the person has been insured for at least 3 months in the last 12 months. It is paid if the person works, including a probationary period and the day of dismissal. The allowance is not paid if the person becomes disabled after the day of dismissal from work. The calculation of the amount of sickness benefit is based on the amount of insured income during the last 3 calendar months prior to the month before the month when temporary disability was determined. It should be noted that sickness benefit is paid only for working days.
Lump-sum payment at the birth of a child
In Lithuania, lump-sum payments are paid for each child born/adopted and declared in the country. The lump-sum payment is paid to one of the parents bringing up the child (or the only parent (adoptive parent) of the child) or the child’s guardian. To receive this payment, at least one of the child’s parents and the child himself must be persons permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania.
In order to use this social right in Lithuania, you must first register the birth of a child with a civil registry office and register the child’s place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania, and then contact the social support department of the city where the place of residence is registered, no later than within one year from the birthday of the child. Arriving there, you will need to show the child’s Lithuanian birth certificate, your identity document and submit an application.
An application for a lump sum payment on the occasion of the birth of a child can be filled out on the Internet through the Authority’s Electronic Gateway Portal (lit. Elektroniniลณ valdลพios vartลณ portalas).
Maternity / paternity allowance
This social benefit in Lithuania is eligible for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It is paid until the child is one or two years old. The payment period depends on the insured. After the birth of a child, only one parent is entitled to this benefit. It can be either a woman or a man who pays social security contributions. When choosing a 1 year childcare period, the allowance paid cannot exceed 100% of the compensated earnings. When the childcare period is 2 years, the allowance during the first year will not exceed 70%, and during the second year 40% of compensated earnings.
Old-aged pension
Among other social security rights in Lithuania, a person acquires the right to receive the state old-age social insurance pension. People who receive a pension:
- reach the legal old-age pension age (63 years and 8 months for men and 62 years and 4 months for women);
- have a minimum period of state social pension insurance established for receiving an old-age pension (fifteen years).
If you have not worked in Lithuania for 15 years, the periods of your indemnity insurance from some other states, i.e. EU / EEA member states, Switzerland, as well as countries with which international agreements have been concluded, may be summed up for the right to receive a pension.
The assessment of whether a person has the right to receive a pension is made according to the amount of the total acquired experience; however, each state will pay a pension for the length of service received for working on its territory. If a person has worked in several states, then it is customary to be guided by the rule that two states cannot pay a pension for the same length of service.