Latvian seniors have a number of questions about how this benefit will be transferred and how the responsible state institution will know whether the senior has been vaccinated or not. The Ministry of Welfare and the State Social Insurance Agency provide answers to the most important questions about this benefit.
For a vaccinated senior, there is nothing to do
Does a senior who has been vaccinated have to write, call or submit their Covid-19 certificate to the responsible public authorities in order to receive the benefit? The answer is quite simple – this senior does not have to do anything. If the senior lives in Latvia and is a recipient of a pension granted in Latvia, the State Social Insurance Agency will pay the benefit 20 euros per month automatically. The agency will receive information from the National Health Service that the senior has completed a full course of vaccination. The benefit will be paid in the same way as the pension, and it will start in December, when the senior will receive 20 euros for November and 20 euros for December in addition to his monthly pension, ie a total of 40 euros.
The certificate is not required, but the vaccination must be completed
Seniors ask what it means to “complete a full course of vaccination against Covid-19”? Do I need an interoperable vaccination certificate? Experts explain that if vaccination has been performed recently, it is important that the number of doses of vaccine corresponding to the full course of vaccination or the required number of doses of mixed vaccines is administered. There may also be a situation where a senior has had a confirmed RNA test (infection) with Covid-19 and then received a single dose of the vaccine. An interoperable vaccination certificate may not be available.
If, for various reasons, the senior completes the vaccination course at the end of November and the vaccination is “counted” completed in December, then unfortunately the benefit will not be paid for November.
If the vaccination course is completed, for example, on 16 December 2021, the benefit will be paid for December 2021 and for January, February and March 2022. 20 euros will not be paid for November.
Only people living in Latvia will be able to receive the benefit. These are seniors who actually live in Latvia. If the person’s declared place of residence is in Latvia, but the State Social Insurance Agency has information that its place of residence is in another country, then it is considered that this person does not live in Latvia.
If vaccination has not been performed in Latvia
If an interoperable Covid-19 vaccination certificate (EU digital Covid-19 certificate) has been received in another Member State of the European Union / European Economic Area, an application must be made to the National Social Insurance Agency and accompanied by an EU digital Covid-19 certificate received in another European Union Member State, or a copy thereof.
If a person who qualifies for the benefit of 20 euros has been vaccinated in a country that is not a member of the European Union, for which reason the EU digital Covid-19 certificate has not been issued, then he must apply to the National Health Service for Covid-19 vaccination abroad. recognition of the fact.
Those who are celebrating their 60th anniversary in December will also receive the benefit
For many seniors, the 60-year-old will reach the threshold in November or December, but they have been vaccinated. If a person has completed a full course of vaccination against Covid-19, for example in the summer of 2021, and reaches the age of 60 on 30 December, he will be entitled to the benefit from 1 December 2021.
In November, this person was not yet 60 years old, and therefore the person will not receive the benefit for November.
There are also a number of people who at the age of 60 (because it is not the retirement age in Latvia) do not yet receive an old-age pension or any benefit. What do these people do to get benefits? Experts explain that these people must submit an application to the State Social Insurance Agency. It can be submitted in several ways: electronically to the official e-mail address (the application must be signed with a secure electronic signature containing a time stamp); electronically by e-mail; by post to any department. More detailed information should be viewed on the website of the State Social Insurance Agency vsaa.gov.lv.
The benefit will not affect social assistance
The municipal social service, when assessing the material situation of the household for granting social assistance, will not take into account the benefit paid to a senior for 20 euros per month. This may be the case if the benefit increases your monthly income and is above a certain income level for social assistance. No personal income tax will be deducted from this benefit.
You will be able to receive the benefit in one payment, but…
There may be a situation where a vaccinated person who has reached the age of 60 or more will only claim this benefit in the spring because he or she wants to receive 100 euros immediately. If this person has qualified for the benefit of 20 euros per month already from November, then in a situation when he does not receive any of the services (pension, benefit or benefit), this benefit can be claimed later, for example, in the spring, when the application will be paid 100 euros in one payment. However, it should be noted that the application must be submitted by the person within six months from 27 October of this year, when the rules for the payment of the benefit of 20 euros per month came into force, or from the date of completion of the full vaccination course, if from 27 October this year. until 31 December this year.
Russian pensioners will also receive the benefit
Russian pension recipients are also entitled to a benefit of 20 euros per month, because according to the law, it will be paid to persons living in Latvia (regardless of citizenship). The benefit will be paid without a person’s application if a person receives a Russian or other state pension through the State Social Insurance Agency. If a person receives a Russian pension directly from Russia, then the agency does not have a personal account number. In this case, you will have to write an application for the benefit.
Those who are ill but not vaccinated will not receive the benefit
The benefit of EUR 20 per month is granted only to people who have completed a full course of vaccination, so the Covid-19 test and disease certificate is not valid for the benefit. However, if a person has received an opinion from a clinical university hospital specialist or specialist council on health reasons about the need to postpone vaccination against Covid-19 until 31 March 2022, then the person can apply for the benefit, accompanied by an opinion.
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