Social insurance contributions
Social insurance for persons having labour relations or relations essentially equal to labour relations
- Persons employed under employment contracts within the territory of the Republic of Lithuania (including persons posted to the Republic of Lithuania for a period of more than one year) or outside of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania but under employment contracts concluded with insurers registered in the Republic of Lithuania, unless otherwise provided for in international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania or European Union regulations harmonising social security systems, persons in paid elected or appointed membership positions, persons related with the insurer through employment or equivalent relations within the meaning of the Law on Individual Income Tax and at the same time receiving income from sports or performance activities as well as persons listed Articles 4(2), (3), (4) and (5) and Articles 6(1), (2) and (3) of the Law on State Social Insurance who are permanent residents of Lithuania within the meaning of the Law on Individual Income Tax receiving income under copyright contracts from the insurer which is a Lithuanian entity within the meaning of the Law on Individual Income Tax shall be covered by social insurance of pensions, sickness, maternity, unemployment, accidents at work and occupational diseases.
- Politicians, judges, officials and civil servants (except for civil servants referred to in Articles 4(3) and (4) of the Law on State Social Insurance) referred to in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Work Remuneration for State Politicians and Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Work Remuneration for Civil Servants, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Salaries of Judges and the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Civil Service, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Intelligence, persons referred to in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Delegation of Persons to International and European Union Institutions or public authorities of other countries whose wages and related social insurance contributions are paid by the delegating authority of the Republic of Lithuania and paid persons appointed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, the President of the Seimas, the President of the Republic or the Prime Minister shall be covered by social insurance of pensions, sickness, maternity, unemployment, accidents at work and occupational diseases.
- Internal service officials shall be covered by social insurance of pensions, sickness, maternity, unemployment, accidents at work and occupational diseases.
- Military professionals within the national defence system, military volunteers, other active reserve military staff and standby military staff deployed for exercises and training or for service shall be covered by social insurance of pensions, sickness, maternity, unemployment, accidents at work and occupational diseases.
- Undercover members of criminal intelligence services paid a salary under written undercover cooperation contracts concluded with them shall be covered by pension social insurance during a period specific in those undercover cooperation contracts.
- Persons receiving a share of profits or remuneration for their activities with a supervisory board or a management board ora loan committee paid instead of or along with a share of profits and heads of small partnerships who are not members of those small partnerships in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Small Partnerships shall be covered by pension social insurance.
- Employers must pay social insurance contributions (both employer’s and employee’s contributions) on the basis of the minimum monthly wage or the minimum hourly rate. This applies to all workers except pensioners, all kind of disabled people, all workers up to 24 years old and other workers who receive maternity, paternity or child care benefits.
- Persons employed under employment contracts shall pay social insurance contributions, except health insurance contributions, from the amount not exceeding the 60 of countries average wage. If, during the calendar year, a person has been insured by more than one employer, the celling of social insurance contributions is calculated combining the different employments or equivalent contracts of the employee (no more separately for each employer).
Social insurance of self-employed persons
- Permanent residents of Lithuania who are not listed in Article 4(1) of the Law on State Social Insurance and receive income under copyright contracts from the insurer, a Lithuanian entity, shall be covered by social insurance of pensions, sickness and maternity, except where such income is received as a result of individual activity.
- Permanent residents of Lithuania receiving income from sports or performance activities within the meaning of the Law on Individual Income Tax paid by the insurer, a Lithuanian entity, with which they are not related through employment or equivalent relations within the meaning of the Law on Individual Income Tax shall be covered by social insurance of pensions, sickness and maternity, except where such income is received as a result of individual activity.
- Permanent residents of Lithuania engaging in relevant (creative, performance or sports) individual activity shall be covered by social insurance of pensions, sickness and maternity.
- Farmers and their partners, members of a household and persons engaging in individual activity within the meaning of the Law on Individual Income Tax, except persons engaging in individual activity on the grounds of a business certificate, shall be covered by social insurance of pensions, sickness and maternity. Farmers and their partners may pay no social insurance contributions (that period shall not be included in the social insurance record and throughout that period they shall not be deemed covered by social insurance) in the cases provided in Articles 11(2), (3) of the Law on State Social Insurance.
- Owners of individual enterprises, members of small partnerships and full members of partnerships shall be covered by social insurance of pensions, sickness, maternity and unemployment where they receive income referred to in Article 10(3) of the Law on State Social Insurance.
- Persons engaging in individual activity on the grounds of a business certificate shall be covered by pension social insurance. They may pay no social insurance contributions (that period shall not be included in the social insurance record and throughout that period they shall not be deemed covered by social insurance) in the cases provided in Article 11(2) of the Law on State Social Insurance.
Persons covered by social insurance due to a particular social status
- During the period of living abroad together with a civil servant, delegated person or special attachés where such civil servants, delegated persons or special attachés are delegated or posted to work in a diplomatic mission or a consular unit of the Republic of Lithuania, a representation of the Republic of Lithuania in an international organisation, an international or European Union institutions or a public authority of other countries sent to work in a special mission or where they live together with a military professional where such a military professional is deployed to serve in a diplomatic mission or a consular unit of the Republic of Lithuania, a representation of the Republic of Lithuania in an international organisation or a foreign or international military or defence authority, spouses of civil servants, military professionals and delegated persons as well as the spouse of the President of the Republic before reaching the old-age retirement age and having no insured income shall be covered by social insurance of pensions, maternity and unemployment at the cost of the State. Spouses of delegated persons shall only be covered where the salary of the delegated person and related social insurance contributions are paid by the delegating authority of the Republic of Lithuania. The spouse of the President of the Republic before reaching the old-age retirement age and having no insured income shall be covered during the term of office of the President of the Republic.
- One of the parents (step-parents) chosen at the discretion of the family or a person appointed a child’s guardian in accordance with the statutory procedure bringing up a child under the age of 3 years shall be covered by pension and unemployment social insurance at the cost of the State.
- One of the parents (step-parents) of a disabled person with an established special need for continuous care or a person appointed the official guardian or carer for that disabled person in accordance with the statutory procedure who has not reached the old-age retirement age and takes care of the disabled person at home shall be covered by pension and unemployment social insurance at the cost of the State.
- Military staff in compulsory initial military service in the Army of the Republic of Lithuania and persons in alternative national defence service shall be covered at the cost of the State by social insurance of pensions, maternity, unemployment and accidents at work and occupational diseases.
- Students of vocational training and higher education establishments and persons referred for vocational training or professional rehabilitation by regional offices of Employment Service under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania exchange branches throughout the period of their internship at an establishment or enterprise as well as persons studying under vocational training programmes at a training institution for penitentiary personnel, at a vocational training institution for interior matters or attending an initial training course at a vocation training institution for interior matters and having signed a contract for joining the internal service or serving in the military while studying at a military training establishment (military students) throughout their training and exercise period shall be covered at the cost of the State only by social insurance of accidents at work and occupational diseases.
- Spiritual guides of conventional and other State-recognised religious communities and monks shall be covered at the cost of the State by pension social insurance.
- Persons of working age who hold the status of an artist shall be covered at the cost of the State by social insurance of pensions, sickness and maternity.
- Persons receiving wages who are in social and psychological rehabilitation establishments shall only be covered throughout their period of employment by social insurance of accidents at work and occupational diseases.
- Persons in voluntary internship in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Employment shall be covered at the cost of the State throughout the period of validity of the voluntary internship contract by social insurance of accidents at work and occupational diseases.
- Athletes who are paid a state scholarship in accordance with the procedure established by the Sports Law of the Republic of Lithuania, not exceeding the amount of the minimum monthly salary approved by the Government, are insured by the state with pension, sickness and maternity social insurance, calculating social insurance contributions from the minimum monthly salary approved by the Government in the event that they do not have insurance income.
The state voluntary sickness and maternity insurance
Permanent residents of the Republic of Lithuania or of a European Union Member State older than 16 years may choose to be covered by voluntary sickness social insurance to receive sickness benefits and by maternity social insurance to receive maternity benefits if they:
- have not reached the old-age retirement age or are not deemed incapable or partially incapable of work (before 1 July 2005 – invalids);
- are not covered by that kind of social insurance.
State social insurance contributions rates for the year 2024*
* Health insurance contribution rate from 2013 is no longer approved by the Law on Approving the Indices of the State Social Insurance Fund Budget, it is approved by the Law on Health Insurance since 2013.
The rates of the state social insurance contributions payable by insurerd persons for pension, sickness, maternity and health insurance – 19.5 percent. Rates amounts for separate types of social insurance:
- for pension social insurance – 8.72 percent;
- for sickness social insurance – 1.99 percent;
- for maternity social insurance – 1.81 percent;
- for health insurance – 6.98 percent.
The overall rates of the state social insurance contributions of the insurer – 1.47 percent. Rate amounts for separate types of social insurance:
- for unemployment social insurance – 1.31 percent, (the rate of unemployment insurance contributions under fixed-term employment contracts shall be 2.03 percent);
- the overall rate for accidents at work and occupational diseases insurance– 0.16 percent.In practice four categories of rates of insurance contributions for accidents at work and occupational diseases are applied, depending on company’s risk profile:
- Category I – 0.14 percent;
- Category II – 0.46 percent;
- Category III – 0.7 percent;
- Category IV – 1.4 percent.
Rate of the state social insurance contributions of persons who are related to the insurer by employment relations or corresponding relations and who at the same time receive from this insurer income from sports activities, performance activities or under copyright contracts:
- for pension social insurance – 8.72 percent;
- for sickness social insurance – 1.99 percent;
- for maternity social insurance – 1.81 percent;
- for unemployment social insurance – 1.31 percent;
- for health insurance – 6.98 percent;
- the overall rate of the state social insurance contributions for accidents at work and occupational diseases – 0.16 percent. In practice four categories of rates of insurance contributions for accidents at work and occupational diseases are applied, depending on company’s risk profile:
- Category I – 0.14 percent;
- Category II – 0.46 percent;
- Category III – 0.7 percent;
- Category IV – 1.4 percent.
Rate of the state social insurance contributions of persons who receive income under copyright contracts from the insurer, with which they are not related by employment or corresponding relations:
- for pension social insurance – 8.72 percent;
- for sickness social insurance – 1.99 percent;
- for maternity social insurance – 1.81 percent;
- for health insurance – 6.98 percent.
Rate of the state social insurance contributions of persons who receive income for sports or performance activities from the insurer, with which they are not related by employment or corresponding relations:
- for pension social insurance – 8.72 percent;
- for sickness social insurance – 1.99 percent;
- for maternity social insurance – 1.81 percent;
- for health insurance – 6.98 percent.
The overall rates of the state social insurance contributions of self-employed persons (with the exception of the persons engaged in individual activities on the grounds of a business certificate, owners of individual enterprises, members of small partnerships and full members of partnerships) for pension, sickness, maternity social insurance and health insurance – 19.5 percent. Rates amounts for separate types of social insurance:
- for pension social insurance – 8.72 percent;
- for sickness social insurance – 1.99 percent;
- for maternity social insurance – 1.81 percent;
- for health insurance – 6.98 percent.
Rate of the state social insurance contributions of the owners of individual enterprises, members of small partnerships, full members of partnerships:
- for pension social insurance – 8.72 percent;
- for sickness social insurance – 1.99 percent;
- for maternity social insurance – 1.81 percent;
- for unemployment social insurance – 1.31. percent
- for health insurance – 6.98 percent.
Rate of the state social insurance contributions of persons engaged in individual activities on the grounds of a business certificate:
- for pension social insurance – 8.72 percent;
- for health insurance – 6.98 percent.
Rate of the state social insurance contributions of undercover members of criminal intelligence services:
- for pension social insurance – 8.72 percent.