Georgia

Old Age, Disability, and Survivors

Regulatory Framework

First law: 1956.

Current law: 1990, with amendment.

Type of program: Dual social insurance and social assistance system.

Local authorities and employers may provide supplementary benefits out of their own budgets.

Note: This information is more than 4 years old.

Coverage

Social insurance: All employed persons residing in Georgia.

Social assistance: Special social pension for elderly persons, disabled persons, and survivors is based on need as determined by local government authorities.

Source of Funds

Insured person

Social insurance: 1% of earnings.

Social assistance: None.

Employer

Social insurance: 27% of payroll for state-owned and private-sector enterprises.

Social assistance: None.

Government

Social insurance: Subsidies as needed.

Social assistance: Total cost.

The above contributions also finance benefits for maternity, work injury, and dependents' allowances.

Qualifying Conditions

Old-age pension: Age 65 (men) or age 60 (women).

Earnings test: There is an earnings test for pensioners in gainful employment.

Disability pension: See social pension, below.

Survivor pension: See social pension, below.

Social pension: Payable to an individual or to a family without other means of support. Other means of support include pension benefits (offset by the old-age pension, see below), earned income by any family member, or assistance from relatives outside the immediate household. Local departments of labor and social protection determine eligibility.

Old-Age Benefits

Old-age pension: Fourteen lari a month, regardless of the duration of covered employment.

Social pension: Eighteen lari a month for a single person; 29 lari for a family of two or more. The benefit amount is offset by 14 lari if one family member is eligible for the old-age pension.

Benefit adjustment: Ad hoc adjustments.

Permanent Disability Benefits

Disability pension: There are no cash benefits; there are certain reductions on hospital and medical charges if the disability is certified by local medical and health departments.

Social pension: A pension of 18 lari a month is payable to an eligible single disabled person; 29 lari a month if the disabled person lives in a family of two or more.

Benefit adjustment: Ad hoc adjustments.

Survivor Benefits

Survivor pension: There are no cash benefits.

Social pension: A pension of 18 lari a month for a single survivor; 29 lari a month for a family of two or more survivors.

Benefit adjustment: Ad hoc adjustments.

Administrative Organization

Republic Ministry of Labor and Social Protection provides general supervision and coordination.

Local departments of labor and social protection administer the program.

Sickness and Maternity

Regulatory Framework

First and current law: 1955, with amendment.

Type of program: Dual social insurance (employee maternity benefits) and social assistance (medical care) system.

Coverage

Cash benefits for maternity: Employees.

Medical benefits: Needy residents.

Source of Funds

Insured person: See Old Age, Disability, and Survivors, above.

Employer: See Old Age, Disability, and Survivors, above.

Government

Cash benefits: See Old Age, Disability, and Survivors, above.

Medical care: Total cost for needy residents.

Qualifying Conditions

Cash sickness benefits: There are no cash sickness benefits.

Private employers may voluntarily offer benefits if an employee has an illness that is certified by a physician (the employee pays charges for physician certification).

Cash maternity benefits: There is no minimum qualifying period.

Sickness and Maternity Benefits

Sickness benefit: There are no cash sickness benefits.

Maternity benefit: 100% of wages. The benefit is payable for 4 months before the expected date of childbirth.

Maternity leave: A mother is entitled to leave without pay for up to 8 weeks after childbirth; may be extended to up to 3 years without pay to care for an infant.

Workers' Medical Benefits

Medical services are provided directly by government health providers to needy disabled and socially unprotected residents.

Local departments of public health and local departments of labor and social protection determine eligibility.

Dependents' Medical Benefits

Same as for the head of the household.

Administrative Organization

Cash benefits for maternity: Ministry of Labor and Social Protection provides general supervision. Cash benefits are provided directly by the place of employment as well as by local departments of labor and social protection.

Medical care: Ministry of Public Health and health departments of local governments provide general supervision and coordination.

Medical services are provided through government clinics, hospitals, maternity homes, and other facilities administered by the Ministry of Public Health and local health departments.

Work Injury

Regulatory Framework

First and current laws: 1955 (short-term benefits) and 1991 (pensions), with amendment.

Type of program: Dual social insurance and social assistance system.

Coverage

Cash benefits: Employed persons. There is no minimum qualifying period.

Medical care: Employed persons. There is no minimum qualifying period.

Source of Funds

Insured person: See Old Age, Disability, and Survivors, above.

Employer: See Old Age, Disability, and Survivors, above.

Government: See Old Age, Disability, and Survivors, above; the cost of medical care for the needy.

Qualifying Conditions

Work injury benefits: There is no minimum qualifying period.

Temporary Disability Benefits

The benefit is payable if the employer is at fault. A special local commission, consisting of local health and medical officials, the employee, and the employer, determines culpability and the degree of disability.

Permanent Disability Benefits

Permanent disability pension: The benefit is payable if the employer is at fault. A special local commission, consisting of local health and medical officials, the employee, and the employer, determines culpability and the degree of disability.

If the employer is not at fault, see permanent disability benefits under Old Age, Disability, and Survivors, above.

Workers' Medical Benefits

Medical services are provided directly by government health providers to needy disabled and socially unprotected residents unless the employer is proven to have been at fault.

Local departments of public health and local departments of labor and social protection determine eligibility.

Survivor Benefits

Survivor pension: See survivor benefits under Old Age, Disability, and Survivors, above, unless the employer is proven to have been at fault.

Administrative Organization

Temporary disability benefits: If the employer is proven to have been at fault, enterprises and employers pay benefits to their own employees.

Pensions: See Old Age, Disability, and Survivors, above. If the employer is proven to have been at fault, enterprises and employers pay benefits to their own employees.

Medical care: Ministry of Health and health departments of local governments provide general supervision and coordination. Medical services are provided through clinics, hospitals, and other facilities administered by the Ministry of Health and local health departments.

Unemployment

Regulatory Framework

First and current law: 1991, implemented in 1993 with amendment.

Type of program: Social insurance system.

Coverage

Citizens between ages 16 and 65 (men) or 16 and 60 (women).

Source of Funds

Insured person: None.

Employer: 1% of payroll.

Government: Subsidies as needed from republic and local governments.

Qualifying Conditions

Unemployment benefit: Registered at an employment office and able and willing to work. The benefit may be reduced, suspended, or terminated if the insured is discharged for violating work discipline, leaving employment without good cause, violating the conditions for job placement or vocational training, or filing a fraudulent claim.

Unemployment Benefits

Unemployment benefits are paid for 6 months at the decreasing rate of 14 lari a month for the first 2 months, 12 lari a month for the third and fourth month, and 11 lari a month for the fifth and sixth month.

Benefit adjustments: Ad hoc adjustments.

Administrative Organization

Republic Ministry of Labor and Social Protection provides general supervision. Unified State Fund of Employment and its regional and local branches are responsible for financing and administering the program.

Family Allowances

Information is not available.