Croatia, research page
Research date: 2026-08-09. HZMO's English pages are far thinner than the Croatian pages, from which this was built.
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mirovinsko.hr, English, mirovinsko.hr, pensions under EU regulations and international agreements
The English mirror of that international page returned no body content, so only the Croatian page is linked.
gov.hr, pension insurance system, europa.eu, state pensions abroad
REGOS states that anyone first insured after 1 January 2002 while under 40 is compulsorily in pillar II, and that whoever did not choose a fund within one month was assigned ex officio to a category A fund. Only four managers exist: Allianz ZB, ERSTE, PBZ CROATIA OSIGURANJE and Raiffeisen.
regos.hr, membership in pillar II, regos.hr, frequently asked questions, hanfa.hr, fund register
Two years of work in your twenties after 2002, with no form ever signed, still leaves a live personal account with one of four private managers, held at REGOS and absent from the HZMO record. The ex officio default narrows it to category A funds. Neither institution shows the other's data, so checking only HZMO hides the capital.
The annual certificate reaches members through e-Gradani mailboxes, not the post, so an emigrant without e-Gradani gets nothing.
HZMO states the old-age pension is acquired at 65 years of age with 15 years of mirovinski staz. Women are transitional on that same page: 64 years 0 months in calendar year 2026, 64 years 3 months in 2027, 64 years 6 months in 2028, 64 years 9 months in 2029, equalised from 1 January 2030.
Where Croatian periods alone fall short, HZMO also counts periods completed abroad, and Article 17 of the Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina agreement obliges one state's carrier to count periods completed under the other's legislation.
narodne-novine.nn.hr, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina agreement
Six years in Croatia and twenty in Germany can still produce a Croatian pro-rata pension. A short Croatian stint is not a rule-out. HZMO's citizens' guide also states that a claim submitted in one state is deemed submitted in all states where you completed periods.
On the pillar II side the pension is paid by a mirovinsko osiguravajuce drustvo, a MOD, and the member elects Option A, pillar I only with the pillar II capital moved into pillar I, or Option B, both. Three deadlines follow: six months to select a MOD, after which REGOS assigns one; fifteen days to change that selection; and twelve months to conclude the contract with the MOD, failing which the funds revert to the state budget and Option A applies automatically.
On the HZMO side, the pension accrues at the earliest from the first day after employment ends if the claim is submitted within six months, so late claiming costs backdating.
The old-age pension is acquired at 65 years of age with 15 years of mirovinski staz. For women the transitional ages are 64 years 0 months in calendar year 2026, 64 years 3 months in 2027, 64 years 6 months in 2028 and 64 years 9 months in 2029, equalised from 1 January 2030. No age stated here may be read across to another year.
Where the periods may come from: HZMO lists Regulation (EC) 883/2004 and Regulation 987/2009 as applicable law, alongside bilateral agreements with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Australia, Canada, Quebec, South Korea and Turkey. Slovenia is absent from the bilateral list because it is an EU Member State, so Croatia and Slovenia runs under the Regulations.
Kosovo appears neither on HZMO's published list of agreements nor on its list of agreements applied. The position must be confirmed with HZMO case by case.
The treaty texts confirm 8 October 1991 as the operative Croatian independence date and that pre-1991 periods are counted. Two narrow rules are sourced, both turning on nationality and not on geography. Under Article 42(1) of the Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina agreement, periods completed in other states that the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had assumed by treaty fall to the contracting state of which the insured person is a national.
narodne-novine.nn.hr, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina agreement
That is narrow. We could not establish the general rule allocating ordinary pre-1991 Yugoslav periods between Croatia and each successor state. We will not infer one. The question goes to HZMO in writing.
Ask for the Elektronicki zapis o radno pravnom statusu, the e-radna knjizica, the electronic record of your employment-law status. HZMO confirms all registration and deregistration data are visible in it, that it can be had on paper at an HZMO counter, and that a Zahtjev za utvrdivanje staza osiguranja exists for unrecorded periods.
The portal route is e-Gradani through e-Usluge HZMO-a. Free Croatian claim forms and filing routes are published by HZMO. The identifier is the OIB, osobni identifikacijski broj, and gov.hr states that all foreign nationals can use e-Gradani if they hold an OIB.
gov.hr, e-radna knjizica, mirovinsko.hr, staz and insurance registrations, e-usluge.mirovinsko.hr, mirovinsko.hr, submitting requests, gov.hr, foreign nationals and e-Gradani
Cost: no page we read states a fee for the HZMO record, and none states it is free. Language: Croatian throughout.
Ask for the Potvrda o stanju i prometu na osobnom racunu, the certificate of balance and transactions on the personal account, electronic or paper, through the Moj racun-REGOS e-service inside e-Gradani. The identifier is the OIB.
Accepted credentials include the electronic identity card, internet banking, mToken and ePASS. An ePASS is requested at a FINA branch with an identity card and OIB.
regos.hr, personal account, gov.hr, become an e-Gradanin
Cost: gov.hr states REGOS provides these electronic documents free.
From the EU or EEA, try e-Gradani with your own national eID. gov.hr states that EU and EEA citizens can use the services with a credential from an EU or EEA state recognised for cross-border electronic use. Then in person: statements are obtainable at REGOS offices, FINA branches and the Mirovinski informativni centri in Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek.
REGOS lists postal and e-mail channels, but we could not confirm that they replace e-Gradani authentication, so we do not tell you a written request from abroad will produce the statement.
In another EU or EEA state, do not start with HZMO. The European Commission says you apply where you live or last worked, and advises asking at least six months before you retire. The single claim then reaches Croatia.
Filing in Croatia: HZMO states that where the applicant lives abroad the competent office is the one covering the place of last insurance in Croatia, and that a person abroad must also file a request for payment of the pension through a bank.
Hrvatski zavod za mirovinsko osiguranje
A. Mihanovica 3
10000 Zagreb, Republika Hrvatska
Switchboard +385 1 4595 500
HZMO publishes no e-mail address for international pensions. Use the ask-a-question form.
Gajeva ulica br. 5
10000 Zagreb
regos@regos.hr
+385 1 48 98 999, 08:00 to 16:00
Ordered by how often the missing item stops everything.
Yes. REGOS states that anyone first insured after 1 January 2002 while under 40 is compulsorily in pillar II, and whoever did not choose a fund within one month was assigned ex officio to a category A fund. Only four managers exist: Allianz ZB, ERSTE, PBZ CROATIA OSIGURANJE and Raiffeisen. So two years of work in your twenties after 2002, with no form ever signed, still leaves a live personal account with one of four private managers, held at REGOS and absent from the HZMO record. The ex officio default narrows it to category A funds.
No. Neither institution shows the other's data, so checking only HZMO hides the capital. The state first-pillar record sits with HZMO and the second-pillar personal account sits with REGOS. You have to ask both.
No. REGOS delivers the annual certificate to members through e-Gradani mailboxes, not by post, so an emigrant without e-Gradani gets nothing at all.
Possibly. HZMO states the old-age pension is acquired at 65 years of age with 15 years of mirovinski staz. Where Croatian periods alone fall short, HZMO also counts periods completed abroad, and Article 17 of the Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina agreement obliges one state's carrier to count periods completed under the other's legislation. So six years in Croatia and twenty in Germany can still produce a Croatian pro-rata pension. A short Croatian stint is not a rule-out.
Yes, on the pillar II side. The pension is paid by a mirovinsko osiguravajuce drustvo, a MOD, and the member elects Option A, pillar I only with the pillar II capital moved into pillar I, or Option B, both. Three deadlines follow: six months to select a MOD, after which REGOS assigns one; fifteen days to change that selection; and twelve months to conclude the contract with the MOD, failing which the funds revert to the state budget and Option A applies automatically. Separately, HZMO states the pension accrues at the earliest from the first day after employment ends if the claim is submitted within six months, so late filing costs backdating.
Not with HZMO first. The European Commission says you apply where you live or last worked and advises asking at least six months before you retire; the single claim then reaches Croatia. HZMO's citizens' guide states that a claim submitted in one state is deemed submitted in all states where you completed periods.
The treaty texts confirm 8 October 1991 as the operative Croatian independence date and that pre-1991 periods are counted. Only one narrow rule is sourced here: under Article 42(1) of the Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina agreement, periods completed in other states that the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had assumed by treaty fall to the contracting state of which the insured person is a national. That is narrow. We could not establish the general rule allocating ordinary pre-1991 Yugoslav periods between Croatia and each successor state, we will not infer one, and the question goes to HZMO in writing.
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