Employer RSZ contribution on group insurance for employees

Please note: this article concerns an RSZ (national social security) contribution on the periodic premium paid by an employer. It has nothing to do with any deductions made upon payout of a policy's capital for the benefit of a beneficiary.

What is the special contribution?

Employees do not have to pay social security contributions on the group insurance. The employer, however, must pay a special contribution of 8,86% to RSZ. To this end, the employer must report a so-called RSZ basis to its social secretariat every quarter. The special RSZ contribution is therefore not collected automatically (unless the supplementary pension is arranged at sector or industry level); a quarterly action by the employer toward its social secretariat is required.

What is the RSZ basis?

The basis on which the RSZ contribution of 8,86% is charged equals the sum of the employer premium excluding taxes, for the life cover (pension building) and death cover (including the premium for any additional accidental death cover).

Where do I find the RSZ basis for my employees' group insurance?

You will find the RSZ basis on your statement or invoice from the insurer. With most insurers, as an employer you can also download a calculation table in your online module showing the RSZ basis for the past period. You provide this document to your social secretariat periodically.

Please note: there is no point in recalculating this RSZ basis yourself as an employer. This could, for example, be a concern you have as an employer if you are waiting for an important correction to the premium. This would typically be the case with a start or end of employment that takes a long time to process. Be aware that the insurer will credit any premium that was overpaid, and in the other case will catch up the not yet charged premium afterward in one move. The RSZ basis of that future invoice will therefore either decrease or increase. In practice, the RSZ basis shown on the insurer's documents will therefore not correspond 100% with the RSZ basis theoretically due for that period. This is not a problem. Over the long term, these differences will even out. It is advisable to always adopt the RSZ basis communicated to you by the insurer.

What about the self-employed?

The above mentioned RSZ contribution does not apply to group insurance policies or individual pension commitments for the self-employed.

What is the total cost or "wage mass" for a group insurance policy for employees?

This is a question we often get in the context of budgeting. Here is an example you can use as a rule of thumb. Suppose you have a group insurance policy of 6% on W with W = 13.9233 times the gross monthly salary of January.

Then the total "cash out" for you as an employer at most equals:

(6% x 13,9233 x gross monthly salary of January) x (1 + 4,4% tax on premium + 8,86% RSZ)

or

(6% x 13,92233 x W) x (1,1326)

In practice this will be an overestimate, because the 6% budget often also includes additional disability benefits. The premiums for these benefits are not subject to the 8,86% special RSZ contribution. The taxes can also deviate somewhat in practice. For more information about the applicable taxes on personal insurance, click here.