The terms and conditions of the participation of employees and other groups performing work or similar activities in pension insurance are regulated by Act No. 155/1995 Coll., on pension insurance, as amended.

The following persons pursuing gainful activities, participate in the pension insurance, if the prescribed terms and conditions are met:

• Employees in employment relationship,
• Employees with an agreement on working activity,
• Employees based on an agreement to complete a job, provided their reported income exceeds CZK 10 000,
• Employees within employment concluded according to foreign legal regulations,
• Partners and executives of limited liability companies and limited partners in special limited partnerships if they carry out work for the company outside of an employment relationship, and directors of public undertakings or utilities if they carry out work for the company outside of an employment relationship,
• Heads (directors) of establishments (branches) of legal persons where the registered office of such legal person is located in a state with which the Czech Republic has not concluded an international agreement on social security, provided such establishments (branches) are registered in the Commercial Register and the permanent place of work of such heads (directors) is in the Czech Republic,
• Members of the Police Force of the Czech Republic, the Prison Service of the Czech Republic, the Security Information Service, the General Security Forces Inspection, the Office for Foreign Relations and Information, the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic, the Customs Administration of the Czech Republic, professional soldiers, and civil servant pursuant to the Civil Service Act,
• Members of a cooperative, if they work outside employment relationship for the cooperative,
• Individuals, who are, pursuant to a special legal regulation, appointed and/or elected to act as the head of an administrative authority or the statutory body of a legal entity established pursuant to a special legal regulation, or to act as the deputy of such a head or statutory body, if this head / statutory body is only one person, and the appointment / election did not result in an employment / service relationship for these persons, and physical entities holding a public office outside of an employment / service relationship pursuant to a special legal regulation, if the Labour Code applies to their employment relationship within the stipulated extent, if the Labour Code applies to their industrial relation within the given scope and they are not stated in Section 5 (1) (g) to (i) and (o) to (s) of the Act no. 155/1995 Coll., on Pension Insurance,
• judges,
• Members of municipal councils and city districts / precincts councils of regionally subdivided statutory cities and the city of Prague, who are released to hold the office,
• Members of the Chamber of Deputies and Senators of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic,
• The President of the Czech Republic, cabinet members, the president, the Vice-President, and members of the Supreme Audit Office, members of the Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting, members of the Council of the Energy Regulatory Office, members of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, members of the Czech Telecommunication Office, members of the Czech Fiscal Council, the financial arbitrator, the deputy financial arbitrator, the Public Defender of Rights, and the Deputy of the Public Defender of Rights,
• Voluntary day care employees,
• Foster-parents who provide foster care within establishments that provide foster care pursuant to a special legal regulation, or who receive remuneration for providing foster care as a foster-parent in special cases pursuant to a special legal regulation,
• Convicted persons serving a sentence of imprisonment enrolled for work and Individuals serving a prison sentence reintegrated into work and persons in security detention reintegrated into work,
• Persons who are attending a secondary school or college (hereinafter “secondary school”) or university in the Czech Republic to systematically prepare for their future profession, for the first six years of such studies after attaining 18 years of age before 2010,
• Persons listed as job applicants in the records of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic - Regional Office or of the branch office for the Capital City of Prague (hereinafter the “Regional Branch of the Labour Office”) for the period that they are entitled to an unemployment benefit or retraining benefit, and at most three years, also for the period that they are not entitled to the unemployment benefit or retraining benefit, with such three-year period being ascertained retroactively from the date of the pension entitlement; the period during which they were not entitled to unemployment benefits or retraining benefits prior to attaining 55 years of age is included in this period up to a maximum of 1 year; the period for which they are insured in accordance with Section 6(1)(a) and (2) and the period of gainful employment that, according to a special legal regulation, does not prevent (is not an obstacle to) inclusion and maintenance in the record of job applicants, even if this activity generates insurance affiliation, are not included,
• Persons with medical handicaps involved in theoretical and practical preparation for employment or other gainful activity
• Persons in military service in the armed forces of the Czech Republic, provided they are not professional soldiers or soldiers in some other service or reserve soldiers in active service before July 2016,
• Persons caring personally for a child up to four years old,
• Persons caring personally for a child under 10 years old who is dependent on the care of another person to the first degree (slight dependency), or for a person who is dependent on the care of a person to the second degree (medium dependency) or the third degree (high dependency) or the fourth degree (complete dependency), provided they live together in the same household; the common household condition is not required if the person is a relative or a social care assistant according to law no. 108/2006 Coll.,
• Beneficiaries of a disability pension for a disability of the third degree [Section 39(2)(c)] from Czech insurance, up to the age that the entitlement to an old-age pension arises in accordance with Section 32;for the purposes of insurance affiliation, beneficiaries of a disability pension for a disability of the third degree [Section 39(2)(c)] are also persons who do not collect such pension although they fulfil the conditions for entitlement to such pension and collect a service benefit according to special laws,
• Persons after ending gainful activity generating sickness insurance affiliation pursuant to a special legal regulation, during temporary work incapacity that they did not purposefully induce, provided such temporary work incapacity arose during the gainful activity or in a protective period pursuant to special legal regulation, during a quarantine ordered pursuant to a special legal regulation during such gainful activity or during a protective period pursuant to a special legal regulation, during the support period with respect to a treatment allowance, during the support period with respect to long term care allowance, during the support period with respect to Fathers Post-Natal Care benefit and during the support period with respect to maternity assistance prior to birth,
• Authorised agents (proxies)
• Persons who are provided with special protection and assistance based on a special legal regulation, provided they cannot carry out gainful activity in accordance with a statement issued by the body authorised to provide special protection and assistance.
• Members of collective bodies of legal persons, who are not mentioned in Section 5 par. a) to c), f) to i), p) and s) of Act No. 155/1995 Coll., on pension insurance,
• Liquidators (receivers)
• persons entrusted with business management under contractual representation (effective from 1 January 2014);
• natural persons, other than those listed in Section 5(1)(a) to (d) and (f) to (s) of Act No. 155/1995 Coll., on pension insurance, with the exception of members of local self-government units and councils of municipal districts or city districts of territorially divided statutory cities and the capital city of Prague, elected to functions the council has not designated as functions for which the council members will be relieved;
• public prosecutors performing the function of European Delegated Prosecutors in the Czech Republic in accordance with the directly applicable regulation of the European Union regulating the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office

In addition, self employed persons if they are self-employed in the territory of the Czech Republic and meet the prescribed terms and conditions participate in the insurance.

Since 1 January 1996, only persons older than 18 years of age may participate voluntarily in the pension insurance, unless otherwise provided by law. The District Social Security Administration (DSSA) competent according to the permanent place of residence of a citizen or reported place of residence in the Czech republic (in case of foreign nationals) may accept applications and keep a record of the voluntary pension insurance. For persons who do not have a permanent or reported place of residence in the territory of the Czech Republic, any DSSA approached by such person must accept the application for voluntary pension insurance. If the application for participation in the voluntary pension insurance is filed when the pension proceedings are already underway, the DSSA with which the pension application has been filed shall be competent in the proceedings on payment of the premium. Since 1 January 2012, participation in the voluntary pension insurance is possible until the day immediately preceding the date on which the old-pension entitlement was acquired.

The amount of voluntary pension insurance premiums shall be determined as a percentage from the assessment base. The assessment base of a person participating voluntarily in pension insurance for the pension insurance premiums is the amount to be determined by such person, but at least one quarter of the average salary applicable in the calendar year in which the pension insurance premiums are paid. For the purposes of this Act, the average salary is an amount calculated as the product of the general assessment base for the calendar year two years preceding the calendar year for which the average salary is determined and the conversion rate for the adjustment of such general assessment base; the calculated amount is rounded up to the nearest whole CZK.

The rate of the premium from the general assessment base shall be 28% for the person participating voluntarily in the pension scheme.

The lowest monthly premium paid in 2024 is 28% from the amount equal to one quarter of the average salary in 2024, i.e. CZK 3,078.

Reasons allowing participation in voluntary pension insurance

1) If a person is registered with the labour office as a job applicant, unless the person unemployment benefits or retraining benefits are awarded for that period.

2) Systematic preparation for a future occupation - studying at secondary or higher vocational school (hereinafter referred to as "secondary school") or at the university in the Czech Republic, or abroad if, according to the decision of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic, such study program is an equivalent to the secondary and higher education in the Czech Republic, with the exception of the first 6 years of study after reaching 18 year of age , starting from 1 January 1996.

This insurance shall only be applicable after 1 January 2002. Since 1 January 2010, one can participate voluntarily in the pension insurance for the whole time of one’s studies, once they reach 18 years of age.

These two types of voluntary insurance may also apply retrospectively before filing the application without any time limitations.

3) Gainful activity abroad after 31 December 1995, in the event of :

• employees in employment relationship,
• members of cooperatives, where membership requires their employment relationship with the cooperative, if they also perform work for the cooperative outside their employment relationship, for which they receive remuneration,
• self-employed persons (self-employed).

4) Performance of a long-term voluntary service under a contract concluded with the delegating organization.

Participation in this type of insurance is possible at the earliest from 1 January 2003 and the insurance can only be in effect for the duration of the voluntary service. The citizen will attach the relevant contract with the delegating organization registered with the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic to the application.

5) Activities in the Czech Republic for the benefit of a foreign employer, in respect of persons who are employees of a foreign employer and are active in the Czech Republic for the benefit of that employer.

Participation in this type of insurance is possible at the earliest from 1 January 2009 and the insurance can only be in effect for the time when such activities are performed. A relevant document demonstrating the existence and term of employment or similar relationship with the foreign employer (typically an employment contract) must be attached to the application.

For the period prior to the date of application, participation in insurance shall only be possible for a maximum period of two years immediately preceding such date for the three types of voluntary insurance above.

6) Performance of duties of a member of the European Parliament, elected in the territory of the Czech Republic - effective from 19 September 2009.

7) Staying abroad, if a person joins his/her spouse or registered partner, a state employee under the Act on State Service or employee of the state’s organization unit, who has been sent to perform work or serve abroad with a consent of such state organization unit, and who has no income from dependent activity or is not self-employed or is not a person performing similar activities according to the laws of another state, to which the his/her spouse or registered partner has been sent to perform work or serve abroad; in such case the insurance premiums may be paid by the employer of his/her spouse or registered partner – effective from 1 January 2015

In the period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014, the person's participation is possible for the duration of his/her stay abroad, for such time for which the person joined his/her spouse working abroad for the diplomatic service of the Czech Republic. A confirmation by the Ministry of International Affairs of the Czech Republic (or the Ministry of Defence) must be attached to the application demonstrating this and also the married certificate demonstrating a marriage with the person working in the diplomatic service of the Czech Republic, for the whole time, for which the voluntary insurance is to be in effect for the reasons above.

These two types of voluntary insurance may also be applied retrospectively before filing an application without any time limitations, however not earlier than from the date when the legislation came into force.

8) Voluntary participation in pension insurance is also possible without giving a reason.

Also persons older than 18 years of age who have submitted an application for the participation in the voluntary insurance without meeting any of the conditions given in points (1) to (7) above may pearticipate in the insurance. Since 1 February 2018, such participation in the insurance requires additional condition, being that the participation in the Czech pension insurance arising from the performance of gainful activities had lasted at least one year before the application was filed. However, in such case participation in the insurance may not exceed 15 years. For the period prior to the date of application, participation in the insurance shall be possible for a maximum period of one year immediately preceding such date.

If the 15-year period has expired and the citizen have not submitted a notice of cancellation of the insurance, the participation in the insurance shall terminate on the last day of such period. The premiums paid after the insurance termination shall be refunded as an overpayment to the insurance premium.

Registration for voluntary pension insurance

A person over the age of 18 who is not a participant in mandatory pension insurance can apply for voluntary participation in pension insurance by filling in the form "Registration for voluntary pension insurance" (the Registration) on the Czech Social Security Administration (CSSA) ePortal. The completed Registration can be sent electronically if the user is logged in to the CSSA ePortal. Users who are not logged in may print out the completed and signed Registration, and then send it by post or hand it over in person at the competent DSSA.

Withdrawal from voluntary participation in pension insurance

A person who is a participant in voluntary pension insurance may at any time submit a withdrawal from such insurance. Any citizen who participates in pension insurance (under Section 6(1) of Act No 155/1995) must within a time limit of eight days submit a withdrawal from participation in pension insurance, in case that the conditions for such participation cease to apply. If this citizen fails within this time limit to submit a withdrawal from voluntary participation in pension insurance, then he/she is considered to be a participant in pension insurance under Section 6(2) of Act No 155/1995, if the time limit laid down in that provision has not expired.

Withdrawal is performed by completing the “Withdrawal from voluntary participation in pension insurance” form (the Withdrawal) on the CSSA ePortal. The completed Withdrawal can be sent electronically if the user is logged in to the CSSA ePortal. Users who are not logged in may print out the completed and signed Withdrawal, and then send it by post or hand it over in person at the competent DSSA.

More details can be found in the Czech language Voluntary participation in insurance (CZ)