Many companies affected by the corona pandemic and the associated economic challenges are currently using the "2-phase model" of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) to reduce corona-related premium arrears.
ÖGK points out that the first phase of the "2-phase model" ends on September 30, 2022. Agreed installment agreements will expire as agreed. Any contribution arrears from the contribution periods February 2020 to May 2021 must therefore generally be paid by the end of September 2022.
Phase 2
Employers who are unable to settle their entire contribution arrears by this date have the option, under certain conditions, to take advantage of further payment relief in a second phase.
ÖGK offers payment relief in the form of installment agreements for a further 21 months - i.e., up to a maximum of June 30, 2024.
Requirements
In the period from 01.07.2021 to 30.09.2022, at least 40% of the original contribution arrears were paid.
Only contributions that could not be paid in full due to an installment agreement valid until 30.09.2022 are affected.
New liabilities (i.e. contributions from the June 2021 contribution period onwards) cannot be the subject of a phase 2 installment agreement.
In the installment payment period ending Sept. 30, 2022, there was no loss of date - the installments were paid as agreed.
It is credibly demonstrated that the contribution arrears remaining as of 30.09.2022 can be paid in addition to the ongoing contributions.
Default interest
The temporary reduction of the default interest rate by two percent to 1.38% will expire at the end of phase 1. From 01.10.2022, the statutory default interest rate will be 3.38% again.
Application
The installment application for phase 2 must be submitted by 30.09.2022 at the latest. An automatic transition from phase 1 to phase 2 is not possible.
According to ÖGK, no legal payment relief for Phase 2 can be claimed after 30.09.2022.
Further information can be found here:
If you want to discuss any of the topics raised, please contact our expert Martin Schmidt.
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