Bosnia and Herzegovina's Federal Pension Institute clarifies pension calculation and missing contribution payments

The Federal Pension and Disability Insurance Institute (MIO) of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina explains that a pension claim is started only after a formal request by the insured or a family member. The pension amount is calculated through a point system that considers the length of pensionable service, the insured's earned salary relative to the average salary in the same year, and the general point value for the retirement year. The formula involves computing an annual personal coefficient (earned salary ÷ average salary), aggregating these coefficients over the insured period, and then multiplying the personal point by the general point to obtain the final pension amount.

For workers who discover missing contribution periods because an employer failed to pay, the institute cites Article 128 of the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, which allows the insured to cover unpaid contributions from their own funds. This does not constitute buying additional service years; it merely settles the debt for periods in which the worker was employed, thereby including those months in the final pension calculation. Each case is assessed individually, and there are legal limits on how many months can be paid directly by the insured.