Latvia's Social Welfare System: Overview

Latvia's system is mainly insurance-based. Employees from age 15 and the self-employed pay state social insurance contributions (VSAOI), which fund pensions, unemployment, sickness, maternity, paternity and parental benefits. For employees the rate is 34.09% of gross pay: 10.50% paid by the employee and 23.59% by the employer (2026). The State Social Insurance Agency (VSAA) pays most benefits. Health care is organised by the National Health Service (NVD) and paid from the state budget, which receives 1 percentage point of the contribution rate. Social assistance and housing benefit come from your municipality's social service (sociālais dienests). The minimum monthly wage is €780 (2026).

Your residence status matters. Some benefits, such as the family state benefit and the childcare allowance, are not granted to people with a temporary residence permit. Citizens, Latvian non-citizens and permanent residents are covered on the same terms. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens are protected by the EU coordination rules.

First registrations for newcomers:

• Personal code and residence: declare your place of residence within one month of moving in, at the municipality, at PMLP or free of charge online at latvija.gov.lv (€4.27 in person). Many benefits require an active status in the Register of Natural Persons.
• Payroll tax book (algas nodokļa grāmatiņa): registered with the State Revenue Service (VID) in its online system (EDS) so that your employer applies the non-taxable minimum.
• Family doctor: register with a family doctor (ģimenes ārsts), your entry point to state-funded care.
• Latvija.gov.lv: most VSAA, NVA and VID applications can be made online with an eID card or online-banking login.

The areas at a glance

• Health: state-funded care via NVD; patient fees such as €2 per family-doctor visit, capped at €570 a year.
• Pension: pension age 65 with at least 20 years of insurance; a funded second pillar for people born after 1 July 1971.
• Unemployment: benefit for up to 8 months after 12 months of contributions in the last 16; then the guaranteed minimum income benefit.
• Family: €600 childbirth benefit (2026), €298 a month childcare allowance until 1½ years, and a family state benefit from €25 a month per child.
• Tax: income tax 25.5%, 33% above €105,300 a year, with a €550 monthly non-taxable minimum (2026).
• Housing: written lease, deposit of at most 2 months' rent; municipal housing benefit and social housing.
• Education: compulsory from age 5 until basic education is completed or age 18; free public schools; state-guaranteed student loans.
• Parental: 112–140 days of maternity benefit at 80%, 10 working days of paternity benefit, and parental benefit for 13 or 19 months.

Things to watch

• Many amounts change on 1 January, and pensions were also indexed on 1 October 2026. Check the figures before you apply.
• Several benefits are paid only if you apply in time: for example, the childbirth benefit within 6 months of the birth.
• VSAA, NVA and VID publish their detailed rules in Latvian first; the English pages are shorter and sometimes older.

Official guidance: VSAA: changes in 2026, VSAA: about contributions, Ministry of Welfare: changes in 2026, PMLP: declaring your residence, Latvija.gov.lv

Health Care in Latvia (valsts apmaksātā veselības aprūpe)

Latvia has a state-funded health system organised by the National Health Service (Nacionālais veselības dienests, NVD). The NVD contracts family doctors, clinics and hospitals; you pay only a small patient fee for most state-funded services. Under the Health Care Financing Law, everyone has the right to emergency care. The full range of services comes through state mandatory health insurance (valsts obligātā veselības apdrošināšana).

Who is covered

• Emergency care: everyone.
• Basic minimum (emergency care, childbirth, family-doctor care and treatment of certain public-health diseases): citizens, Latvian non-citizens, foreigners with a permanent residence permit, refugees and people with alternative status.
• Full state health insurance: people who pay social insurance contributions as employees or self-employed, and, among residents in the groups above, children under 18, full-time students, registered unemployed people, pensioners, people with a disability, one parent of a child under 7 (or of at least three children under 15), and people receiving the childcare or parental benefit. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens working in Latvia, and their family members, are also covered.
• The law also provides for a yearly health insurance contribution of 5% of 12 times the minimum monthly wage for residents outside these groups. For 2018–2026 it does not have to be paid: you keep full cover anyway.

Family doctor and referrals

• Register with a family doctor (ģimenes ārsts). Planned care is given within 5 working days of booking. Evenings, nights and weekends: the family doctor advice line 66016001 or a doctor on duty.
• Referrals: for a state-funded specialist visit or test, you normally need a referral from your family doctor (some specialists can also refer you). Only a specialist can refer you for a state-funded MRI. A doctor seen as a paid private patient cannot issue a referral for state-funded care.

Patient fees (pacienta līdzmaksājums)

Fees under Cabinet Regulation No. 555 (NVD page updated 2025):

• family-doctor visit: €2, or €1 from age 65; specialist visit: €4
• hospital stay: €10 a day from the second day; day hospital: €7 a day
• CT scan: €14 (€21 with contrast); MRI: €28 (€35 with contrast)
• caps: €355 per hospital stay and €570 per calendar year
• no fees for children under 18, for pregnancy and post-natal care, for people officially recognised as poor, or for people with a group I disability, among others

Sick pay

If you are ill and employed, your employer pays days 2–3 at least 75% and days 4–9 at least 80% of your average earnings. From day 10 the VSAA sickness benefit pays 80% of your average insured earnings, for up to 26 weeks (52 weeks with a medical commission opinion).

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• With a temporary residence permit you are not in the basic-minimum groups. You have full cover only while you pay contributions (or as the under-18 child of an employed person), so check your private insurance.
• Paid private visits do not count: the referral and the fee cap work only inside the state-funded system.
• Keep your receipts. Fees count towards the €570 yearly cap, and many medical and dental costs are also deductible in your annual income tax return.

Official guidance: NVD: patient fees, NVD: family doctor, NVD: outpatient services, Health Care Financing Law, VSAA: sickness benefit

Pensions in Latvia (pensiju līmeņi)

Latvia's pension system has three levels. The first level is the state old-age pension paid by the State Social Insurance Agency (VSAA). The second level is the state funded pension scheme, where part of your contributions is invested for you. The third level is voluntary saving in private pension funds. Contributions for pension capital equal 20% of your insured earnings, shared between the first and second levels and included in the 34.09% social insurance rate (2026); members of the second level pay nothing extra.

State old-age pension (vecuma pensija)

• Pension age: 65 (since 1 January 2025).
• Minimum insurance record: 20 years (since 2025).
• Early pension: up to 2 years before pension age with at least 30 years of insurance. Until pension age it is paid at 50% if you do not work and not at all while you work, and the amount stays permanently at the early level.
• Amount: your registered and indexed pension capital divided by the expected number of payment years. Working longer or retiring later raises it. A minimum pension applies: a base of €213 multiplied by 1.2, plus 2% of the base for each insurance year over 20 (2026).
• No pension right? Residents of pension age who are not entitled to a pension can receive the state social security benefit of €187 a month (2026).
• Applying: no earlier than one month before you reach pension age. If you apply late, payment goes back at most 6 months.
• Tax: pensioners have a non-taxable minimum of €1,000 a month (2026).

Second and third levels

• Second level (valsts fondēto pensiju shēma): compulsory for people born after 1 July 1971, voluntary for those born between 2 July 1951 and 1 July 1971. You choose an investment plan run by a fund manager. At retirement you can add the capital to your state pension or buy a lifetime annuity from an insurer.
• Third level: private pension funds and savings life insurance. Contributions are deductible up to 10% of your taxable income and at most €4,000 a year (2026).

Working abroad: agreements

• Within the EU, EEA and Switzerland, the EU coordination rules (Regulation (EC) No 883/2004) apply, and through the withdrawal agreement also for the United Kingdom. If your Latvian record is too short, insurance periods from these countries count towards your entitlement, but Latvia pays only on the capital built up in Latvia.
• Latvia also has bilateral social security agreements with some countries, for example the United States, Canada, Australia, Ukraine and Moldova. VSAA publishes the full list.
• Since 17 June 2023, Latvian old-age pensions can also be paid to people living outside the EU.

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• With fewer than 20 years of insurance you get no Latvian old-age pension unless periods from the EU or an agreement country can be added. Check your record in the VSAA e-services early.
• Contributions count only if they were actually paid. Undeclared work leaves gaps in your capital.
• If you move abroad (outside the cases covered by EU rules or an agreement) and keep receiving your Latvian pension, send VSAA proof that you are alive each year between 1 October and 15 December, or payments can stop.
• An early pension is permanent. You cannot raise it later by waiting until 65.

Official guidance: VSAA: old-age pension, VSAA: second pension level, VSAA: pensions in the EU, VSAA: intergovernmental agreements, VID: deductible expenses

Unemployment Benefit in Latvia (bezdarbnieka pabalsts)

If you lose your job, two agencies are involved. The State Employment Agency (Nodarbinātības valsts aģentūra, NVA) grants unemployed status (bezdarbnieka statuss) and offers job search help and training. The State Social Insurance Agency (VSAA) pays the unemployment benefit, which is funded by social insurance contributions. When the benefit ends, your municipality can help with means-tested social assistance.

Who can get it

• Unemployed status (NVA): you do not work or earn income subject to contributions, you are looking for work and can start at once, you are at least 15 and below pension age, you are not a full-time school pupil and you run no business. Apply no earlier than the day after your job ends, online in the NVA CV and vacancy portal or at a branch. NVA decides within two weeks, and the status counts from the day it received your application.
• Benefit (VSAA): you need unemployed status, a total insurance record of at least 1 year, and unemployment insurance contributions for at least 12 of the last 16 months before you became unemployed.
• In the NVA portal you can apply for the status and the benefit at the same time. Otherwise submit both applications on the same day.

Amount and duration

• Basis: your average insured earnings over 12 months, ending two months before the month you became unemployed, leaving out the highest and lowest months.
• Rate by insurance record: 50% (1–9 years), 55% (10–19 years), 60% (20–29 years), 65% (30 years or more).
• Duration: up to 8 months, paid monthly for the previous month: the full amount in months 1–2, then 75% in months 3–4, 50% in months 5–6 and 45% in months 7–8.
• If you resigned or were dismissed for a breach: the benefit starts two months after you get unemployed status, so the first payment arrives in the third month.
• After caring for a child up to age 1½ or a child with a disability, the benefit is 60% of €374 (2026).

After the benefit: social assistance

• The guaranteed minimum income (GMI) benefit (garantētā minimālā ienākuma pabalsts) is paid by your municipality's social service. The thresholds are €187 for the first person in the household and €131 for each other person (2026). The benefit tops up your household income to this level and is granted for 3 or 6 months at a time.
• A household with income up to €425 for the first person and €298 for each other person (2026) can be recognised as needy (trūcīga), which also exempts you from health care patient fees. Your municipality can also pay a housing benefit (see Housing).
• Registered unemployed people are covered by state health insurance.

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• Do not wait: both the status and the benefit start only from your application, not from the day you lost your job.
• Any income while you receive the benefit, including royalties, stops the payment.
• Quitting your job yourself delays the benefit by two months. A mutual agreement or a dismissal by the employer does not.
• Moving to another EU country? Ask VSAA for the U1 form (your insurance periods) or the U2 form (to take your Latvian benefit with you while you look for work there).

Official guidance: VSAA: unemployment benefit, NVA: getting unemployed status, Ministry of Welfare: GMI benefit, Ministry of Welfare: changes in 2026

Family Benefits in Latvia (pabalsti ģimenēm ar bērniem)

The State Social Insurance Agency (VSAA) pays the national family benefits. They are not means-tested, but the parent and the child must live permanently in Latvia, have a Latvian personal code and an active status in the Register of Natural Persons. People with a temporary residence permit do not receive the family state benefit or the childcare allowance. Kindergartens are run by the municipalities, and some municipalities pay extra local benefits. Benefits linked to your job, such as maternity and parental benefit, are described under Parental.

Childbirth and childcare allowance

• Childbirth benefit (bērna piedzimšanas pabalsts): a one-off €600 for each child born on or after 1 January 2026 (it was €421.17). You must apply within 6 months of the birth, or the right is lost. In Riga you can apply at the registry office when you register the birth.
• Childcare allowance (bērna kopšanas pabalsts): €298 a month until the child is 1½ years old (2026; next review in 2028). For each additional child of a multiple birth there is a further €298 a month. For children born up to 2 November 2026, €42.69 a month is also paid from 1½ to 2 years. Both working and non-working parents receive it. A working parent receives it together with the parental benefit, and both are paid to the same person.

Family state benefit (ģimenes valsts pabalsts)

• Paid for each child from age 1 to 16, and to 20 if the child studies full-time at school or, since 1 January 2026, at a college or university and is not married.
• Amounts (2026), depending on how many children one person receives it for: one child €25 a month; two children €100 (€50 each); three children €225 (€75 each); four or more €100 for each child.
• A supplement of €160 a month is paid for a child with a disability.
• You can apply right after the birth. If you apply late, it is paid back for at most 24 months.

Childcare and tax relief

• Kindergarten: pre-school education in municipal kindergartens is paid from public budgets, and preparation for school is compulsory from age 5. Places and queues are handled by each municipality, so rules vary; ask your municipality early.
• Tax relief for dependants: €250 a month per dependent child (2026), registered in the parent's payroll tax book with the State Revenue Service.
• Guardians: from 1 January 2026, the allowance for a child in guardianship is €390 a month for a child under 7 and €468 for a child aged 7 to 17.

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• The family state benefit is higher if one parent claims for all the children. Parents who split it (one child each) get €25 per child instead of €50.
• Do not miss the 6-month deadline for the childbirth benefit. Late applications are refused.
• For children over 16, VSAA uses school data. If the child stops studying, payment ends from the next month.
• Check your residence permit type: with a temporary permit you may receive the work-related benefits (maternity, paternity, parental) if you pay contributions, but not the family state benefit or the childcare allowance.

Official guidance: VSAA: family state benefit, VSAA: childcare allowance, VSAA: changes in 2026, Ministry of Welfare: changes in 2026

Income Tax in Latvia (iedzīvotāju ienākuma nodoklis, IIN)

Personal income tax is a national tax collected by the State Revenue Service (Valsts ieņēmumu dienests, VID). You are a Latvian tax resident if your permanent place of residence is in Latvia or you stay in Latvia for 183 days or more in any 12-month period that starts or ends in the tax year. Residents are taxed on their worldwide income; non-residents only on income from Latvia. For most employees the tax is withheld from each salary, so many people never need to file a return.

Rates and allowances (2026)

• Progressive rates: 25.5% on annual income up to €105,300 and 33% on the part above it. An additional 3% applies to annual income above €200,000.
• Salary tax: your employer withholds 25.5% each month. The 33% part is settled in your annual return.
• Capital income (dividends, interest, capital gains): 25.5%.
• Non-taxable minimum: a fixed €550 a month for everyone (2026; it was €510 in 2025 and is set at €570 for 2027). Pensioners: €1,000 a month.
• Dependant relief: €250 a month for each dependant, such as a child (2026).
• Social insurance contributions come on top: 10.50% for employees, plus 23.59% paid by the employer (2026). On income above €105,300 a year they become a solidarity tax.

Payroll tax book and annual return

• Payroll tax book (algas nodokļa grāmatiņa): an electronic record in the VID online system (EDS). Give it to your main employer, who then applies the non-taxable minimum and your dependant relief.
• Mandatory annual return (gada ienākumu deklarācija): file from 1 March to 1 June for the previous year if, for example, you had business or rental income, foreign income (salary already taxed in another EU country is an exception), dividends or capital gains, tax-free income above €10,000 in total, or income that needs the 33% top-up. If your income exceeded €105,300, the period is 1 April to 1 July.
• Voluntary return for a refund: claim back tax on eligible expenses: medical and dental care and education (including Latvian language courses) for yourself and family members, children's hobby education, and your own donations. Together these count up to €600 a year. Contributions to private pension funds and savings life insurance have their own limit: 10% of taxable income, at most €4,000. You can file up to three years back.

Local taxes and VAT

• Municipalities set real estate tax (nekustamā īpašuma nodoklis) at 0.2–3% of the cadastral value and send the bill by 15 February.
• The standard VAT rate is 21%.

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• The non-taxable minimum and reliefs are applied where your payroll tax book is registered. Check in EDS that it is with your main employer, especially when you change jobs.
• Renting out a flat is taxable (10% on rental income) and must be declared, even if you are an employee.
• As a resident you must declare income earned abroad in your annual return, unless it is salary already taxed in another EU country.
• Keep receipts and e-receipts for eligible expenses. Refunds are only possible with payment documents.

Official guidance: VID: income tax rates, VID: mandatory annual return, VID: voluntary return and eligible expenses, VID: real estate tax, VID: VAT rates

Housing in Latvia (mājoklis)

Most newcomers rent privately under the Residential Tenancy Law (Dzīvojamo telpu īres likums). Your municipality's social service (sociālais dienests) pays the housing benefit and rents out social flats; families buying a home can get a state guarantee from Altum. Norms differ between municipalities; the examples are for Riga.

Renting: your lease (īres līgums)

• The only legal basis for renting is a written lease for a fixed term, stating the address, term, rent, services and the people living with you.
• Rent can be changed during the lease only if the lease sets the conditions for doing so.
• Deposit (drošības nauda): at most 2 months' rent. Unless the lease says otherwise, the unused part is returned by the day you move out.
• Ending the lease: you can leave with at least one month's written notice. The landlord can end it early only on grounds set by law, for example rent arrears above two months' rent, damage to the flat, or demolition of the building, and only after written notice (one month for rent arrears).
• Land Register (zemesgrāmata): a lease can be registered free of court fees. If it is not registered and the flat is sold, the new owner is not bound by it and can ask you to leave within two months.

Housing benefit (mājokļa pabalsts)

• A means-tested municipal benefit for rent, management fees, utilities and internet. You need a lease (if you rent) and a declared residence in that municipality; there is no minimum period of residence.
• Formula: the guaranteed minimum income thresholds of your household (€187 for the first person, €131 for each other person, 2026) multiplied by a coefficient (1.3 for most households; 1.7 or 2.1 for pensioners and people with disabilities), plus your housing costs up to the municipal norms, minus household income. It is granted for 3 months at a time, or 6 months if nobody in the household is of working age.
• Riga norms (2026): for example 32 m² for one person and 18 m² for each additional person, and rent or management costs up to €8 per m² for a home up to 32 m².

Social housing and buying a home

• Social flats (sociālie dzīvokļi): for low-income people in specific groups, such as pensioners or people with a group I or II disability living alone, and families with a child with a disability; municipalities may add groups. The rent is reduced and the municipality covers part of the utility costs.
• Altum guarantee for families with children: lets families take a bank mortgage with a down payment as low as 5%, for homes up to €300,000 (2026 conditions). In Riga the guarantee can reach 10% to 30% of the loan (at most €10,000 to €30,000), depending on the number of children. It is open to Latvian citizens, non-citizens, stateless persons and EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (or where the children hold such a status).

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• Never pay without a written lease: without one you cannot claim housing benefit.
• Ask whether the lease is registered in the Land Register, or register it yourself, especially for a long stay.
• Keep receipts for the deposit and every payment.
• Declare your residence at the rented address. Social services and kindergarten places depend on it.

Official guidance: Residential Tenancy Law, Ministry of Welfare: housing benefit, Law on Assistance in Solving Apartment Matters, Altum: housing guarantee for families, Riga City Council Welfare Department

Education in Latvia (izglītība)

The Ministry of Education and Science (IZM) sets the rules, while municipalities run most kindergartens and schools. Pre-school, basic and secondary education in state and municipal institutions is paid from public budgets, so there is no tuition. Under the Education Law, teaching in state and municipal schools and universities is in Latvian, the state language, with exceptions such as programmes under international agreements. Your declared place of residence decides which municipality must give your child a place.

Pre-school and compulsory schooling

• Kindergarten (pirmsskola): municipalities must give equal access to pre-school from age 1½. If your municipality has no place for a child whose residence is declared there and the child goes to a private kindergarten, the municipality pays the private provider an amount equal to its own average cost per child. Register early: queues and rules are set by each municipality.
• Compulsory education: pre-school preparation is compulsory from age 5. Basic education (pamatizglītība) starts in the calendar year the child turns 7 (one year earlier at the parents' wish, or one year later on a family doctor's opinion). It lasts 9 years and is compulsory until it is completed or the child turns 18.
• Public basic schools may not charge tuition. Lunch for pupils in grades 1–4 is paid by the state and the municipality.

Secondary and higher education

• After basic education, pupils continue at a general secondary school (vidusskola, ģimnāzija) or a vocational school, free of charge in public institutions.
• Universities and colleges: the state funds a set number of state-funded study places (budžeta vietas), allocated by competition. On other places, each institution sets its own fee. Latvian citizens, Latvian non-citizens, EU/EEA/Swiss citizens and holders of an EU long-term resident permit study on equal terms. Other foreigners usually pay under a contract with the institution.
• Students on state-funded places can compete for scholarships. Full-time students under 25 can receive a social scholarship if they meet the Cabinet's criteria.

Study loans (studiju un studējošā kredīts)

Loans are granted by banks with a guarantee from the state development institution Altum, so no guarantor is needed (rules in force in 2026):

• Study loan: up to the tuition fee. The state pays the interest during your studies and for 11 months after graduation. After that you pay at most 5% a year; the state covers any higher rate.
• Student loan: for living costs, up to €350 a month.
• Repayment starts in the 12th month after you graduate (the 3rd month if you leave without a diploma).
• For Latvian citizens and non-citizens, 30% of the unpaid student loan is cancelled for each child born or adopted, for both parents if both are borrowers.

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• Declare your residence before applying for a kindergarten place. The municipality's duty is linked to the declared address.
• Teaching is in Latvian. Ask the school about language support before the school year starts.
• Get your foreign diploma assessed by the Academic Information Centre (AIC) before you apply to a university or for a regulated job.
• Only students who study on equal terms (citizens, non-citizens, EU/EEA/Swiss citizens, EU long-term residents) can get the state-guaranteed loans.

Official guidance: Education Law, General Education Law, Law on Higher Education Institutions, IZM: study loans, VIAA: loans for studies in Latvia, Cabinet Regulation No. 231 on study loans

Parental Leave and Benefits in Latvia (maternitātes, paternitātes un vecāku pabalsts)

The Labour Law (Darba likums) gives employees the right to leave around a birth, and the State Social Insurance Agency (VSAA) pays the benefits from social insurance. Maternity, paternity and parental benefit are for employees and the self-employed who have paid contributions for at least 3 of the last 6 months, or 6 of the last 24 months, before the leave starts. Apply to VSAA within 6 months for each benefit, online at latvija.gov.lv or at a client centre. Parents who are not insured receive only the childcare allowance (see Family).

Maternity leave and benefit (maternitātes pabalsts)

• Leave: 56 calendar days before and 56 after the birth (112 days). Add 14 days before the birth if your medical care began by the 12th week of pregnancy and continued, and 14 days after it for complications or a multiple birth. The maximum is 140 days.
• Benefit: 80% of your average insured earnings over the 12 months ending two months before the leave starts. Months without insured income count at 70% of the national average.
• Your doctor issues sick-leave certificate B; VSAA pays in two parts, before and after the birth.
• A woman who lost her job no earlier than 60 days before the leave can still receive it.

Paternity leave and benefit (paternitātes pabalsts)

• 10 working days of leave for the father, taken straight after the birth but no later than 6 months after it. If paternity is not established, another person chosen by the mother can take it.
• Benefit: 80% of average insured earnings, converted to working days with a fixed coefficient of 1.46.
• From 2026, if the employer grants 10 days for each child of a multiple birth, the benefit is paid for each child.

Parental leave and parental benefit (bērna kopšanas atvaļinājums, vecāku pabalsts)

• Leave: every employee may take up to 1½ years for each child, until the child turns 8. It can be taken in one block or in parts of at least a week, with one month's written notice. Your job is protected.
• Benefit (2026): choose 13 months at 60% or 19 months at 43.75% of average insured earnings. One parent receives the basic part (9 months until the child turns 1, or 15 months until 1½), which includes the post-birth maternity period. Each parent also has a non-transferable part of 2 months, usable until the child turns 8, also at the same time as the other parent.
• If you work while receiving the basic part, it is normally paid at 50%; in 2026 it is paid at 75%. The non-transferable part is paid only while you are on leave.
• Since 1 July 2026 the child must have a Latvian personal code and live permanently in Latvia (EU coordination rules apply if the other parent lives or works in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland).

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• The 13- or 19-month choice is final. Compare both before you apply.
• If you started work recently, you may not yet meet the 3-of-6-months condition. Ask VSAA whether insurance periods from another EU country can be counted.
• Any income during maternity benefit, including royalties, stops the payment.
• A non-transferable part that is not used before the child turns 8 is lost.

Official guidance: VSAA: maternity benefit, VSAA: paternity benefit, VSAA: parental benefit, VSAA: non-transferable part, Labour Law