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LUXEMBOURG
Long-term care
There is no special feature compared to the general system.
Basic principles
In Luxembourg, social protection of the self-employed is
regulated under the general system, but with certain
particular features which take account of the specific
situation of the self-employed. Social protection covers all
risks; this includes unemployment for the self-employed
who had to cease their occupation and who are looking for
a salaried job. A specific system for employment injuries
and occupational diseases applies for farmers.
As regards health care in case of sickness and maternity,
as well as cash benefits for sickness, maternity, invalidity,
old-age and survivors, the self-employed are, like the employed, required to be insured in the general system.
Invalidity
The regulation of the general system is also applied to the
self-employed for benefits. Exercising a self-employed activity is incompatible with granting an invalidity pension.
Financing
The general contributions rate is also in force as in the
general system. For farmers, the premium method is set
inclusively based on vegetable and animal productions of
the farm during the year preceding the year of contributions. For the other categories of the self-employed, the
premium method is set inclusively based on the professional income under fiscal law. The income of the previous
taxation year and communicated by the contributions administration is taken into account.
Contributions to be paid by farmers are set according to
the surface of the farmland and the nature of the crops.
Smaller farms are subject to a system of flat-rate contributions.
Sickness and maternity: Benefits in kind
All the regulations shown in tables III and V (conditions
and amount of benefits) are thus applicable to all workers.
Sickness and maternity: Cash benefits
To be given the right to financial sickness benefits, a qualifying period exists for self-employed persons from the
month of the appearance of the sickness and the next
three months. Instead of calculating by referring to the expected salary during the sickness, the benefits are calculated by referring to previously declared income subject to
contributions. For cash benefits for maternity, the regulation of the general system applies to the self-employed.
Old-age
The regulation of the general system is also applied to the
self-employed for old-age protection. The periods of selfemployed professional activity taking place before the systems were in use, are taken into account for up to 15 years
as assimilated periods.
Survivors
The regulation of the general system is also applied to the
self-employed for the survivors' protection system.
Employment injuries and occupational diseases
All measures of the general system are applicable, except
for the farmers for whom specific rules exist:
 no right to financial benefits during the first thirteen weeks
following the injury
 methods of calculating the different pensions, applying a
surcharge for serious injuries.
Family benefits
As regards family benefits, the general system applies for
the self-employed.
Unemployment
The self-employed who had to cease their occupation owing to economic and financial difficulties, to medical
reasons, to a third party or by a case of force majeure,
may obtain unemployment benefits when they register as
jobseekers. They must have completed at least two years
of compulsory pension insurance as a self-employed
person. However, for the purposes of calculating the twoyear qualifying period, periods of insurance completed as
an employed person can be aggregated, provided the
person has carried out activities as a self-employed person
for at least six months before the submission of the
request for compensation. Jobseekers must be resident in
Luxembourg at the time of cessation of their activities.
Self-employed persons must register as jobseekers within
six months following the cessation of their activities.
In case unemployment benefit is granted, the selfemployed person is entitled to an allowance corresponding
to 80% of the income which the pension fund used as a
basis for calculating contributions for the last activity. Full
unemployment benefit cannot exceed the ceilings provided
in the general scheme. It cannot be lower than 80% of the
social minimum wage.