As a flat-rate entrepreneur, you pay contributions every month, but few people stop to check how much of that goes toward a pension and how many service years you are actually credited with. The good news: flat-rate entrepreneurs build up pension service years just like every other insured person. The less good news: the amount of your future pension depends on the contribution base, and for flat-rate entrepreneurs that base is usually low.

What the PIO contribution is and what the rate is

PIO is the contribution for pension and disability insurance. It is part of the mandatory levies a flat-rate entrepreneur pays every month, in addition to income tax and contributions for health insurance and unemployment insurance.

The contribution and tax rates for an entrepreneur are:

PIO (pension and disability): 24%
Health insurance: 10.3%
Unemployment insurance: 0.75%
Income tax: 10%

The combined contribution rate amounts to 35.05%. The largest part of these levies, namely 24 percentage points, goes precisely to PIO. You do not calculate any of this yourself: the amounts are determined for you by the Tax Administration through a ruling, based on your activity code, municipality and other criteria.

How pension service years are calculated

This is the most important part, which many people misunderstand. Service years are credited to you by the months for which PIO contributions were paid, regardless of how high or low the amount was.

Whether you pay the minimum or the maximum base, for 12 months paid on time you earn exactly 12 months of service, that is, a full year.
If you skip a month and do not pay the contribution, that month is not counted toward your service years.
The amount paid does NOT affect the length of your service years, only the basis for calculating your future pension.

In other words: the base affects how large the pension will be, not how many service years you have. That is why regular payments are crucial if your goal is to build up service years.

You can check your service years and recorded payments through the CROSO statement on the eUprava portal, where all months with paid contributions are visible.

Contribution base for 2026

The base is the amount on which the contribution is calculated. For 2026, the official limits of the contribution base for mandatory social insurance are:

Lowest monthly base: 51,297 dinars
Highest monthly base: 732,820 dinars

The lowest base represents 35% of the average salary in the Republic of Serbia for the reference period, while the highest is five average salaries. These bases apply for 2026 and have been published in the Official Gazette. For flat-rate entrepreneurs, the specific contribution amount derives from the Tax Administration’s ruling and is usually tied to the lower levels of the base.

The deadline for paying contributions is the 15th of the month for the previous month. Meeting that deadline is exactly what ensures uninterrupted service years.

Is it worth voluntarily choosing a higher base

Since the base for flat-rate entrepreneurs tends to be low, many consider deliberately paying on a higher base so that their pension would one day be more decent. This is legitimate: an insured person can choose between several base levels and change it to a higher or lower one with the appropriate request.

What to keep in mind before such a decision:

A higher base does not bring more service years, but a higher basis for calculating the pension.
A higher contribution also means a higher monthly cost, so it makes sense only if your budget allows for it in the long run.
Many flat-rate entrepreneurs combine mandatory payments with voluntary pension funds or other savings as a supplement.

There is no universally correct answer. The decision depends on your age, how many service years you already have and what kind of pension you expect. Before you change the base, it is a good idea to do a rough calculation.

Conditions for a pension

Flat-rate entrepreneurs are entitled to an old-age and disability pension just like other insured persons, because they are part of the mandatory PIO system. For an old-age pension, in addition to the age requirement, at least 15 years of insurance service are required. The amount of the pension depends on the bases on which contributions were paid over the years, which is why low bases as a rule lead to a lower pension.

Key points

The PIO rate for an entrepreneur is 24%, and the combined rate of all contributions is 35.05%, plus a 10% tax.
Service years depend on the number of months with paid contributions, not on the amount of the base.
For 2026, the lowest base is 51,297 and the highest is 732,820 dinars.
A higher base raises your future pension, but not the length of your service years.
The deadline for paying contributions is the 15th of the month for the previous month; regularity preserves uninterrupted service years.
An old-age pension requires at least 15 years of service.

If you are not sure which base suits you or want to check whether your service years are uninterrupted, get in touch and we will be glad to help.