If you care for children under the age of 6 or for sick, disabled or elderly people, you may be ascribed acquired rights for care work. Acquired rights for care work are not a national insurance benefit, but may contribute to you receiving a higher pension when you retire.
Who can receive acquired rights for care work?
Care for young children
If you receive child benefit, you will automatically be ascribed acquired rights for care work until the year in which your youngest child turns 5. Only one of the parents may receive acquired rights for care work. Every year you can decide whether to transfer the acquired rights to the other parent who does not receive child benefit. You can transfer acquired rights for care work in the Din Pensjon Web service.
Care for sick, disabled and/or elderly person
For acquired rights for care work to be ascribed to you, the care work must last for at least 22 hours per week for at least six months per calendar year. Travel time of up to 30 minutes per visit can be included.
If a long-term care situation ends because the recipient of the care dies or is institutionalized, you may also be ascribed acquired rights for care work for the year in question, even though the care situation ends before six months have elapsed. It is a requirement that you have been ascribed acquired rights for care work during the previous three years.
If you care for a sick or disabled child, you may also be ascribed acquired rights for care work when the child is over the age of 6. Acquired rights for care work must always be ascribed, which will be done automatically by NAV, if the child receives an increased home care benefit, rates 3 or 4.
How do you apply for acquired rights for care work for young children?
Acquired rights for care work for children under the age of 6 will be automatically ascribed in arrears at the end of the next year. See the Web service Din Pensjon for information about your pension earnings. If you believe that you are entitled to acquired rights for care work, but have not had this ascribed automatically, you may submit an application form. The completed application must be sent to NAV Pensjon, PO Box 6600 Etterstad, NO-0607, Oslo, Norway.
How do you apply for acquired rights for care work for a sick, disabled and/or elderly person?
If you want to apply to have acquired rights for care work for sick, disabled or elderly people ascribed, please contact your local NAV office or submit an application form. The completed application must be sent to NAV Pensjon, PO Box 6600 Etterstad, NO-0607, Oslo, Norway.
When NAV has received your application, it will forward it to the municipality for confirmation of the care situation.
You can apply to have acquired rights for care work ascribed after the care situation has lasted for six months. Acquired rights for care work are always ascribed after the year in which you applied for acquired rights for care work. In principle, you can only have acquired rights for care work ascribed for a calendar year when your application for acquired rights for care work is presented at latest within the following two calendar years.
What are acquired rights for care work?
Acquired rights for care work is not a benefit or salary that is paid by the national insurance, but a scheme that may contribute to you receiving a higher pension when you retire.
For people covered by the old rules on accumulation of retirement pension rights, 3.50 care points are acquired for care work per year. For people covered by the new rules on accumulation of retirement pension rights, the acquisition of rights for care work will correspond to pension accumulation of 18.1 per cent of 4.5 G, while for people covered by the new contractual pension in the private sector, it will correspond to pension accumulation of 0.314 per cent of 4.5 G. In any event, the acquisition of rights for care work will correspond to the pension accumulation that follows from an income of 4.5 G.
You cannot add other accumulation of pension rights to the acquisition of rights for care work, so that the annual pension points are higher than 3.50. The same applies to people covered by the new rules for accumulation of rights to retirement pension and new private sector contractual pension, but then so that the total accumulation of pension rights cannot be higher than the accumulation from an income of 4.5 G.
Acquired rights for care work can be ascribed staring on the calendar year in which you turn 17 until the year in which you turn 69.
The acquired rights for care work scheme was introduced in 1992. From 1992 until 2009, 3.00 care work points were granted per year. For people covered by the new rules regarding accumulation of rights for retirement pension and new private sector contractual pension, the acquisition of rights for care work from 1992 until 2009 will correspond to an accumulation of pension rights of, respectively, 18.1 and 0.314 per cent of 4.0 G.
Ascribing acquired rights for care work for children under the age of 7 was introduced in connection with the reform of the pension system, with retroactive effect for the period of 1967–1991. This applies to people who are covered by a new accumulation model for retirement pension (i.e. for people born in 1954 or later) or which are covered by the new contractual private sector pension, and were born in 1948 or later. Care work points for the years before 1992 for contractual private sector pension will be ascribed at the same time that the contractual pension application is filed. In 2011, NAV will automatically ascribe care work points for retirement pension for years prior to 1992. Acquired rights for care work for years prior to 1992 will correspond to the accumulation of pension rights that follows from an income of 4 G per year.
Other relevant schemes
If you care for a disabled or sick child, the following benefits may be relevant:
In principle, for acquired rights for care work to be ascribed, the care work must be unpaid. However, in some cases the municipality grants care pay to people who perform care and care work for family members and people with whom they have close ties. In such cases, ascribing acquired rights for care work will also be relevant.
Most of the main information about your entitlements and duties is available here in English. There are also links to other more detailed information; however, some of this information is only available in Norwegian.
