Children’s pension

You can receive children’s pension if you are

• under the age of 18 and have lost one or both of your parents
• under the age of 20, have no parents, and are in education or doing an apprenticeship or internship
• under the age of 21, have lost one or both of your parents, are in education or doing an apprenticeship or internship, and the death of one of your parents was due to an occupational injury or occupational illness

The deceased parent must have been a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme for the last 5 years before their death. In addition, you must be a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.

You can receive children’s pension regardless of whether your parents were married, divorced or living together as cohabiting partners.

If your mother has died and your paternity has not been established, you will be treated in the same way as people who have lost both parents.

The size of your children’s pension will depend on how many siblings you have. If you have no parents, the deceased’s earned pension will also determine how much you receive.

If you have lost one of your parents

If you do not have any siblings, you will receive 40 per cent of the national insurance basic amount (“G”), which currently amounts to NOK 44,591 a year or 3,716 a month.

If you have siblings, the total amount of children’s pension you are each entitled to will be combined and then divided equally among you. You will receive a monthly payment.

This is how the total amount is calculated, which is then divided equally among the siblings:

• For the eldest child, NAV calculates 40 per cent of the national insurance basic amount (“G”), which currently corresponds to NOK 44,591 a year.
• For the remaining siblings, NAV calculates 25 per cent of the national insurance basic amount (“G”) for each child, i.e. NOK 27,869 a year.

If you have lost both your parents or have no parents

If you do not have any siblings, you will receive a pension corresponding to the survivor’s pension you are entitled to after the parent who had the highest earned pension.

If you have siblings, the total amount of pension you are each entitled to will be combined and then divided equally among you. NAV calculates the total amount as follows:  

• For the eldest child, NAV calculates an amount corresponding to the survivor’s pension you are entitled to after the parent who had the highest earned pension.
• For the second eldest child, NAV calculates 40 per cent of the national insurance basic amount (“G”), which currently corresponds to NOK 44,591 a year.
• For the remaining siblings, NAV calculates 25 per cent of the national insurance basic amount (“G”) for each child, i.e. NOK 27,869 a year.

These amounts are added together and then divided equally among the siblings. You will receive a monthly payment.

If your deceased parent’s period of national insurance cover (i.e. their period of residence in Norway) was shorter than 40 years, you will receive a smaller children’s pension.

If your deceased parent has accumulated pension rights in a country with which Norway has a social security agreement, you may be entitled to a pension from that country.

If your parent died as a result of an approved occupational injury or occupational illness, your children’s pension will be calculated according to special rules.

You can receive children’s pension up to and including the month you turn 18 years of age.

You can be paid children’s pension up to and including the month you turn 20 if you have no parents and are in education or doing an apprenticeship or internship.

You can be paid children’s pension up to and including the month you turn 21 if you are in education or doing an apprenticeship or internship and the death of one of your parents was due to an occupational injury or occupational illness.

If you are under the age of 18, your children’s pension will be paid to your surviving parent. If you have lost both of your parents, the money will be paid to your legal guardian. 

When you turn 18, the children’s pension can be paid to your (the child’s) bank account, if NAV has received notification of payment to a new bank account number, which you (the child) have signed after you turned 18. Payment to your bank account can then take place from the month in which you turn 18.

Children’s pension is paid out once a month.

In the overview of payment, you can see the next payment several days before the payment date.

Your bank is handling the transfer, so the time of day when the funds will be available in your account will vary. It should be available in the evening of the day the transfer was made.

Holiday pay

There is no holiday pay on this benefit. 

Tax deductions

Children’s pension is taxable. Children’s pension for children 16 or younger is considered investment income, and the tax payable on this income is included in the parents’ tax assessment.

From the year the child turns 17, the child is treated as an independent taxpayer, and it is the child who must pay tax on the children’s pension.

No advance tax will be deducted unless you, as a parent, request that tax be withheld from the children’s pension.

There are different ways to request for tax to be withheld. You can either

• tick in the application form that you want a tax deduction on the child pension
• ask the Norwegian Tax Administration for a new tax card with a higher deduction rate, or
• ask NAV to include a voluntary deduction for tax from the children’s pension

You must check whether the voluntary tax deduction has been transferred at the end of the year. If it has not been transferred, you will need to re-enter it.

More about tax deductions on payments from NAV

For people who are going abroad

First, you need to find out whether you will retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme while you are abroad.

Contact NAV to check whether you can keep your financial support during your temporary stay or permanent move abroad.

Moving to Norway

You can only receive children’s pension if your deceased parent had been a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme for the last 5 years before their death. There are also a number of requirements that you yourself must meet in order to receive the benefit.

If you are between the ages of 18 and 21 years and are receiving children’s pension because you are in education or doing an apprenticeship or internship, you must notify NAV if you have income from work.

If the deceased had an occupational pension plan, you may be eligible for payments from some of these schemes. If your parent was in work until their death, you should contact their employer for more information.

Other public schemes that may be relevant:

• Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• KLP insurance

If you are in education, you may be entitled to grants and loans from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (“Lånekassen”).

If you are under the age of 18, your legal guardian must apply for children’s pension on your behalf. If your legal guardian is not one of your parents, confirmation of the appointment of the person as your legal guardian from the district court or county governor must be submitted with the application. If you are over the age of 18, you will normally have to apply yourself. 

You can apply online or on paper.

Apply for children’s pension

If you do not have electronic ID, you can submit a paper application. Paper applications may take slightly longer to process.

You can contact NAV for more information and guidance, and/or help filling out the application form.

You will receive a written decision once your application has been processed. Normal processing time is maximum one month; you will be notified if it is going to take longer to process your application.