Your income has the greatest impact on your retirement pension. Here are important factors that affect how much you can receive:

• How many years you have lived or worked in Norway after the age of 16
• Your income
• When you choose to start receiving your pension
• Your year of birth

Have you earned pension rights in other countries?

Nav calculates and pays your Norwegian retirement pension based on your earnings in Norway. Pensions from other countries are paid directly to you by the pension authorities in those countries. Pensions from other countries do not affect the amount of Norwegian pension you can receive.

If you can log in using BankID, Buypass, or Commfides, you can try Nav’s pension calculator (service in Norwegian). It shows you what you can expect to receive in Norwegian retirement pension.

It is important to enter information about your residence and work in Norway and other countries to ensure accurate calculations.

Cannot log in to Nav?

If you cannot log in to Nav’s pension calculator, you can use a calculator without login (service in Norwegian). You will need to enter the data yourself. This service provides a simplified estimate of your retirement pension from Nav.

Have you lived or worked less than 5 years in Norway?

Then you cannot use Nav’s pension calculator.

Do you need help?

If you cannot use the pension calculator or are unsure whether you are entitled to a pension from Nav, you can contact Nav to find out what you are eligible for.

The standard retirement age in Norway is 67.

If you have sufficient earnings, you may be entitled to a pension from Nav from the age of 62 at the earliest. You can check the earliest possible retirement age in the pension calculator (service in Norwegian).

The earlier you start receiving your pension, the lower your monthly payments will be. This is because your earned pension is spread over more years.

Are you still living in Norway? See how to apply for a pension:

If you work in Norway but live in another country, you must send your retirement pension application to Nav.

If you cannot log in at nav.no, you can send your application by post.

The general rule is that you can move betweenEU/EEA countries without losing your pension rights. You must apply to receive your pension payments.

Where you should apply for a retirement pension from Nav depends on the last country you worked in and earned pension rights.

Is the country you currently live in also the last country you worked in?

Then you should apply for a retirement pension from Nav through the pension authorities in the country where you live.

You must contact the pension authorities in your country of residence if you have questions about the timing and deadline for applying for a pension.

When applying, you must inform them that you have lived or worked in Norway previously and specify the relevant periods.

The pension authorities in the country where you live or work will forward your application to Nav. We will contact you once we have received your application and let you know what information we need to process it.

Was Norway the last country you worked in?

If Norway was the last country you worked in or earned pension rights in, you should send your application directly to Nav.

Norway has social security agreements with many countries outside the EU/EEA. The general rule is that you can move between these agreement countries without losing your pension rights.

Find the country you live in to see how to apply for a Norwegian pension from Nav:

If you live in a country outside the EU/EEA that does not have a social security agreement with Norway, you must send your application for a Norwegian retirement pension to Nav.

If you also wish to apply for a pension in the country where you live, you must submit a separate application to the relevant authorities there.

If you are applying through the country where you live

You must contact the pension authorities in your country if you have questions about the application process or when to apply.

If you are applying directly to Nav

You can submit your application 6 months before you want to start receiving your pension. If you can log in to nav.no (service in Norwegian), you can apply 4 months in advance.

Retirement pension from Nav is paid starting from the month after we receive your application, at the earliest. You cannot apply retroactively.

When will you receive a response to your application?

If you live abroad, the processing time will be longer. This is because your application must be handled both by Nav and the authorities in the other country.

What if your case is not ready by the time you requested to start your pension?

If you are entitled to a pension, you will receive back payment from the date you applied to start receiving it.

Payments from Nav

Nav only pays retirement pension based on the pension rights you have earned in Norway.

Generally, Nav pays to a Norwegian bank account. This is the simplest and fastest way to receive your pension.

If you do not have a Norwegian bank account, the payment can be made to a bank in the country where you live.

You must ensure that Nav has your correct account number. If you can log in to nav.no (service in Norwegian), you can check and update your account number there.

Learn more about how to receive pension payments from Nav when living outside Norway:

When will I receive the payment?

If your payment from Nav is sent to a bank account abroad, you can expect to receive the money 1 to 2 days later than the payment date for a Norwegian account.

The dates shown in the payment overview apply to payments made to a Norwegian bank account.

Pension from countries other than Norway

If you receive a pension from another country, that country is responsible for calculating and paying your pension.

If you have questions about pension payments from countries other than Norway, you must contact the pension authorities in the relevant country.

Tax on pension from Nav

If you live permanently abroad and receive a pension from Norway, special tax rules apply. The general rule is that a 15 percent withholding tax is applied to retirement pension from Nav.

Different rules apply depending on the country you live in. There are also separate rules for taxation of pensions that do not come from Nav.
Therefore, you should check with the Norwegian Tax Administration to find out what applies to your situation.

You can normally keep your retirement pension if you move abroad.

Are you planning to stay more than 12 months abroad, or do you switch between stays in Norway and abroad? 

If so, it is important that you learn how this could affect your pension, your membership in the National Insurance Scheme and your right to health services in Norway and abroad. 

The retirement pension you have earned in Norway is paid monthly once you reach the standard retirement age of 67 and apply for the pension.

It is not possible to receive your pension savings as a lump sum when moving from Norway.

Do you have pension savings from providers other than Nav? Then you should contact your pension provider to check their rules for transferring earned pension abroad.

If you move from Norway to another country, you must:

• Notify Nav. If you cannot report the move digitally, you can call us at +47 55 55 33 34.
• Notify the Norwegian National Population Register (skatteetaten.no).
• Order a new tax card (skatteetaten.no).

You must also report if you move back to Norway or to a different country than the one you currently live in.

Social security agreements (in Norwegian, lovdata.no)

If you have questions about pension, processing, or payments from countries other than Norway, you must contact the pension authorities in that country.

If you have questions about Norwegian pension from Nav, you’ll find contact information below.