Retirement pension for those born before 1954

Retirement pension from the National Insurance Scheme ensures that you have an income in your old age. Retirement pension is flexible and you may start drawing your retirement pension from the month after you turn 62. You can combine work and pension (in Norwegian) without your pension being reduced.

Changes in benefits under the National Insurance Act

Who is entitled to retirement pension?

To be entitled to retirement pension, as a rule, you must have at least five years of National Insurance cover. National insurance covers are periods when you have lived and / or worked in Norway.

When do you draw a retirement pension?

 It is up to you to decide when and how you would like to draw retirement pension and how much you want to work while doing so. You may draw retirement pension from the month after you turn 62. To draw retirement pension before the age of 67, you must have sufficient earnings (site in Norwegian). Use NAV's online pension service Din pensjon to check the earliest you can start drawing your retirement pension and submit an online application.

Combine work and retirement pension

You may work while receiving a retirement pension (site in Norwegian) without your pension being reduced.

How do you accumulate a retirement pension?

Accumulation of a retirement pension is mainly based on pensionable income and how long you have lived in Norway.

Accumulation of pension rights is based on pensionable income:

• The best 20 years of income determine the size of your pension.
• Your accumulated pension rights are expressed using pension points. You must have had an income higher than the National Insurance basic amount (G) (site in Norwegian) in a calendar year to earn pension points. You do not accumulate pension rights before 1967.
• Annual income is included from 1 January the year after the final tax assessment has been completed. For example, your income for 2020 is included in the pension calculation from 1 January 2022.
• One year of pension points entitles you to a whole year of National Insurance cover.
• If you are born in or after 1943, you may accumulate pension rights for pensionable income from the age of 17 and until you turn 75.
• Unemployment benefit, disability benefit , sick pay (text in Norwegian), work assessment allowance and Cash benefits for care (text in Norwegian) also count as pensionable income.
• You may also accumulate pension rights for unpaid care work.

You can also accumulate pension rights based on periods you have lived in Norway. This is called the period of National Insurance cover. National Insurance cover is provided from the year you turn 16 and up to and including the year you turn 66.

A full retirement pension requires 40 years of accumulation. If you have fewer years of accumulation, your retirement pension will be proportionally reduced.

The retirement pension from the National Insurance Scheme consists of a basic pension and supplementary pension.

• The basic pension is calculated regardless of previous work income. In order to draw a full basic pension, you must have at least 40 years of National Insurance cover (National Insurance cover is provided in periods you have lived and / or worked in Norway).
• The supplementary pension is primarily accumulated through your pensionable income and your pension points. You must have at least five years with pension points to be entitled to a supplementary pension.

If you have had a low or no accumulation of supplementary pension, your pension will also consist of a pension supplement or special supplement. This ensures that you receive a pension at least equivalent to a minimum pension level.

If you have only lived in Norway for a short time when you turned 67 and are still living in Norway, you may be entitled to supplementary benefit.

Examples of pension calculations (site in Norwegian).

Life expectancy adjustments

Your accumulated pension is distributed according to the life expectancy of your age group. This is called life expectancy adjustment (site in Norwegian). If life expectancy increases, each age group must work longer than the previous age group in order to receive the same pension.

Life expectancy adjustment is done using ratios (site in Norwegian).

If you are born in or before 1942, your pension will not be adjusted for life expectancy. The same applies if you are born in 1943 and drew retirement pension before 1 January 2011.

How much retirement pension will you receive?

Using NAV's online pension service Din pensjon you can calculate your retirement pension, see when you can start drawing retirement pension and how much pension you have accumulated. You can also see what happens if you only draw some of your pension or what happens to your retirement pension payments if you change the date you want to start drawing retirement pension.

How much retirement pension you choose to receive, and when you start receiving it, affects how much retirement pension you will receive. If you are born after 1942, you may choose different pension levels (site in Norwegian): 20, 40, 50, 60, 80 or 100 per cent retirement pension.

Your monthly retirement pension will be higher the longer you wait to start drawing a retirement pension. Your pension may also be higher if you continue to work while still receiving retirement pension. You may accumulate pension rights up to and including the year you turn 75.

When and how do you apply for retirement pension?

You may start drawing retirement pension from the month after your turn 62, if you have accumulated sufficient pension rights. You should apply for retirement pension (site in Norwegian) around three months before you want payment to start. It is not possible to apply for retroactive flexible retirement pension, and the earliest date on which you will be entitled to retirement pension will be the month after NAV has received your application.

The simplest way to apply for a retirement pension is through Din pensjon online service (site in Norwegian). You will receive a reply within a few minutes.­ If we do not manage to process your application automatically, you will be notified of this. You may also apply for your retirement pension using a paper application. Processing paper applications may take longer.

How is your retirement pension adjusted?

While you accumulate retirement pension, your pension rights are adjusted (site in Norwegian) annually according to average wage growth.

How long can you receive retirement pension?

Your retirement pension from the National Insurance Scheme is a life-long payment. In the event of death, retirement pension will be paid up to and including the month of death.

Relevant supplementary payments

If your spouse, partner or cohabiting partner dies, you may be entitled to have pension rights from the deceased included in the calculation of your retirement pension.

If you support children under the age of 18 or a spouse, you may be entitled to dependant supplement. The supplement includes child and / or spouse supplement.

Moving abroad?

If you are moving abroad and receiving retirement pension from NAV, you must check whether you can still receive your retirement pension (site in Norwegian).

If you have lived or worked abroad, you may be entitled to retirement pension from another country (site in Norwegian). You can read more about staying abroad under International.

Notify changes

If you are receiving retirement pension and there are changes in your family situation, are planning to stay abroad  (site in Norwegian), or there are changes in your spouse or cohabiting partner's income, this may affect the retirement pension you receive from NAV. In such cases, you must notify NAV immediately.

Payments

Read more about Payment dates, holiday pay and tax withholding. 

You may also check your payments on NAV's online pension service at Din pensjon.

You can check payment dates at NAV's online service Utbetalingsoversikt.

Most of the information is available here in English. There are also links to other more detailed information; however, some of this information is only available in Norwegian.