How to
Accumulation of pension rights for care for children
You may earn pension credits if you have, or have had, daily care of children under the age of 6, or for children between 6 and 18 who are ill or have disabilities.
Who can get
Accumulated pension rights for care work do not provide any money now, but they may increase your future pension. You may be entitled to pension rights for care work even if you are working. You can also consider transferring the pension credits to the other parent if this would be more beneficial for one of you.
Accumulated pension rights for care work may affect the calculation of disability benefit, retirement pension, and contractual pension (AFP) in both the private and public sectors.
Many people are not aware that they may be entitled to pension rights for care work. Please contact us if you have any questions about accumulated pension rights for care work.
If you receive child benefit, you automatically earn pension credits for care work for each year you:
- have cared for children under the age of 6
- are between 17 and 69 years old
- are a member of the National Insurance Scheme
Before 2010, accumulated pension rights for care work were granted for children under the age of 7.
You earn pension credits for care work regardless of whether you take unpaid leave or work reduced hours.
If you are a foster parent, or if you for other reasons have taken over the care of a child and have not received points for care work, you may apply to have pension rights for care work for that child.
Do you share care responsibilities?
If you share care responsibilities with the other parent and both of you receive child benefit, neither of you will receive pension rights for care work automatically. In this case, you must apply for pension rights for care work.
If Nav does not receive an application from either parent within 1 year after the end of the care year, Nav will grant the pension rights for care work to the parent with the lowest pension earnings.
You may be entitled to accumulated pension rights for care work for looking after children who are ill or have disabilities.
When children are young – from birth through the year they turn 5 – you accumulate pension rights for care work if you receive child benefit. This happens automatically, and you do not need to apply.
Before 2010, accumulated pension rights for care work could be granted up to and including the year the child turned 6.
You may be entitled to pension rights for care work if you have a child between the ages of 6 and 18 who requires long-term, private care and supervision due to a permanent injury, illness, or disability.
Does your child receive assistance allowance rate 3 or 4?
If your child has received assistance allowance at rate 3 or 4 for at least six months during the year in which they are between 6 and 18 years old, pension rights for care work will automatically be granted to the person who receives child benefit for the child.
When more than one person receives child benefit for the same child, an application for pension rights for care work must be submitted. Only one parent can receive pension rights for care work for each calendar year.
If the child’s care needs are so extensive that each parent individually meets the requirements for duration and scope, both parents may still be entitled to pension rights for care work for the same year. In such cases, both parents must apply, and Nav will assess each case individually.
If the child does not receive assistance allowance
If the child does not receive assistance allowance at rate 3 or 4, you may still be entitled to pension rights for care work if the child requires extra care. In that case, you must apply.
You may receive points for care work after the child has turned 18 if there is still a need for care. The requirement is that you must provide at least 22 hours of care work per week.
You must apply to have poinst for care work registered, as they are no longer granted automatically. The need for care must usually be confirmed by the municipality.
See the applicable rules and how to apply: Accumulation of pension rights for care work for sick, disabled or elderly people
If you are a foster parent, or if you for other reasons have taken over the care of a child you are not the parent of and have not received pension rights for, you may apply to have pension rights granted for care for that child.
Families with more than one child
In a family where more than one child have special care needs, both parents may be entited to pension rights for care work.
In families where two or more children receive assistance allowance at rate 3 or 4, both parents may be entitled to pension rights for care work.
In such cases, you must apply, and Nav will assess each case individually.
The parent who receives child benefit is automatically granted pension rights for care work. You may choose to transfer these rights to the other parent.
Only pension rights granted for caring for young children or for children who receive assistance allowance at rate 3 or 4 can be transferred to the other parent.
You cannot transfer pension rights that have resulted in a higher payment of retirement pension, disability benefit, contractual pension (AFP) in the private sector, or AFP in the public sector.
Only one of the parents receives points for care work even if you have more than one child, but it is possible to transfer the care credits for one or more years to the other parent if this is more beneficial for both parents’ future pensions.
Contact us to find out what is most advantageous for you.
Pension rights for care work are granted based on who has received child benefit for at least 6 months, and they are awarded retrospectively. You therefore do not need to report changes in the care arrangement as long as the child benefit is being paid to the correct person.
What can I get?
The pension rights for care work guarantee that you receive pension accrual equivalent to an income of up to 4.5 G (the National Insurance basic amount) in the years when you have additional care responsibilities. Today, 4.5 G equals NOK 585,720. Until 2009, points for care work were calculated based on 4 G per year.
You can receive points for care work even if you have other income.
If your employment income is higher than 4.5 G, you will not receive additional pension accrual even if you are granted points for care work. If you earn more than 4.5 G, your pension accrual will be calculated based on your annual income.
If you already have pension accrual equal to or higher than what the points for care work would give, the points for care work will not affect your accrual for that year.
You can check whether you have received points for care work in Your accumulated pension rights, see 'Your pensionable income' (service in Norwegian).
Have you missed out on care credits before 1992?
Nav has not identified everyone who may be entitled to care credits before 1992. This may apply, for example, if:
you or your child lived abroad before 2010
you had shared care before 1992
This is not a complete list. In Your accumulated pension rights (sercice in Norwegian), you can see whether points for care work have been registered for you.
Pension rights for care work can affect the calculation of disability benefits, retirement pension, and contractual pension (AFP) in both the private and public sectors.
Retirement pension and points for care work
What pension credits for care work you can earn depends on your year of birth.
| Year of birth | Retirement pension |
| Born in 1963 or later (new rules for retirement pension) | You receive points for care work from the child is born until the child turns 6 (7 years before 2010). |
| Born from 1954 through 1962 (a mix of old and new pension rules) | You receive points for care work from the child is born until the child turns 6 (7 years before 2010) in the part of your pension calculated under the new rules, but only from 1992 in the part calculated under the old rules. |
| Born in 1953 or earlier (old rules for retirement pension) | You receive points for care work for young children in 1992 and later. |
Have you experienced a reduction in income due to care responsibilities?
If you had an income higher than 4.5 G before taking on a care situation, your care responsibilities may still give you advantages in the event of future disability benefits. If disability benefits become relevant, your income before you began your care responsibilities may be used when calculating disability benefits.
You may also be entitled to financial support
Caring for someone who is ill, injured, or has a disability (service in Norwegian):
- Tar vare på noen som er syk, skadet eller har en funksjonsnedsettelseDette kan du ha rett til
Apply, additional submission or appeal
The parent who receives child benefit for the child automatically receives points for caring for young children under the age of 6, or for children under 17 who receive assistance allowance at rate 3 or 4. Everyone else must apply.
In some cases, you must apply for points for care work even if you should have received them automatically. This applies if:
You have missed out on the points for care work even though you received child benefit.
You may be entitled to points for care work without having received child benefit.
Apply for recognition of points for care work
If you have not received points for care work automatically, you must apply to have them registered.
There is no deadline for applying for pension rights for caring for young children under the age of 6 or when the child receives assistance allowance rate 3 or 4.
You must apply to receive care points for caring for children between the ages of 6 and 18 who are ill or have disabilities, and who do not receive assistance allowance at rate 3 or 4.
You may apply once half a calendar year has passed, meaning no earlier than July.
You must submit the application no later than the second year after you provided the care. This means you can only apply for care points for the two previous calendar years.
There may be a need for additional documentation along with the application if the points for care work are not granted automatically. This only applies when applying for care points for children over the age of 6 who do not receive attendance benefit at rate 3 or 4.
Normally, Nav obtains the necessary information from the municipality after we have received your application. If the municipality cannot confirm the care needs, we may request documentation, for example from your general practitioner.
Transfer of points for care work for children
If you have earned points for care work for a child under the age of 7 and wish to transfer this to the other parent, you can do so.
You will receive a decision from Nav once we have processed your application.
Processing time for applications
The processing times may vary. It is not possible to process the application before the tax settlement for the year in question has been completed. As a result, it may take a long time before Nav processes the application.
If you already have a pension from Nav, you will receive a new decision and back payment if your pension increases because of the pension accumulation.
I have a question about my case
Please contact us if you have questions about your application or the decision.
Have you received a decision from us that you think is wrong? You can complain to the Nav Unit that issued the decision. They will reassess your case. If they do not agree with your complaint, they will forward it to the Nav Appeals Management Unit.
Complain about a decision
The decision will have information about how to proceed if you want to complain, where to send your complaint and the term of complaint. If you have questions about the decision, you can contact us.
Appeal a decision
If you disagree with the decision of your complaint from the the Nav Appeals Management Unit, you can, with some exceptions, appeal the decision. The deadline for appealing is stated in the decision.
You can also use a lawyer or give a power of attorney to a person who complains on your behalf.
Updated 04/17/2026
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