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.

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.

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.

• 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.

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.

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).

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.

What pension credits for care work you can earn depends on your year of birth.

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.

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.

If you have not received points for care work automatically, you must apply to have them registered.

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.

You will receive a decision from Nav once we have processed your application.

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.

You can also use a lawyer or give a power of attorney to a person who complains on your behalf.