Supplementary benefit for persons who have only lived a short period in Norway
BENEFITS
|Updated 18. September 2023
Brief information about supplementary benefit
Are you aged 67 or over, and do you receive no pension, or a reduced pension because your period of residence is too short? In such case, you may be eligible for supplementary benefit.
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Brief information about supplementary benefit
Are you aged 67 or over, and do you receive no pension, or a reduced pension because your period of residence is too short? In such case, you may be eligible for supplementary benefit.
Who is entitled to supplementary benefit?
You must have reached the age of 67. You must have a residence permit and live in Norway.
All income and assets from Norway and abroad are included in calculations when NAV determines whether you are eligible for supplementary benefit. This also applies to spouses, co-habiting partners and registered partners.
The total income of you and your spouse, co-habiting partner or registered partner must be less than the Pension Guarantee. Pension Guarantee is a guaranteed minimum retirement benefit.
The total assets of you and your spouse, co-habiting partner or registered partner must be less than NOK 59,310 (this corresponds to half of the National Insurance basic amount).
If you stay out of Norway for more than 90 days during your benefit period, you will no longer be eligible for supplementary benefit.
You must have applied for, and received a decision regarding your retirement pension before you can apply for supplementary benefit.
If you relocate to Norway due to family reunification
You will not be eligible for supplementary benefit if
you came to Norway due to family reunification with children, grandchildren, a nephew or niece, and
you received a residence permit because another person guaranteed they would provide for you.
How much can I receive?
The amount is dependent on your living situation.
The supplementary benefit is intended to ensure you an income equivalent to the National Insurance guaranteed old-age pension.
These rates are valid from 1 May 2023. The full benefit is equivalent to:
Type of rate | Monthly amount |
---|---|
When you are single (high rate) | NOK 18,956 |
When you live together with a spouse or partner under age 67 who is not a disabled refugee (high rate) | NOK 18,956 |
When you live together with a spouse or partner who is over age 67 or who is a disabled refugee (ordinary rate) | NOK 17,535 |
When you live with other adults in shared accommodation (ordinary rate) | NOK 17,535 |
The supplementary benefit will be reduced, against the incomes that you, your spouse, co-habiting partner or registered partner receive in total.
The exception is if your spouse, co-habiting partner or registered partner has reached the age of 67 or is a disabled refugee. If so, only income above an exempt amount will be deducted from your supplementary benefit. If your spouse has turned 67 years old, the free amount is the ordinary rate for guarantee pension (NOK 16,155 a month). If your spouse is a disabled refugee, the free amount corresponds to the ordinary rate for minimum disability benefit (NOK 21,181 per month).
The following are considered income:
- wages
- retirement pension from National Insurance
- pensions and income from other countries
- other Norwegian public sector or private pensions
- introductory benefit for newly arrived immigrants, qualification benefit, cash-for-care benefit and spousal support according to the Marriage Act
- capital income, e.g. interest
The rates apply before tax is deducted from the income(s). The benefit is taxable. You can contact the Tax Administration to find out how much tax you will pay.
How long can I receive benefits for?
You can receive benefits for 12 months at a time. You can receive up to 3 months in arrears before you applied.
When the benefit period approaches the end, you must re-apply. You will receive a letter informing you when you should re-apply.
Travelling to and from abroad
You must always inform NAV before you travel abroad, and when you return.
If you are abroad for more than 90 days in a row, or in total, during a benefit period, you will no longer be eligible for the benefit.
You should retain your documentation from your outbound and inbound travel to Norway, for example boarding cards or tickets. You must submit these to NAV when you return to Norway or in connection with a follow-up meeting.
Institutional stays
If you stay in an institution or prison, you will receive the benefit up to the end of the month you were admitted, as well as the following month.
The term ‘Institutional stays’ means stays at nursing and care homes, hospitals and rehabilitation institutions.
Duty to inform NAV of any changes
If your situation changes, this can lead to adjustments being made to the benefit you receive from NAV. You must notify NAV in the event of any of the following changes in
- income
- family situation
- work situation
- or if you are planning to spend some time abroad
Application, follow-up meeting and documentation
You must attend the NAV office in person when you apply. You must also attend in person when you apply for benefit for a new period, or for follow-up meetings.
Application
You can receive benefits for 12 months at a time. You can receive up to 3 months in arrears before you applied.
When the benefit period approaches the end, you must re-apply. You will receive a letter informing when you should re-apply and about the documentation you must bring with you.
Follow-up meetings
You must attend a follow-up meeting twice during each benefit period. You will receive a letter from NAV informing you of the date and time, and which documents you must bring with you. If you do not contact NAV or do not attend scheduled appointments, your benefits will cease.
Arrange an appointment with NAV
You will receive a letter from NAV when you need to attend a follow-up meeting and when you need to apply for a new benefit period. It can be a good idea to book an appointment. You can call NAV contact centre for pensions on 55 55 33 34 to get help arranging an appointment.
It is important to inform NAV if you cannot attend the meeting.
NAV can arrange an interpreter
You have the right to have an interpreter present in meetings with NAV if you cannot understand what is being said. NAV will arrange an interpreter.
In principle, you must attend the NAV office in person when you receive supplementary benefit.
If you cannot attend because you are sick, you must attend as soon as it is possible. You can be asked to provide a letter from a doctor stating that you are unable to attend. You must notify NAV if you are too sick to attend a meeting.
If you are sick for a longer period, and you are unable to attend for a longer period, you must submit a functional certification from your doctor, describing why you cannot attend the NAV office in person.
If you wish someone to contact NAV on your behalf, you must confirm this by sending a written power of attorney to NAV.
You can find a form for granting power of attorney here. The person granted power of attorney must attend the NAV office.
Guardians appointed by the County Governor are exempt from attending the NAV office.
You need to bring your passport or another travel document when you attend the NAV office. This is necessary for identification purposes and for NAV to be able to control your stays abroad.
You must show the following, both when you apply for the first time and when you apply for a new benefit period:
- passport or other travel documents (e.g. boarding pass)
- updated documentation of all income or pension from Norway and other countries, for you and your spouse, co-habiting partner or registered partner
- a transcript of your most recent tax assessment notice for you and your spouse, co-habiting partner or registered partner
You may get a quicker reply if you put together all of the information that your local NAV office needs to process your application.
Payments received from NAV do not need to be documented.
Processing time for applications
The processing time is the time from when we receive your application until we have made a decision. Remember that we need all the necessary documentation to process your application.
Case concerns | Expected case processing time |
---|---|
Application | 5 weeks |
Processing time for complaints and appeals
Have you received a decision from us that you think is wrong? You can appeal to the NAV office that issued the decision. They will reassess your case. If they do not agree with your appeal, they will forward it to NAV Appeals Management Unit.
Case concerns | Expected case processing time |
---|---|
Complaint to the NAV unit | 10 weeks |
Complaint to the NAV Appeals Management Unit | 12 weeks |
Appeals to the NAV Appeals Management Unit | 12 weeks |
When will the money be paid out?
Please be aware that these dates are when NAV guarantees you will have the money in your account.
Payment dates in 2023 |
---|
20. January |
20. February |
20. March |
20. April |
16. May |
20. June |
20. July |
18. August |
20. September |
20. October |
20. November |
12. December |
In your payment overview, you can see upcoming payments several days before the actual payment date.
The time of day when the payment will be credited to your account will vary, as it is your bank that transfers the payment into your account. Payments can therefore arrive in your account in the afternoon or evening.
Holiday pay
There is no holiday pay on this benefit.
Tax
Tax is deducted from the money.
Tax is deducted at the ordinary rate in June. No tax will be deducted in December, except for withholding tax or Svalbard tax.
Letters from NAV by post
Some people prefer to receive letters from NAV by regular post rather than digitally. If you normally receive letters by post, you do not need to do anything.
If you receive digital post, and would prefer to receive letters by regular post, you can opt out of digital post.
You can, for example, receive letters concerning your tax settlement or decisions from NAV by post.
Further information about opting out of digital post is available at norge.no.
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