Benefit for former family caregivers
BENEFITS
|Updated 19. September 2023
Benefit for former family caregivers in brief
Copy linkLink successfully copiedIf you have cared for one of your parents or other person(s) who have been close to you, you may be entitled to benefit for former family caregivers.
This financial support is intended to ensure you have income if you cannot support yourself after the end of the period of care.
This benefit is for people who have have taken care of someone who is ill or injured (in Norwegian)
Benefit for former family caregivers in brief
Copy linkLink successfully copiedIf you have cared for one of your parents or other person(s) who have been close to you, you may be entitled to benefit for former family caregivers.
This financial support is intended to ensure you have income if you cannot support yourself after the end of the period of care.
This benefit is for people who have have taken care of someone who is ill or injured (in Norwegian)
Who is entitled to this benefit?
Copy linkLink successfully copiedAre you unmarried, under the age of 67, and have looked after and cared for a person who was close to you? If the period of care has now ended, you may be entitled to financial support.
The period of care must have
- lasted at least 5 years
- made it impossible for you to work and support yourself during the period of care
- meant that you are unable to support yourself by working after the period of care has ended
The person you looked after must have been a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme for at least 5 years by the time the period of care ended.
In addition, you must be a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.
What can you receive support for?
Copy linkLink successfully copiedNAV will assess your wealth and income, and also your needs. You may be entitled to either a pension or transitional benefit.
The financial support consists of a basic pension and a special supplement. The size of the pension or transitional benefit you can receive depends on how long you have been a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme for.
The amount of money you receive will be reduced if you have or can be expected to have your own earned income.
Supplemental benefit during education
If you are in education, or need to move to find work after completing education, you may be entitled to supplemental benefit.
This also applies if you are registered with NAV as a genuine job seeker.
Allowance to cover tuition fees
If you are taking an education that NAV has approved, you may be entitled to allowance to cover tuition fees.
The education must be necessary and appropriate to help you find work or keep your job.
How long can you receive this allowance for?
Copy linkLink successfully copiedFinancial support for former family caregivers stops
- when you turn 67 years old or if you start drawing your old-age pension before the age of 67
- if you are granted disability benefit
- if you get married. However, if you get divorced before two years have passed, you may be entitled to start receiving benefit for former family caregivers again. In this case, you must submit a new application.
- if you receive a public sector contractual early retirement pension (AFP). In some cases, you can combine financial support for former family caregivers with a private sector contractual early retirement pension (AFP).
When is the money paid out?
Copy linkLink successfully copiedSee payment dates:
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.
Feriepenger
There is no holiday pay on this benefit.
Tax deduction
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.
To and from abroad
Copy linkLink successfully copiedFor people who are going abroad
First, you need to find out whether you will retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme while you are abroad.
Contact NAV to check whether you can keep your financial support during your temporary stay or permanent move abroad.
You may be entitled to pension payments abroad pursuant to the National Insurance Act.
Can I take my pension with me?
If you move to an EEA country, you will usually be able to continue receiving your pension from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.
Which countries are EEA countries?
See an overview of the EEA (European Economic Area) countries.
Switzerland and the Faroe Islands are not EEA countries, but the EEA rules on pensions also apply in these countries.
Your obligations if you move
If you move abroad, you must:
- notify NAV
- register the move in the Norwegian National Registry
Please note that if you move abroad, you must contact the Norwegian Tax Administration regarding your duty to pay tax to Norway.
A social security agreement between Norway and the country you are moving to may provide you with extended entitlement to pension payments.
Are you going to retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme?
If you move to another country, you do not retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, but you can apply for voluntary membership. You will get this if you have lived in Norway for at least 30 years after the age of 16 and at least 10 of the years were immediately before you moved abroad.
Can you take your financial support for former family caregivers with you?
If you move to a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA), you cannot usually continue to receive financial support for former family caregivers.
However, social security agreements that Norway has with certain other countries may mean you are entitled to receive this financial support while you are abroad. Contact NAV.
Countries outside the EEA that Norway has a social security agreement with
If you move to one of these countries, you may have extended entitlement to pension payments:
United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Quebec, Chile, Turkey, Australia, Israel, India, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.
Your obligations if you move
If you move abroad, you must:
- notify NAV
- register the move in the Norwegian National Registry
Please note that if you move abroad, you must contact the Norwegian Tax Administration regarding your duty to pay tax to Norway.
You may be entitled to pension payments abroad pursuant to the National Insurance Act.
Are you going to retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme?
If you move to another country, you do not retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, but you can apply for voluntary membership. You will get this if you have lived in Norway for at least 30 years after the age of 16 and at least 10 of the years were immediately before you moved abroad.
Can you take your financial support for former family caregivers with you?
If you move to a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA), you cannot usually continue to receive financial support for former family caregivers.
However, social security agreements that Norway has with certain other countries may mean you are entitled to receive this financial support while you are abroad. Contact NAV.
Your obligations if you move
If you move abroad, you must:
- notify NAV
- register the move in the Norwegian National Registry
Please note that if you move abroad, you must contact the Norwegian Tax Administration regarding your duty to pay tax to Norway.
Moving to Norway
You can only receive benefit for former family caregivers when you have cared for a person who was close to you who was a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme and lived in Norway.
Duty to report changes
Copy linkLink successfully copiedIf there are any changes in your income, family situation and/or work situation, or if you are planning to spend some time abroad, this may have an impact on the financial support you receive from NAV. You must therefore notify NAV immediately in the event of these kinds of changes.
Application and documentation
Copy linkLink successfully copiedYou must submit a paper application. It is important that you fill in all the relevant fields and submit all the necessary documentation, so that your case can be processed promptly. You will be notified as you fill in the application if you need to provide documentation of any of the information you have provided.
The questions in the application, along with any documentation, tell us what we need to know to be able to process your application. We will contact you if we need more information.
You can contact NAV for more information and guidance, and/or help filling out the application form.
You will receive a written decision once your application has been processed. Normal processing time is maximum one month; you will be notified if it is going to take longer to process your application.
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 | 4 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 | 12 weeks |
Complaint to the NAV Appeals Management Unit | 20 weeks |
Appeals to the NAV Appeals Management Unit | 20 weeks |
Rule changes
Copy linkLink successfully copiedFor persons who are receiving benefit for former family caregivers before 2024
If you are already receiving this benefit, you will be able to keep it for 3 years. The benefit may be extended by up to 2 years, if you need help finding employment, such as completing an education or work training.
If you were born in 1969 or earlier and you have had a low earned income for the past five years, you may keep the benefit for 5 years. After that, the pension will be converted to an adjustment allowance, which may entail that your payments change. This benefit is paid until you turn 67 years old.
New rules for survivors from 2024
The benefit for former family caregivers is being replaced by an adjustment allowance. The allowance is intended to guarantee an income and to help you help yourself in an adjustment period after the death. After 6 months, you will normally be expected to have found employment or be participating in another type of activity, so that you can eventually provide for yourself.
These changes will likely take effect from 1 January 2024.
What is an adjustment allowance?
- A time-limited benefit that normally only lasts 3 years.
- The benefit may be extended by up to 2 years, if you need help finding employment, such as completing an education or work training.
- If you were born in 1962 or earlier and you had a low earned income in the last five years before the death, you may keep the benefit until you turn 67 years old.
- The benefit is 2.25 times the National Insurance basic amount G, currently NOK 266,895, depending on the period of national insurance coverage for the person who died.
- If your income exceeds 0.5 times G (currently NOK 59,310), the benefit will be reduced.
- The benefit is regarded as pensionable income.
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