Pensions

Earning a pension

You earn a pension in the country where you are covered by the social insurance. If you are employed you are normally covered by the social insurance in the country where you work even though you may live in a different country.

Pension when moving

When you move to another Nordic country you have the right to take with you the pension you received before moving. There are special regulations within the United Kingdom of Denmark (Denmark, Greenland, Faroe Islands).

Pension earnings in several Nordic countries

If you have been covered by the social insurance in several different countries you will receive old age pension or early retirement pension from each of these countries according to how long you have been a member and what have been your pension earnings in each individual country. If, for example, you have pension earnings from three countries, you will receive a part pension from each of these three countries. Each country will pay its pension proportion according to its rates and age limits. Note that there are different age limits for the right to an old age pension in the Nordic countries.

Pension to those not gainfully employed

In the Nordic countries a person earns a certain pension right even though the person is not gainfully employed. If a person who has not been gainfully employed has lived in several Nordic countries, the person could be eligible to a residence-based part pension from each of the countries where the person has lived based on the periods of residence in each country. Note that there are different age limits for the right to an old age pension in the Nordic countries. A pension based solely on residence in a Nordic country can be exported to another Nordic country in the same way as a pension earned through work.