Pensions in Norway do not operate according to one simple rule
There are many simplifications circulating about the Norwegian pension.
„You must work for 40 years”.
„Three years in Norway are enough”.
„After moving to Poland you will lose the benefit”.
„Everyone retires at age 67”.
Each of these statements requires an explanation.
The Norwegian alderspensjon from the National Insurance Scheme, i.e. the state pension paid by NAV, depends primarily on your age, year of birth, income, periods of insurance and residence, and the moment you start receiving payments.
NAV also stresses that for many people the total pension consists of three parts:
old-age pension from NAV,
an occupational pension from the employer,
possible private retirement savings.
Check the official rules for the old-age pension at NAV
First step: check how much you have already accumulated
It is not worth guessing your future pension based on the number of years worked in Norway.
NAV provides the service Din pensjon and a pension calculator. There you can check your current entitlements and see how the amount of monthly payment will change if you start taking the benefit earlier or if you work longer.
This should be the first step for anyone who starts to seriously plan their retirement.
Do you have to work 40 years in Norway?
No.
40 years matters primarily when determining the full minimum level of the benefit and in some of the older pension rules.
NAV uses the term trygdetid. It does not mean exactly the same as „years of work”.
Trygdetid is, in simple terms, the period during which you were covered by the Norwegian social insurance system. Under the older rules it is usually the time from turning 16 until the end of the year in which you turn 66, when you live or work in Norway.
To qualify for the full minimum level of pension you basically need 40 years of trygdetid.
A shorter period does not automatically mean that you will receive nothing.
3 years or 5 years? This is an important change
In old guides you can still find information that three years of insurance are sufficient to obtain a Norwegian pension.
That is historical information.
NAV indicates that since 2021 the basic minimum period is 5 years of trygdetid. With a shorter period, however, the rules of the EEA and insurance periods from other countries may help.
And this is particularly important for Poles.
Worked in Poland and Norway? These periods do not have to be lost
Poland and Norway are part of the EEA system for coordination of social security.
If you worked or were insured both in Poland and in Norway, periods from EEA countries can be taken into account when determining whether you meet the minimum insurance period requirements.
NAV clearly states that periods of residence or work in EEA countries can be added to Norwegian trygdetid, among other things when assessing the right to benefits.
This does not, however, mean that Norway will pay you for the years you worked in Poland.
Each country calculates and pays its share of the pension according to its own rules. NAV pays the portion resulting from entitlements accumulated in Norway.
This is one of the most important pieces of information for people who have spent part of their working life in Poland and part in Norway.
How is the pension calculated for people born in 1963 or later?
New rules apply to people born in 1963 or later.
Each year an amount corresponding to 18.1 percent of pensionable income up to 7.1 G is credited to the so-called pensjonsbeholdning.
All years in which you earn income covered by the system count, and pension rights can be accumulated until the end of the year in which you turn 75.
However, pensjonsbeholdning should not be understood as a regular private bank account where money set aside for you sits.
It is a basis used to calculate the future benefit.
Were you born between 1954 and 1962?
A transitional system applies here.
The pension is calculated partly according to the old rules based on pensjonspoeng, and partly according to the new rules using pensjonsbeholdning.
The younger your birth cohort within 1954–1962, the larger the part of the benefit calculated under the new system.
Therefore, comparing your pension with a colleague who is a few years older or younger may lead to incorrect conclusions.
When can you retire?
According to NAV's current rules in 2026:
67 years remains the age from which there is an unconditional right to receive alderspensjon,
but people with sufficiently high accumulated entitlements can start receiving payments already from the age of 62.
Starting payments earlier, however, has a consequence.
The same accumulated pension rights are spread over a larger number of years, so the monthly pension will be lower.
If you wait longer, the monthly payment usually increases.
Note on future changes to the retirement age
Norway plans to gradually raise retirement age limits in connection with increasing life expectancy.
For now, NAV informs, however, that politicians have not yet finally determined from when the new limits will take effect. Therefore, in 2026 you should not automatically assign younger cohorts new dates based on earlier proposals.
This is a topic we will update as the rules change.
You can receive a pension and continue working
This is one of the most interesting features of the Norwegian system.
You can receive alderspensjon from NAV and at the same time continue to work.
Income from work does not reduce the pension from folketrygden, and continued work can increase your future pension entitlements.
You can also choose a partial payment:
20, 40, 50, 60, 80 or 100 percent of the pension.
This allows someone, for example, to continue working while simultaneously starting to receive the pension partially.
Before making such a decision, however, it is worth calculating the effects using NAV's calculator.
Minstepensjon is not a single specific amount
This is another common mistake.
In everyday language people simply say minimum pension, but technically the system looks different depending on the birth cohort.
For older cohorts the term minimum pension level is used.
For people born in 1954-1962 there is a combination of old and new rules.
For people born in 1963 or later we talk about guarantee pension.
To receive the full minimum benefit you basically need 40 years of social security coverage, and a shorter period can mean a proportionally lower amount. For the entitlement itself a minimum of 5 years is generally required, with the possibility of including periods from EEA countries.
The amount of minimum benefits also depends, among other things, on marital status and the situation of the spouse or partner.
From 1 May 2026 the rates have been raised again, so it is not worth using old tables found on the internet.
Check the current rates for minimum pension and guarantee pension at NAV
Your employer should also be saving for your pension
A pension from NAV is not everything.
Most employers in the private sector are required to operate OTP, mandatory occupational pension.
The employer must contribute to the employee pension scheme at least the equivalent of 2 percent of salary, and in many companies the rate is higher. A person who meets the conditions should be registered in the scheme from the first day of employment.
Check the OTP rules for employees at Skatteetaten
It is worth checking where your current and previous employers deposited money for your pension.
These are often funds that the employee practically does not think about for many years.
And what about AFP?
AFP is something else entirely.
Not every employee automatically has the right to it.
In the private sector the employer must belong to the AFP scheme, and the employee must meet detailed conditions regarding, among other things, length of employment and work in a company covered by the scheme.
Private AFP is currently a lifelong supplement to old-age pension and occupational pension.
If you are approaching age 62 and work in a company covered by AFP, do not wait until the last day to look into this topic. For private AFP the timing of submitting the application and remaining employed can be important for retaining the right to the benefit.
Check AFP in the private sector at NAV
Illness does not automatically mean a pension from age 62
An old article contained information suggesting that a person unable to work due to illness could simply receive a pension from age 62.
This is not correct.
If you are not able to work for health reasons, there are separate benefits, among others sick pay, work assessment allowance and disability pension.
The possibility of starting ordinary alderspensjon from age 62 depends primarily on whether you have accumulated sufficiently high pension rights.
Therefore you should not confuse earlier drawing of a pension with the system of benefits for people unable to work.
What if I move back to Poland to retire?
This is one of the most important questions for Poles.
And here we have good news.
Poland is a member of the EU, and therefore also within the scope of the EEA rules on coordination of social security.
NAV points out that the main rule is that you can move between EU/EEA countries without losing your Norwegian pension. Of course you must meet the conditions of the benefit itself and submit the appropriate application.
NAV: drawing a Norwegian pension while living abroad
There is no general rule that a pensioner receiving Norwegian alderspensjon must live 9 months a year in Norway.
This was incorrect information that appeared in an older version of our article.
A Polish pension and a Norwegian pension can be paid simultaneously
If part of your working career was in Poland and part in Norway, you may have pension entitlements in both countries.
NAV also assists with applications for pensions from other EEA countries.
If you live in Norway and want to apply for both a Norwegian and a Polish pension at the same time, NAV recommends starting the procedure about 4 months before the planned start of payments.
Check the procedure for applying for a pension from an EU/EEA country
Remember, however, that the retirement age and the conditions for payment may differ in Poland and Norway.
You do not have to start receiving both benefits on exactly the same day.
And what if I have too few years in Norway?
If you live in Norway, are 67 or older and receive a very low or zero pension because of a short period of residence, you can in certain cases look into supplerende stønad.
This is a benefit for people with a short period of residence in Norway, intended to help provide a minimum level of income.
However, it is not an ordinary part of the pension.
NAV checks income and assets both in Norway and abroad. The situation of a spouse or partner also matters. The benefit is available to people living in Norway, and a stay abroad exceeding 90 days during the benefit period causes payment to be stopped.
Check supplerende stønad for people over 67 years old
It is precisely such residence-dependent benefits that can be the source of misunderstandings about the alleged obligation to spend the majority of the year in Norway.
Ordinary alderspensjon and supplerende stønad are two different things.
What about tax if you move to Poland?
Moving to Poland does not automatically mean that a Norwegian pension will stop being taxed in Norway.
Skatteetaten indicates that benefits paid by NAV to people living in Poland may still be subject to taxation in Norway. This also applies to certain occupational pension schemes.
The standard Norwegian withholding tax on pensions for non-residents is currently 15 percent gross, but tax treaties and EEA rules may affect the final settlement.
Therefore, before moving abroad in retirement it is worth checking not only NAV, but also your own situation with Skatteetaten.
Skatteetaten: taxation of Norwegian pension when living abroad
What to do step by step before you start thinking about retirement?
The best plan is simple:
Log in to Din pensjon and check your Norwegian pension history.
Use the calculator to check how much you can receive at different start dates for payments.
Check the occupational pension OTP and find out which institution each of your employers has been depositing money with.
If you worked in Poland, prepare information about periods of employment and insurance.
Check whether your employer is covered by AFP.
If you plan to return to Poland, check the rules for paying pensions abroad and taxation.
If you want to receive both Polish and Norwegian pensions, start the procedure early enough.
Don’t leave this until a month before your 67th birthday.
The earlier you see your actual numbers, the more decisions you can still make.
The most important thing: don’t ask “how many years do you need to work?”, ask “what rights have I accrued?”
This is the most useful approach to the Norwegian pension.
Two people can work in Norway for exactly the same number of years and receive completely different benefits.
The following matter:
income,
year of birth,
trygdetid,
the timing of benefit commencement,
continued work,
occupational pension,
possible AFP,
and periods of insurance in other countries.
Therefore, instead of relying on a colleague’s story, check your own data in NAV.
It’s your pension.
And it’s worth knowing what you are actually entitled to.
Editorial comment YourNorway
For Poles living in Norway, the pension is a special topic because many of us will have a work history split between two countries.
Therefore in this guide we do not want to answer only the question “how much will I get”. We primarily want to show where to check, what the Norwegian terms mean and what to do so that years of work in Poland and Norway are properly taken into account.
Sources
NAV, Alderspensjon, current rules on age, calculation of the benefit, trygdetid, minimum pension and guarantee pension.
NAV, Har bodd eller jobbet i flere land, coordination of pensions and EEA rules.
NAV, Søke pensjon fra EU/EØS-land, applying for pensions with a work history in several countries.
Skatteetaten, Obligatorisk tjenestepensjon, rules for OTP and the employer’s minimum contributions.
NAV, AFP in the private sector, current AFP rules.
Skatteetaten, Withholding tax on pension, rules for taxation of a Norwegian pension after moving abroad.
Information checked: 23 September 2026.
