AOW (state pension): check your Dutch pensions

Review AOW insurance and workplace pensions as separate items

When you live or work in the Netherlands, start by checking your AOW insurance record. During the 50 years before your AOW age, every insured year gives you 2% of a full pension. Use Mijn SVB. For workplace pensions, check separately in Mijnpensioenoverzicht (My pension overview). If records are missing or you have choices to make, ask your pension provider.

What pensions do you need to check?

Review AOW, workplace pensions, and any private pension or savings as separate matters. AOW is managed by SVB. Rijksoverheid (Dutch government) explains that these are three parts of the pension system:

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Your AOW insurance periods are recorded in Mijn SVB. Mijnpensioenoverzicht displays the AOW you can expect and the Dutch workplace pensions that are recorded. Every pension stays separate. Also check private products and pensions from other countries with the providers that offer them.

What amount of AOW do your insured years provide?

To receive a full AOW pension, you must be insured for the 50 years before your AOW age. Each insured year adds 2%; for each year without insurance, 2% is missing. That percentage is not determined by your salary or work history. If your birth date is on or after 1 January 1950 and you were insured for less than one year, you get no AOW.

When does AOW insurance apply to you?

Usually, if you live or work in the Netherlands, you are insured. Cross-border work and temporary study may alter that rule. Check which situation applies to you:

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Cross-border insurance is not decided by your address by itself. An A1 certificate shows which country covers you while you work abroad temporarily. For work across EU (European Union) countries, one test is whether you work at least 25% of your hours in your country of residence. The employer’s location and other rules can also change the outcome. Ask the authority to make a decision.

Retain contracts, yearly income statements, tax returns, tax assessments, and posting certificates. After you move or work abroad, these documents help SVB verify your insurance periods.

Check the recorded dates

The age at which you arrived gives only a rough estimate. Partial years, time abroad, and cross-border rules may change the outcome. Check Mijn SVB. If a period appears incorrect, ask SVB to review it and send evidence for those dates. If you cannot use the online record, you can request a Statement of AOW Pension Insurance Periods.

At first, a period covered by voluntary insurance may look uninsured. SVB adds it once the final contribution is set and full payment is received.

When does your AOW begin?

The government sets the AOW age five years ahead. After it is fixed, it does not change. Use SVB date-of-birth table to find your age:

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In calendar years 2026 and 2027, the AOW age is 67. From 2028 through 2031, it is 67 years and 3 months. For people born on or after 1 October 1964, the age that is published remains an estimate. That estimate is reviewed every year, so check it again when you plan retirement.

What is the amount of full AOW from 1 July 2026?

These SVB full-AOW amounts apply from 1 July 2026 to people who live in the Netherlands. Loonheffingskorting (payroll tax credit) lowers the tax that is withheld. The net amounts show both choices; your own deductions can be different.

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The living-together rate is for married or registered partners who live together. It also applies when SVB decides that you share a household with one other adult. In some parent–child, commercial-rental, and multi-adult situations, the living-alone rate is used. SVB looks at the actual household, not only at registration.

The Zorgverzekeringswet (Zvw, Health Insurance Act) contribution shown below has already been taken out of the net amounts. Holiday allowance builds up separately each month. These figures also apply from 1 July 2026:

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For instance, 30 full insured years give 30 × 2% = 60% of full AOW. With the living-alone rate from 1 July 2026, that equals 60% × €1,662.16 = €997.30 gross per month. Holiday allowance is separate. Use your own insured percentage and household rate; work out net income from your actual deductions.

AOW itself is not tested against income or assets. Earnings and a workplace pension do not lower it. The amount is still affected by your insured percentage and your living situation.

The net figures already include the Zvw deduction, so do not subtract it a second time. Taking a percentage of the net table can produce the wrong result, because deductions differ.

Holiday allowance builds up from May through April and is usually paid net together with AOW in May. It is a fixed monthly amount, not 8% of AOW. Check your own payment in Mijn SVB and report changes in your living situation promptly.

How can you check your record and apply?

Check your insured years now and again after an international move. Use the application route for the country where you live:

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If you live in an EEA or treaty country and have basic state-pension insurance there, contact the pension authority where you live. If not, contact the authority in the last country where you were insured. If you do not know which authority to contact, ask SVB.

When you live in the Netherlands and are within four months of AOW age, follow these steps:

1. Look for the SVB letter in your post or in your Berichtenbox (digital government mailbox).
2. If the letter has not arrived, contact SVB.
3. Use the instructions in the letter to apply.

If you live abroad and already get certain SVB benefits, SVB will contact you about AOW. If you are not sure whether this applies to you, ask SVB. You can apply from abroad without DigiD (digital identity) or a BSN (burgerservicenummer, citizen service number).

If SVB requests proof of life, follow the instructions meant for you. The QR code for the app comes from the SVB letter.

When you are abroad, payment dates, currency, tax, and healthcare deductions depend on your country, your bank, and your cover.

Send personal documents via Mijn SVB or by the postal route that SVB provides.

Is it possible to buy missing years or remain insured abroad?

Voluntary insurance offers two routes. Buying back insurance fills eligible AOW years from before you first became insured in the Netherlands. Continuing insurance protects future years after you leave. Your application does not cover your partner. Your partner must qualify and apply separately.

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To buy back past years, all four conditions must be met. SVB assesses exceptions to the five-year condition:

• You first lived or worked in the Netherlands during the 50 years before your AOW age.
• When you apply, you are below AOW age.
• You apply within 10 years after you first began living or working in the Netherlands.
• You have at least 5 years of insurance through Dutch residence or work, unless an exception applies.

Insurance periods in the EU may count toward the five-year condition. If you first lived here with a residence permit, that period may have been uninsured. SVB must assess the dates. If you are insured in another EU country and receive a pension from that country, SVB says you cannot buy back AOW insurance.

To continue insurance abroad, you must leave during the 50-year AOW period and still be below AOW age. Usually, you need one full year of insurance right before departure. Months of insurance in another EU country can often count toward that year. Apply within the window shown above.

Voluntary insurance normally lasts up to 10 years. Cover may end sooner, for example at AOW age or after you return to the Netherlands.

Cover beyond 10 years can be possible under the benefit exception if all three conditions are met when your compulsory AOW insurance ends. You must be at least 50, live abroad, and be entitled to a qualifying Dutch disability benefit or disability pension, or an Anw (survivor benefit). The benefit or pension must be at least 35% of the gross Dutch minimum wage. Ask SVB whether your benefit qualifies under AOW article 35(3)(e).

Certain government work, government-recognised development work, and work for international organisations can also qualify for cover beyond 10 years. Ask SVB which exception applies to you.

What is the cost of voluntary insurance?

SVB calculates contributions based on your income. The buy-back minimums below apply from 1 July 2026. The continuation amounts are for calendar year 2026:

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Before you compare the cost with future AOW, ask SVB for a quote. SVB determines the eligible years and the contribution from your income and evidence. Future pension rates, your circumstances, and how long you receive AOW are still unknown.

AIO (Aanvullende inkomensvoorziening ouderen, income supplement for older people) depends on your income. Extra AOW can lower your AIO. Use the SVB calculation first. If the choice involves a large part of your savings, consider independent advice.

If your retirement income is low, can AIO help?

For people who have reached AOW age and live in the Netherlands, AIO can supplement a low retirement income. It can apply with no AOW or with partial AOW. It can also apply with full AOW and a partner who has not yet begun receiving AOW. Use SVB AIO check from two months before AOW age, or ask SVB when your income changes.

To receive AIO, you must meet all three conditions:

• You have reached AOW age and you live in the Netherlands.
• Your income, and your partner’s income where relevant, is below the minimum for your situation.
• Your assets are within SVB’s rules. For 2026, the usual limits are €8,000 for one person and €16,000 with a partner or child under 18.

When SVB looks at your assets, it subtracts your debts. If you own a home, you may still be eligible for AIO in the form of an interest-free loan. Have SVB review your circumstances.

SVB reviews your income, assets and household. You must apply for AIO, and it is not part of AOW. Tell SVB about any changes that affect your right to it, such as assets held abroad.

Someone receiving AIO may spend no more than 91 days (13 weeks) per year outside the Netherlands. If a stay goes across calendar years, it must also remain within 91 days in a row. A partner who has reached AOW age has the same limit. A partner under AOW age has a limit of 28 days (4 weeks).

Your AIO ends if you go over the 91-day limit. If your partner under AOW age goes over 28 days, their part of the AIO ends. You must inform SVB when your planned total for a year is more than 91 days, or when your younger partner’s planned total is more than 28 days. You do not need to report shorter stays. Before you book, confirm the exact dates and what will happen with SVB.

AIO comes from public funds. Before you apply, ask the IND what this means for your residence rights. If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss resident, or a family member of one, permanent residence or ongoing genuine and effective work may protect your right to stay.

How can you check your workplace pension?

Ask your employer if your job comes with a pension scheme. Some employers do not offer one. A mandatory sector fund applies if both the employer and the work are within its scope. From 1 January 2024, employees in an existing scheme usually begin accruing pension at age 18.

Each scheme has different contributions, survivor cover and retirement age. Use each of these records to check a separate part:

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If you need help understanding the deductions, see Dutch payslip: check pay, tax and deductions.

What happens if you switch jobs?

When your new job is covered by the same mandatory sector fund, your pension usually continues in that fund. If not, you can often ask for waardeoverdracht (pension value transfer). For a transfer between pension funds, both funds generally need a dekkingsgraad (funding ratio: assets compared with pension obligations) of at least 100%.

Request a transfer quote from your new provider. Compare the guarantees, wage- or price-linked increases, survivor cover and costs. You can also choose to leave the pension with the old provider.

For 2026, a small pension is more than €2 and at most €632.63 gross per year. A provider may move it automatically, but must inform you. A transfer is not always possible. The rules for keeping it, conditional buy-out and lapse depend on the amount, when it started and the provider. Before you decide, ask what will happen.

What is changing under the new pension rules?

The Wet toekomst pensioenen (Wtp, Future Pensions Act) came into force on 1 July 2023. Employer pension schemes have to switch to the new system by 1 January 2028. If a scheme uses an insurer or a premiepensioeninstelling (PPI, premium pension institution), its transition plan is due by 1 October 2027.

Within those deadlines, your employer, employee representatives and provider set the timetable for the scheme. The transition plan states whether existing rights are moved into the new scheme, known as invaren (collective conversion). It also states whether a group gets compensation. Both choices depend on the scheme.

Review your personal notice

Read the notice from your provider and check the dates and pension records it relies on. If details do not match your own record, ask the provider about them. Your scheme determines whether existing rights move and whether compensation applies.

What changes for your partner after death or divorce?

Survivor cover from work is separate from AOW and varies by scheme. These continuation rules apply when your membership in the scheme ends on or after the date the scheme adopts the new rules. They apply to existing insurance on risicobasis (cover for the period you are insured), for death before retirement.

When your scheme membership ends and you do not immediately have a job or qualifying benefits, cover continues for 3 months, or 6 months if the scheme states this. The extension stops sooner if you begin a new job or your old-age pension begins.

Cover also continues while you are entitled to and receive qualifying WW (unemployment benefit) or Ziektewet (sickness benefit) straight after your scheme membership ends. Qualifying periods may follow one another without gaps: WW, then Ziektewet, then WW; or Ziektewet, then WW.

A qualifying unemployment benefit from the country where you live also counts. For unemployment, the cover reflects how much of your work you have lost. Ask your provider about the amount of cover, the end date, the cost and whether you can keep cover voluntarily.

If you live together without being married or in a registered partnership, ask whether the provider has registered your partner. Anw (Algemene nabestaandenwet, Survivor Benefits Act) is a separate benefit from SVB. It has its own conditions for age, insurance, income and household.

When a marriage or registered partnership ended after 30 April 1995, each former partner usually has a right to half of the other’s workplace old-age pension built during that relationship. Other agreements may apply. Separations before that date follow different rules, so consult a legal adviser.

Tell the provider within two years so it can pay each former partner directly. Dividing pension does not move AOW years; they stay with the person who built them. AOW can still change based on your living situation. The rights of unmarried cohabitants depend on their agreements; ask the provider or a legal adviser about your situation.

What pension can you set up yourself?

Self-employed people build up AOW while they are insured. They usually arrange other retirement income on their own. The options available depend on your profession and any pension scheme from a former employer:

• Savings, investments or a lijfrente.
• A collective scheme you join voluntarily.
• A mandatory professional or sector fund, if your work is within its scope.
• Temporary continued membership in a former employer’s scheme, if the scheme permits it.

You can no longer make new additions to the fiscale oudedagsreserve (FOR, fiscal old-age reserve) after 2022. The rules for settling reserves that already exist still apply.

Costs, access and tax treatment vary by product. Before you choose, check with your provider and look at the current tax rules.

Can you retire before or after your AOW age?

Ask your workplace pension provider what earlier or later start dates your scheme permits. Starting early usually means fewer years of contributions and a lower monthly payment spread over a longer period. AOW begins at the fixed age for your date of birth. You cannot take AOW early or delay it.

Before you stop working, ask the provider for estimates for particular retirement dates. In your budget, include the period before AOW starts.

What happens if you work after reaching AOW age?

You may work while you receive AOW. Earnings do not lower the AOW itself, and you cannot delay when it starts.

Payroll tax no longer contains an AOW contribution. Other tax and healthcare deductions may still apply. You can use the payroll tax credit for only one source of income.

Additional income can affect toeslagen (benefits) and AIO. If you receive benefits, check Toeslagen: Dutch benefits and eligibility.

After AOW age, rules on employment protection and insurance change. Ask your employer if your contract continues or if you need a new contract.

What if you built up pension rights in other countries?

In the EU, pension authorities may add together insured periods to see whether you qualify. Each country calculates and pays its own pension according to its own rules and its own pension age. Request information at least six months before you retire.

Send your application through the pension authority in the country where you live or last worked. If you never worked in your country of residence, that authority sends the claim to the last country where you worked. Periods of less than one year may follow a special rule: another country can include those months in its calculation.

Treaties with countries outside the EU are different. They do not follow all EU rules. AOW paid abroad can have tax, healthcare, currency and banking effects that vary by country. Ask the pension authority in each country and SVB. If necessary, use a qualified tax adviser. A treaty assigns taxing rights, but it does not guarantee that you avoid a second filing or payment.

Where can you bring a pension problem?

Follow the route for the organisation that made the decision. A service complaint and an objection to a decision use different procedures:

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When your SVB decision arrives, read it. It states the exact deadline and route for an objection, usually six weeks. An objection disputes the decision. A complaint is about how SVB treated you or served you. Keep the decision, the evidence and proof of your submission date.

First complain to your pension provider. If a fund rejects the complaint or does not resolve it within 12 weeks, GIP may be an option. Insurers and PPIs use Kifid instead. If you take the dispute to civil court, you cannot later bring the same dispute to the dispute body. Before choosing, check its jurisdiction and deadlines.

The AFM can use reports about regulatory problems in its supervision. It does not award compensation to individuals.

Warning

Keep your pension login and data safe

Open Mijn SVB or Mijnpensioenoverzicht from an official address you have saved. Do not share your DigiD codes. Be wary of unexpected links or QR codes that ask for DigiD or bank details. The proof-of-life app uses the QR code in your personal SVB letter. Use the secure portal for documents, and if a message looks wrong, call the published number.

What should you check at this point?

Use this checklist for your own situation. The checks do not have to be done in a set order:

• In Mijn SVB, check your AOW age and the insurance periods recorded for you.
• Keep evidence of moves, work abroad, postings and A1 cover.
• If buy-back or continuation may apply, ask SVB about the deadlines and request a quote.
• In Mijnpensioenoverzicht and the provider portal, check every workplace pension, survivor cover and contact address.
• After changing jobs, ask about value transfer and the 2026 small-pension rules before you decide.
• Read your Wtp transition notice and check if conversion or compensation applies to your scheme.
• Ask about an international pension claim at least six months before you retire.
• For the organisation in question, follow its complaint or objection procedure.

When it comes to getting access to a pension or handling disputes, these guides can be of help:

• Get and use DigiD.
• Free and subsidised legal help in the Netherlands.

Official Sources

• SVB: Building up an AOW pension - the 50-year insurance period, the 2% build-up for each insured year and the minimum-insurance rule
• SVB: Insurance under the AOW scheme - the general residence and work rules and important exceptions for students, posted workers and cross-border workers
• SVB: Working in two or more countries - how social-insurance coverage is determined when someone works in more than one country
• SVB: A1 certificate of coverage - what an A1 certificate proves for a temporary cross-border posting
• SVB: Remaining insured while working abroad - when a person sent abroad may remain covered by Dutch social insurance
• SVB: Your AOW pension age - the established AOW ages by date of birth and the estimated ages for later birth dates
• Rijksoverheid: AOW age - the statutory AOW ages by calendar year and the rule that an age is fixed five years in advance
• SVB: AOW pension rates - the full-AOW gross and net monthly amounts, healthcare contribution and holiday allowance from 1 July 2026
• SVB: Which AOW rate applies? - how the actual living situation affects the AOW rate and when SVB may need to assess the household
• SVB: Holiday allowance - how AOW holiday allowance builds up and is paid
• SVB: Statement of AOW insurance periods - how to check recorded insurance periods and request a statement when online access is unavailable
• SVB: Applying for AOW while living in the Netherlands - the four-month application window and what to do if no invitation arrives
• SVB: Applying for AOW while living outside the Netherlands - the six-month lead time and the application routes from EU, treaty and non-treaty countries
• SVB: Frequently asked questions - the official proof-of-life procedure for people who receive an SVB benefit abroad
• SVB: AOW payments outside the Netherlands - how country, bank and currency can affect payment abroad
• SVB: Deductions outside the Netherlands - why tax and healthcare deductions from an AOW payment abroad depend on the country and personal coverage
• SVB: What is voluntary insurance? - the difference between buying back past AOW years and continuing AOW insurance after leaving
• SVB: Conditions for buying back AOW insurance - the statutory conditions and exceptions for buying back missing AOW insurance years
• SVB: Applying for voluntary insurance - the application periods for buy-back and for voluntary cover after leaving the Netherlands
• SVB: Buy-back contribution - the income-based buy-back calculation and minimum contribution from 1 July 2026
• SVB: Conditions after leaving the Netherlands - the prior-insurance and application conditions for voluntary cover after departure
• SVB: Voluntary-insurance cost outside the Netherlands - the 2026 percentage and minimum and maximum contributions for voluntary AOW insurance abroad
• SVB: Duration of voluntary insurance - the usual ten-year maximum and the situations in which another duration can apply
• SVB: Check whether you can get an AIO supplement - the residence, age, income and asset conditions for an AIO supplement
• SVB: Income and assets for AIO - which income and assets count and the current asset limits
• SVB: Staying abroad with AIO - the maximum time an AIO recipient and a younger partner may stay outside the Netherlands
• SVB: Working while receiving AOW - that earnings do not reduce AOW, AOW cannot be postponed and payroll-tax choices still matter
• Rijksoverheid: The three-pillar pension system - the distinction between AOW, workplace pension and private pension provision
• Rijksoverheid: Pension after changing jobs - the choices and funding conditions for transferring a workplace pension after a job change
• Rijksoverheid: Small pensions - the 2026 small-pension threshold and the conditional rules for transfer, buy-out and lapse
• Rijksoverheid: Transition to the new pension system - the transition-plan requirements and the latest statutory dates under the new pension rules
• Rijksoverheid: Pension-transition update of July 2026 - the current progress of the transition and confirmation of the 1 January 2028 end date
• Rijksoverheid: Survivor pension under the new rules - how survivor cover and partner registration can change when a scheme moves to the new rules
• SVB: Conditions for an Anw survivor benefit - the separate statutory conditions for an Anw survivor benefit
• Rijksoverheid: Dividing workplace pension after divorce - the general division rule and two-year notification period after divorce or the end of a registered partnership
• Rijksoverheid: Pension options for self-employed people - the main pension options for self-employed people and the end of new FOR additions after 2022
• Rijksoverheid: Retiring early - why taking a workplace pension early normally lowers the monthly amount
• Mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl - the official overview of recorded AOW and Dutch workplace pensions
• Your Europe: State pensions abroad - EU coordination, aggregation of insurance periods and separate payment by each country at its own pension age
• AFM: Complaints about pension providers - the provider-first complaint route and the different routes for pension funds, insurers and PPIs
• GIP: Pension Funds Disputes Body - independent mediation and adjudication for eligible disputes with pension funds
• SVB: Requesting a review - how to submit an objection through Mijn SVB and save proof of submission; the deadline is supported by the separate AOW objection page
• SVB: If you have a complaint - the separate service-complaint route for how SVB treated or served someone
• Rijksoverheid: Recognising phishing - how to recognise and avoid messages that try to steal login or banking details
• SVB: AOW objections and appeals - the six-week objection period, the deadline in the decision and the court route after an objection
• SVB: AIO changes to report - which changes must be reported and the separate reporting thresholds for travel by a recipient and younger partner
• Staatsblad (Dutch statute gazette): Future Pensions Act - the pension-entry-age amendment and its 1 January 2024 commencement; article 55(4) gives the survivor-cover continuation conditions and article 220g(6) ties them to scheme transition
• Staatsblad: Future Pensions Act commencement - the main commencement date of 1 July 2023
• Rijksoverheid: Pension division after divorce — information sheet - the linked information sheet explains direct payment after notification within two years, AOW exclusion and unmarried cohabitants’ agreements
• Rijksoverheid: Working after AOW age - changes to contracts, dismissal protection and social-insurance cover after AOW age
• SVB: Holiday-allowance accumulation period - the May-to-April accumulation period and payment with AOW in May; the amounts in this 2022 example are not used
• SVB: Personal data and privacy - keeping login details private, correcting personal records and uploading forms through Mijn SVB
• Kifid: Financial Services Complaints Institute - the financial-services dispute body linked from AFM’s pension-complaint guidance
• SVB: Voluntary insurance for your family - a partner is not automatically covered and must arrange separate voluntary insurance
• Tweede Kamer (Dutch House of Representatives): AOW and AIO income tests - the minister’s February 2026 letter confirms that AOW does not depend on other income or assets; its older payment figures are not used
• Staatsblad: Voluntary-insurance extension conditions - article 35(3)(e) sets the age-50 and residence-abroad conditions when compulsory insurance ends, restricts qualifying benefits to listed disability benefits or pensions and Anw, and requires at least 35% of the gross minimum wage
• Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Administration): A1 and treaty certificates of coverage - A1 certificates and other treaty certificates of coverage can establish foreign social-insurance cover during work in the Netherlands
• Rijksoverheid: Survivor-cover continuation — minister’s explanation - the December 2025 explanation of risk-based survivor insurance, the three- or six-month extension, earlier endings and benefits directly after membership
• Belastingdienst: Lijfrente (annuity) - a financial product that pays regular income, commonly used to supplement retirement income
• IND: Benefits from public funds - AIO is paid from public funds. Check the residence consequences with the IND before applying. For EU, EEA and Swiss residents and their family members, permanent residence or continuing genuine and effective work can protect their right to stay.