Pension in Norway for immigrants: work history, residence period and supplementary benefit

You must have at least 5 years of work history to receive old-age pension in Norway, and 40 years for full minimum pension. If you live here for a shorter period, the pension will be proportionally reduced – but pension agreements can allow years from abroad to count, and if you are 67 or older with a short residence period, you can apply for supplementary benefit.

Old-age pension = income pension + minimum pension

Old-age pension from the national insurance scheme consists of two parts that are interconnected:

• Income pension is earned through work. Each year, 18.1 % of your income (up to 7.1 G) is credited to a pension account. The more you earn and the longer you work, the higher this part becomes.
• Minimum pension is a guaranteed minimum set by work history and residence period – not by what you have earned. It ensures you a minimum pension even if you have had low or no income in Norway.

The two parts work together: if you have low income pension, the minimum pension fills up to the minimum level. If you have higher income pension, the minimum pension is gradually reduced – it is reduced by 80 % against the income pension and can ultimately disappear entirely. This means you never 'lose' by having worked, but that the minimum pension is a floor, not an addition on top.

For immigrants, it is especially important to understand the minimum pension. It is the only part that requires a long residence period to become full, while the income pension can be built up as long as you work and pay taxes in Norway. Both parts are adjusted for life expectancy, which means that the annual pension depends on how long your birth cohort is expected to live – therefore it often pays to wait before withdrawing pension.

With full work history of 40 years, the minimum pension in 2026 (rates from 1 May) is:

Work history: 5 years to get something, 40 years for full minimum pension

Work history is the time you have been a member of the national insurance scheme (folketrygden), usually because you have lived or worked in Norway. It is normally counted from the year you turn 16 until the year you turn 66.

• You must have at least 5 years of work history to receive old-age pension at all.
• You must have 40 years of work history for full minimum pension. If the residence period is shorter, the minimum pension is proportionally (pro rata) reduced. To receive minimum pension, you must also have at least 3 years of residence.

An example: If you come to Norway when you are 40 and work until you are 67, you will accumulate about 27 years of work history. Then you get about 27/40 – roughly two-thirds – of full minimum pension, plus the income pension you have managed to earn. This is the main reason why many immigrants receive lower pensions than people born in Norway: they simply achieve fewer earning years, not because the rules treat them worse, but because the residence period is shorter.

Pension agreements: years from abroad can count

If you have lived or worked in other countries, pension agreements can be crucial in meeting the minimum requirements:

• EEA Agreement (EØS): work history in another EEA country can be combined with Norwegian work history when NAV assesses whether you meet the 5-year requirement.
• Nordic Convention (Nordisk konvensjon) and bilateral agreements with, among others, the USA, Canada, India, Turkey and the United Kingdom provide similar rights.

For example: If you have worked 3 years in Norway and 4 years in another EEA country, the 7 years together count as sufficient to meet the 5-year requirement. But remember: the agreements help you primarily to qualify. Each country usually pays the pension only for its own years – Norway pays for Norwegian work history, and the agreement country for the time you were insured there. You often have to apply for a pension from each country separately. You will encounter the same principle that years abroad can count in the rules for unemployment benefit for work abroad.

Supplementary benefit when you are 67 and have a short residence period

If you are 67 years or older and have a short residence period to receive full minimum pension, you can apply for supplementary benefit (supplerende stønad). This is a means-tested safety net that raises your total income to the minimum pension level. The main rules as of 2026 are:

• You must have turned 67 (or be a disabled refugee) and have legal, permanent residence in Norway.
• The benefit is means-tested – all income and assets, including those of a spouse or partner, are deducted.
• You must apply again each year and meet in person at the NAV office, and control meetings are held during the process.
• The right lapses if you stay abroad for more than 90 days in total in a benefit period – this also applies to stays in other Nordic countries and EEA countries.

Supplementary benefit is therefore a safety net, not an earned pension. It is tied to the fact that you actually live in Norway, and cannot be taken out of the country to live elsewhere. For many older immigrants, it is still the difference between a very low pension and income to live on.

What can you do to get a higher pension?

You have more influence than many think. Some concrete steps:

• Work a few more years if you can. Each year of work increases both your income pension and your work history.
• Wait before withdrawing. Because the pension is adjusted for life expectancy, a later withdrawal provides higher annual pension for the rest of your life.
• Combine work and pension. From age 62 you can receive old-age pension and work at the same time without the pension being reduced.
• Check occupational pension and AFP (Avtalefestet Pensjon). Many have pension from the employer in addition to the national insurance – it comes on top.
• Get an overview of foreign pensions. Apply for them in good time, and gather documentation of work history from all countries you have lived and worked in.

How to check your work history

You can find your own earnings record yourself:

• Log in to Your Pension (Din pensjon) on nav.no with BankID to see your earnings record and calculated work history.
• Check that years abroad are registered correctly, and keep documentation such as employment certificates and decisions from social insurance authorities in other countries.
• Apply for old-age pension in good time. You can withdraw pension earliest from age 62 if your earnings record is high enough, otherwise from age 67.

If you need help finding your way in the system, see our overview of NAV for immigrants. Residence period also matters for other rights – see for example the requirements for Norwegian citizenship.