Retirement abroad

As an EU citizen you have the right to live in another EU country.

However, if you receive a pension in another country, how this affects the rest of your social security benefits? And where have to pay taxes?

answers:

Old-age pension

Where to apply

If you worked in several EU countries may have accumulated pension rights in each of them.

You must apply to the pension authorities in the country where you live or where you last worked. If you've never worked in the country you live in, this country will forward your request for a pension in the country where you last worked.

Then this country is responsible for processing your application and for collecting information about your pension contributions in all countries where you worked.

In some countries the pension authority should send you the application form before you have reached retirement age in this country. If you do not get through to the pension authority to find out if you send it automatically.

Necessary documents

The documents vary in different countries, but usually have to provide your banking information and some kind of identification.

For more detailed information contact the pension authority handling your request.

Difference in retirement age

In some EU countries will have to wait longer before receiving a pension.

You can get a pension only in the country where you currently live (or have worked last) once you reach the legal retirement age in this country. If you have accumulated pension rights in other countries you will get these parts of your pension only after you reach the legal retirement age in their respective countries.

It is therefore important to inform in advance in all the countries where you have worked, what your situation will be if you change the date of their retirement.

If you take one pension earlier than the other, it might affect the amounts you receive.

You can get advice from the relevant authorities in the country where you live and / or in countries where you worked.

The eligibility period

In some EU countries must have worked for a minimum period of time to be entitled to a pension.

In this case, the pension body must take into account all periods during which you worked in other EU countries, as if all the time you have worked in the country to calculate whether you are entitled to a pension (principle of aggregation of insurance periods) .

personal history

Tom worked four years in Germany and 32 years in Portugal.

In Germany it is necessary to have worked at least five years in order to qualify for a pension. Under ordinary circumstances, Tom would not be entitled to a pension in Germany, since he worked there only four years.

German pension authority is however obliged to take into account the years during which Tom has worked in Portugal. He acknowledged his right to a pension and pay him one for four years, during which he worked in Germany

Periods of insurance under one year

If you were insured for less than a year in one country may apply special rule, as some EU countries do not provide a pension for short periods: the months in which you were insured or have lived in the country where you worked for short, will not be lost but will be taken into account when calculating your pension in the countries where you worked longer.

How to calculate your pension

Pension authorities in each EU country in which you are working, refer to the contributions which are paid in their systems and systems of other countries and how long you have worked in different countries.

European pension

Any pension authority will calculate the portion of the pension that you have to pay, taking into account periods of employment in all EU countries.

For this he will sum up the periods of employment in all EU countries to calculate what would be the size of your pension, if in all the time you have paid contributions into the system of the country (theoretical amount).

Then this size will be adjusted to reflect the actual time that you were insured in this country (pro rata benefit).

National pension

If you meet the conditions for granting a national pension, regardless of the periods during which you worked in other countries, the pension authority will calculate and national pension (known as self-satisfaction).

result

Then the national authority will compare the pro rata benefit and compensation alone. You will be paid the higher of the two amounts from the respective EU country.

Payment of your pension

Any country that you leave a pension, usually pays the appropriate amount into a bank account in the country of residence - if you live in the EU.

If you do not live in the EU you may need to open an account in any of the EU countries, which pay you a pension.

Invalidity / old-n