Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion

Estonia - State pensions

This chapter covers what you need to know about state pensions and claiming them in the Republic of Estonia.

This chapter provides introductory information on all state pensions.

In what situation can I claim?

The state pays a monthly financial social insurance benefit - a State pension for old age, loss of a provider. This benefit, based on the principle of solidarity, is paid to the permanent residents of Estonia and foreigners residing in Estonia on the basis of temporary residence permits or temporary right of residence. The people covered by State pension insurance are those who pursuant to the Social Tax Act pay the pension insurance part of social tax or for whom the pension insurance part of social tax must be paid. Additionally, State pension insurance covers persons for whom the right to receive a state pension is based on other grounds pursuant to the State Pension Insurance Act.

What conditions do I need to meet?

The following people have the right to receive State pensions:

  • permanent residents of Estonia;
  • foreigners residing in Estonia on the basis of temporary residence permits or temporary right of residence;
  • persons residing in a foreign country which has not entered into an international agreement with Estonia;
  • If a person resides in a foreign country which has entered into an international agreement with Estonia, pensions within the scope of application of the international agreement will be paid on the basis of the international agreement

For more detailed information, please click on the pension that you are interested in.

Old-age pension

People who have reached 64 years of age and who have accumulated a pension qualifying period in Estonia of at least 15 years have the right to receive an old-age pension.

Survivor’s pension

Upon the death of a provider, family members who were dependent on him or her have the right to receive a survivor’s pension. Survivor’s pension is granted to the children, parents and the not working widow or widower (who has partial or no working ability or pregnant) irrespective of whether they were dependent on the provider or not. They are assigned a survivor's pension under the conditions set out in the State Pension Insurance Act.

National pension

A national pension is payable to:

1. People who have reached 64 years of age, have not accumulated the pension qualifying period required for the grant of old-age pension and who have been permanent residents of Estonia or have resided in Estonia on the basis of a temporary residence permit or temporary right of residence for at least 5 years immediately before making a pension claim.

2. People who have reached old-age and who were paid the national pension on grounds of permanent incapacity for work. The pension amount is 100% of the national pension rate.

4. Family members in the event of the loss of a provider, where the family members are not eligible for survivor's pension because the provider had not accumulated the required pension qualifying period, provided that the provider had been a permanent resident of Estonia or had resided in Estonia on the basis of a temporary residence permit or temporary right of residence for at least 1 year immediately before his or her death.

Mandatory funded pension

As the main supplement to the state pension, the aim of this pension is to mitigate the problems caused by demographic changes, and to provide additional income during retirement.

Joining the funded pension scheme is automatic for people born in or after 1983 with the opt-out possibility. The right and obligation to make payments commences on 1 January of the year following the year in which the obligated person reaches 18 years of age.

Since 1 November 2010 to 1 January 2020, only people born in 1983 or later have been allowed to join the scheme. Since 1 January to 30 November 2020 people born 1970 to 1982 were allowed to join the scheme. From 1 January 2021 everyone may join the scheme.

From 6 November 2020 the reform of funded pension scheme was entered into force that made fundraising in the second pillar voluntary. People may take out their money from scheme before pensionable age with the income tax penalty. Also, in addition to pension funds, one can invest second pillar contribution to pension investment account.

What am I entitled to and how can I claim?

To claim any of the state pensions you must contact the Social Insurance Board of the Republic of Estonia.

To find out more about your rights, please click on the pension you are interested in.

A person who has accumulated a pension qualification period of at least 1 year in a Member State of the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland must submit the pension application with the documents proving the accumulated period to the competent authority in the country of residence  https://www.sotsiaalkindlustusamet.ee/en.

Jargon busters

  • State pension: there are 3 state pensions, paid by the state and based on the principle of solidarity. These state pensions are: the old age pension, the survivor’s pension and the national pension. The mandatory funded pension pillar II is a partial state pension.

Forms you may need to fill in

To claim each state pension, you must submit a standard application and any other documents required to the Estonian National Social Insurance Fund.

All of the required forms and application forms can be found here:

More information on the required additional documents for claiming each pension can be found on the following webpages.

Know your rights

Publications and webpage of the European Commission:

Who do you need to contact?

The application form is available from the client service offices of the Estonian National Social Insurance Board (the addresses and reception hours of the client service offices are available under the 'Client service' http://www.sotsiaalkindlustusamet.ee/et/klienditeenindused-loeteluna) section of the homepage.

The Estonian National Social Insurance Board can also be contacted by telephone.

Information is available on telephone number 16106 (in Estonia) or +372 612 1360 between the hours of 9:00-17:00 on all working days and the general phone numbers of the Estonian National Social Insurance Board's offices (please see Contacts). http://www.sotsiaalkindlustusamet.ee/et/klienditeenindused-loeteluna

Visit us at our regional offices on any working day (please see Client Service). http://www.sotsiaalkindlustusamet.ee/et/klienditeenindused-loeteluna

Related news

No related news in the last six months.

Share this page