Old-age pension

The persons who have reached the age of 65 years and whose insurance period is at least 20 years are entitled to receive the old age pension.

Early retirement 

The pension can be requested early, i.e., two years before reaching the age required for the old- age pension if the insurance period is at least 30 years. The early retirement age is 63 years.

When a person is employed, the early granted old age pension is not paid. However, when a person has reached the general retirement age, he/she can both work and receive the full amount of the old- age pension.

To the persons to whom the old age pension has been granted early, 50% of the granted old- age pension is paid until the reaching of the relevant retirement age.

When a person has made his/her choice and has claimed the pension early, the old- age pension is not granted anew when the general retirement age is reached.

Retirement system in Latvia makes it possible for persons in several cases to retire before reaching the statutory retirement age.

A child's parent or guardian whose insurance term is at least 25 can claim the old-age pension 5 years earlier if, during the time period until the child has reached the age of 18 years:

1. he or she has been taking care of 5 or more children for at least 8 years;
2. he or she has been taking care of a child whose disability has been confirmed for at least 8 years for a period of at least 8 years.

Participants of mitigation of consequences of Chernobyl nuclear clean-up are entitled to request retirement pension five years earlier – from 60 years.

For the purpose of establishing of the entitlement to the old age pension according to preferential terms (i.e. from an earlier age than generally established) for the period of employment in particularly harmful and particularly heavy working conditions until 1996, the lists that defined the compliance of plants, jobs and professions to the employment category providing the entitlement to the retirement according to preferential terms (lists No. 1 and No. 2 approved by Resolution No. 1173 of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dd. 22 August 1956) until the entry into force of the Law “On State Pensions”.

In compliance with the Law “On State Pensions”, the following persons are entitled to claim the old- age pension according to the preferential terms for the employment in particularly harmful conditions:

 * As of the 1st July every next year the age for granting the pension is increased by six months until the retirement age is attained (63 years).

Politically repressed persons can demand retirement pension from the age of 59 years 3 months (in 2022) if their insurance length is at least 30 years.

The old-age pension is calculated taking into account the person’s:
•    accumulated pension capital during the time period from 1 January 1996 until the month when the pension is granted;
•    mean insurance contributions wage during the time period from 1996 until 1999 (inclusive);
•    insurance period until 31 December 1995;
•    time period (years), for which the payment of the old age pension is planned starting from the year of granting the pension.

The formula for calculating the old-age pension is as follows:

P is the annual pension whose one twelfth part is the monthly pension.

K is the insured person’s accumulated pension capital. It consists of the amount of the insurance contributions recorded in this person’s personal account and the annual capital growth.

And G is the time period (years) for which the payment of the old-age pension is planned starting from the year of granting the pension.

During the transition period (until there are persons with the employment period until 1996) the following formula is applied for the calculation of the old age pension:

This formula uses an additional index Ks, which is the initial pension capital calculated according to the formula: Ks=Vi x As x 0.2

As – the person’s insurance period until 1995 (inclusive);

Vi – the person’s mean insurance contributions wage from 1996 to 1999

The above formula for the pension calculation applies to the persons who have their employment period until 1996. 
The pension is granted and calculated individually for every person taking the starting capital of the pension (it is calculated taking into account the person’s employment period until 1996 and the mean social contributions wage during the time period from 1996 to 1999), the pension capital (social insurance contributions recorded in the personal account since 1 January 1996), as well as the retirement age as the basis.

When the pension is claimed by the persons whose insurance period is not below 30 years (of which at least five years accrued after 1 January 1996) and whose income has been below the national mean level during the years that are important for calculating the starting capital of the pension (i.e. 1996- 1999), the mean wage in the country during the relevant period is used instead of the individual insurance contributions wage for the calculation of the old- age pension.

All the accumulated capital (the starting capital of the pension + the pension capital after 1996) is updated in compliance with the changes of the amount of the insurance contribution wage in the country. The capital of the old age pension is updated by applying the indices of the insurance contribution wage (hereinafter – capital indices) defined for the years following the year to be updated until the year of granting of the pension. 

During the years of the good national economy development when the number of the persons paying social contributions and the wages were increasing, the annual indices applicable to the pension capital were also high. However, the reduction of the number of the persons paying social contributions and the wages has had a negative impact upon these indices during the certain years.

On 1 January 2016 came into force the amendments in the Law “On State Pensions” providing that from 2009 to 2011 the set negative capital indice shall be replace with the digit “1” as well as the set capital indice shall be levelled further until the multiplication of the negative and the positive capital indices is higher than the digit “1”. If multiplication of negative and subsequent positive capital indices of previous years is higher than „1”, then capital indice of insurance contribution wage is used for updating pension capital. Capital indice of insurance contribution is composed of multiplication of negative and subsequent positive capital indices of previous years.

The basis for calculating the minimum old-age pension in 2026 is 213 euro, but for persons with disabilities since childhood - 255 euro. The amount of the minimum old-age pension is calculated considering each year of insurance record, applying a coefficient 1.2 to the basis of the minimum old-age pension and increasing the amount by 2% of the base for each subsequent year exceeding required minimum insurance period for granting the old age pension (currently - 20 years).

The amounts of the minimum old age pension are as follows:

In order to be entitled to old age pension, the unemployed person has to hold a social insurance record; the duration of the necessary record varies depending on the type of pension. The insurance record may have an influence also on the calculation of the pension amount. The insurance record is made up of insurance periods during which the social insurance contributions were or had to be made for the particular type of social insurance. The insurance record is also made up of working periods and the equivalent periods that are accumulated until 31 December 1995.

Since 1 January 1996, the insurance record is confirmed by the insurance contributions data accumulated by the SSIA.

Insurance record until 31 December 1990

Until 31 December 1990, the period of work accumulated in the territory of Latvia and the equivalent period thereof, the period accumulated outside Latvia referred to in Sub-paragraphs 1, 2 and 10, as well as, if the period of insurance of a person in Latvia after 1 January 1996 is at least 20 years, - periods accumulated in the territory of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and equivalent periods, if Regulation No 883/2004 or an international agreement approved by the Parliament is not in force in such territory, however, for foreigners, stateless persons and non-citizens of Latvia - the period of work accumulated in the territory of Latvia and the equivalent period thereof, the period accumulated outside Latvia referred to in Sub-paragraph 10, as well as, if the period of insurance of a person in Latvia after 1 January 1996 is at least 20 years - the periods accumulated for work in the territory of the former USSR referred to in Sub-paragraphs 4 and 5, if Regulation No 883/2004 or an international agreement approved by the Parliament is not in force in such territory. Periods of insurance until 31 December 1990, but in the case referred to in Sub-paragraph 11– length of insurance until 31 December 1995 shall be assimilated to the following periods of employment:

1)             mandatory active military service in the USSR Armed Forces and alternative (work) service;

2)             service in the Army of the Republic of Latvia, for citizens of Latvia - also in the USSR Armed Forces;

3)             rank and file service and positions of unit commanding personnel in the institutions dealing with internal affairs, with the exception of the VDK (State Security Committee);

4)             periods of study at institutions of higher education, as well as at other educational institutions after the acquisition of secondary education, but not longer than five years in relation to specialisation, in which the acquisition of an education was specified as not more than five years, and not longer than six years in relation to a specialisation, in which the acquisition of an education was specified as more than five years;

5)             the period of time of full time doctoral studies, but not longer than three years, the period of post-graduate education and the period when qualifications were raised;

6)             individual work;

7)             the time period that a Group I invalid person or an invalid child up to the age of 16 years was cared for, as well as a person, who has reached 80 years of age;

8)             the time period when a mother raised a child up to the age of 8 years;

9)             paid employment in religious organisations;

10)         the time period spent by politically repressed person in places of imprisonment, deportation, and exile, as well as the time spent while escaping from such places (also outside the territory of the former USSR) is to be multiplied by the amount of three, but that spent in the Far North or the equivalent districts thereof - multiplied by the amount of five;

11)         the time period when the insured person is recognised as an invalid and does not work, but not longer than up to attaining the age necessary for the granting of the old age pension;

12)         employment as a kolkhoz (collective farm) member since age 16.

The insurance periods accrued until 31 December 1991 shall not valid, if they have been taken into account in the calculation of pension granted by another state.

Insurance record from 1 January 1991 until 31 December 1995

Insurance record is made up of the following working periods and the equivalent periods spent in Latvia:

1)  work (except for work as a self-employed person);

1) mandatory active military service in the USSR Armed Forces and alternative (work) service;

2)  service in the Army of the Republic of Latvia, for citizens of Latvia - also in the USSR Armed Forces;

4)             rank and file service and positions of unit commanding personnel in the institutions dealing with internal affairs, with the exception of the VDK (State Security Committee);

The periods mentioned in clauses 1 - 4 are included in the insurance record, if the social insurance contributions were made or had to be made during them.

5)             work as a self-employed person;

6)             periods of study at institutions of higher education, as well as at other educational institutions after the acquisition of secondary education;

7)             period of post-graduate education and the period when qualifications were raised;

8)             the time period that a Group I invalid person or an invalid child up to the age of 16 years was cared for, as well as a person, who has reached 80 years of age;

9)             the time period when a mother raised a child up to the age of 8 years;

The periods mentioned in clauses 5 - 9 are included in the insurance record, provided that the social insurance contributions during such employment period were made by the person itself. The information regarding the contributions made is kept by the SSIA.

10)         the time period when the insured person is recognised as an invalid and does not work, but not longer than up to attaining the age necessary for the granting of the old age pension, which has to be proven with appropriate documents.

In order to prove the insurance period, the person has to submit documents (work record, labour contracts and documents verifying their fulfilment, archive transcripts, military service certificate, etc.). The requirements for the documents are stated in the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 165 "Procedures for Producing Evidence Calculation and Registration of Periods of Insurance" (dated 23 April 2002).

From 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2011, people receiving old age pension and residing in Latvia were granted a supplement for each year of their insurance period, accumulated until 31 December 1995 and taken into account when granting (recalculating) pension.
As of 1 January 2010, people residing in the member states of the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) are also entitled to a supplement.

From 2012, no such supplements have been granted.

 The Parliament of the Republic of Latvia (Saeima) accepted gradual renewal of supplements.

The law provides for gradual awarding of supplements between 2024 and 2029 to old-age and disability pensions granted between 2012 and 2028.

 Starting from 2029 - all recipients of old-age and disability pensions, will receive supplements for ‘old’ periods.

In 2024, the supplement are provided to people, who retired in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

In 2025- to people who retired in 2015, 2016 and 2017,

in 2026 – to people who retired in 2018, 2019 and 2020,

in 2027 – to people who retired in 2021, 2022 and 2023,

in 2028 – to people who retired in 2024, 2025 and 2026,

In 2029 – to people who retired in 2027, 2028 and 2029.

Persons with disability, to whom the old age pension was granted instead of the disability pension starting from 1 January 2012 and to whom a supplement to the disability pension for the insurance period up to 31 December 1995 was granted until the date of the granting of the old age pension, will be granted a supplement to the old age pension for the insurance period up to 31 December 1995 for the period of disability.

Indexation takes place every year on the 1st October, considering the actual consumer price index and 50% of percentage of the real increase in the social insurance contribution wage sum. A higher percentage of the real increase in the social insurance contribution wage sum is applied to old-age pensions with long insurance period. Namely, 60% - if the insurance period is between 30 and 39, as well as to those pensions awarded for work in hazardous and hard-working conditions or particularly hazardous and hard-working conditions, 70% - if the insurance period is between 40 and 44 years, 80% - if the insurance period is 45 years or more.

In case of politically repressed persons, persons with disabilities in group I, participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power station accident and persons who have been granted an old-age pension with reduced terms due to the care and upbringing of a child with a disability or five or more children, the indexation applied to all pensions, regardless of their amount. For others - only part of the pension is indexed, i.e., amount of average contribution wage for the previous year.

From 1 October 2019 the supplement to the pension for each year of insurance period accumulated until 31 December 1995 shall be indexed considering the actual consumer price index and 50% of percentage of the real increase in the social insurance contribution wage sum.

From 1 April 2026, the State Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) shall recalculate the pension automatically if social insurance contributions have been paid for the period after the granting (recalculation) of the old-age pension.

Automatic pension recalculation shall be performed not earlier than 12 months after the previous pension recalculation or 12 months after the pension has been granted, counting from the first day of the month following that from which the pension was granted. If the recipient wishes the pension to be recalculated on another date, he must submit a submission indicating the first date of the month from which the pension is to be recalculated automatically. The first automatic pension recalculation will be on 1 April 2026 and annually thereafter.

Until 31 March 2026, the SSIA shall ensure the conversion of the pension on the basis of a human application. The pension may be recalculated once a year regardless of the number of months worked.

The recalculated old-age pension shall consist of the pension previously granted and the pension calculated taking into account the pension capital accumulated by the person after the granting of the pension.

At the choice of the recipient, the State Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) shall transfer the pension to the account of the Latvian credit institution or postal settlement system (PNS) or deliver it to the place of residence of the recipient of the pension. The delivery of the pension at the place of residence is ensured by the SAS Latvijas pasts for a fee – EUR 2.39, which the SSIA withholds from the pension to be paid.

If the recipient of the pension departs for permanent residence in foreign States, the pension granted in the Republic of Latvia may continue to be transferred to a personal account in Latvia or to an account of a foreign bank or credit institution of the person to which payment in euro currency may be credited.

In order to improve society's knowledge of its social guarantees and confidence in its social safety, everyone needs to get acquainted with their rights and obligations in the field of social safety.

Latvian citizens who are legally working in any of European Union (EU) member states can join the system of social security of the respective country and receive its guarantees. They have the same rights and obligations regarding the social safety in that country as the citizens of the given country.

System of social security covers various risks of the loss of income, for instance, old-age, disability, loss of supporter, illness, work injury, occupational disease, various reimbursements regarding expenses for family with children, unemployment.

When Latvian citizens move to permanent residence in other EU member state, they do not lose their rights to pensions and certain benefits which were granted to them in Latvia. Granted benefits or pension are transferred to the bank account indicated by the person in any of member states (principle of pension and benefit export).

If a Latvian citizen during his life has worked in several EU member states, this person is entitled to receive a pension from all these countries. Each country calculates its part for the pension in compliance with its laws and the period the person has worked in the respective country. If person will not have worked in any of EU member states for a period that is required for granting a pension in this country, other employment periods in other EU member states will be taken into consideration.

For instance, for a person to have rights to the pension, he/she must have 20 years length of service in Latvia. If a person has worked 7 years in Latvia and afterwards 19 years in Belgium then upon requesting the pension in Latvia both periods are put together. Thus not only 7 years of work in Latvia but also 19 years in Belgium will be taken into account. Nevertheless Latvia will grant a pension only for 7 years while Belgium will have to grant pension for 19 years of work. 

If a person has worked in the EU member states (both in the existing and new ones) and his/her period of employment has not been fully paid, for instance, person's length of service has not been taken into consideration, he/she can turn to State Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) in order to solve this issue.

Additional information about pension export is available at SSIA home page https://www.vsaa.gov.lv/en/services-european-union .

Information exchange among member states' institutions is organized by means of forms E. Some of them are handed over also to the person. Forms E that are necessary for implementing social safety rights can be received in the SSIA.

Before starting the labour relations in another member state, please, get acquainted with the information about the conditions regarding employment and social safety of the respective country.

• Movement within the European Union (here)
• MISSOC tables about the systems of EU/EEA member states regarding rights at work, social safety etc. fields (here)

Funeral benefits In case of the death of the recipient of pension, a funeral benefit in the amount of two monthly pensions (including a supplement to the pension for the length of the period of insurance that has been accrued until 31 December 1995) shall be disbursed to his or her family or the person who has undertaken to arrange the funeral. The right to the benefit shall exist if it has been requested within six months from the day of the death of the recipient of the pension:

Surviving spouse's benefit

In the event of the death of a person receiving pension, the surviving spouse shall be granted a benefit of 50 per cent of the pension which has been accumulated in accordance with the law “On State Pensions" ["Par valsts pensijām"] granted to the deceased spouse, including the pension supplement for the period of insurance accrued before December 31, 1995.

Entitlement to the benefit exists twelve months from the date of death of the pension recipient, if the application is submitted within six months from the date of death of the pension recipient.

If the application is being submitted later, the entitlement to the benefit arises not earlier than six months before the date of submission of the application and not longer than until the day twelve months after the date of death of the pension recipient.

The entitlement to surviving spouse's benefit exists if:

• the recipient of the pension has been in a registered marriage on the day of death;
• the deceased person was recipient of an old-age, invalidity, survivor's or retirement pension in accordance with the decision No. 104 "Regulations on retirement pensions" ["Nolikums par izdienas pensijām"] or the decision No. 34 "On the Regulations on Pensions of Employees of Ordinary and Commanding Staff of the Interior Institutions (Employer's Pensions)" ["Par Nolikumu par iekšlietu iestāžu ierindas un komandējošā sastāva darbinieku pensijām (darba devēja pensijām)"];
• the surviving spouse on the day of death of the deceased person is the recipient of a Latvian National old-age, disability, service or special state pension.

Application for receipt of the benefit can be submitted to any SSIA customer service centre:

• by appearing in person or submitting in the form of an electronic document, in accordance with regulatory enactments regarding the execution of electronic documents;
• by submitting the document by post (sending) or submitting through an authorized person;
• using the portal www.latvija.lv and completing an electronic application [e-iesniegums].

An identity document must be presented when claiming the benefit.

The benefit is transferred to the account specified by the beneficiary in a Latvian credit institution, postal payment system (PNS) account or delivered to the place of residence for a fee