Pension from another EEA country or the USA

If you have lived or worked abroad, you may have earned pension rights in that country. Displaced Icelanders and foreign nationals who have lived or worked in Iceland may also have pension rights in Iceland.

Eligibility

You may be entitled to a old age pension abroad if:

• you live or have lived and worked abroad

• your country has a contract with with Tryggingastofnun on pension payments

Income plan

The old age pension amount is linked to your income. Exemption thresholds determine how much the old age pension is reduced in proportion to other income. Therefore, it is important that your income plan is always correct.

You can change your income plan on My pages of the Social Insurance Administration.

Application process

If you live abroad when receiving old age pension, you contact an insurance institution or comparable institution in that country.

If you live in Iceland, you must have:

• banking information

• tax return or other confirmation of rights abroad

• an estimate of your future income (income plan)

• information on the use of personal tax credit

The Social Insurance Administration staff shall then send the application to the country in question.

How to apply

Processing time for applications

The common processing time for applications abroad is six to eight months.

You can follow the status of applications in My pages under the Application status. If data or documents are missing, you will receive an e-mail and notification on My pages under My documents.

You can withdraw your application 30 days after the application is approved. If you have already received a payment of old age pension during the period, you will have to pay it back.

Conclusion

Once you have the outcome, you will receive a letter from the foreign institution to which you applied.

There you can see the amounts for the year in the payment schedule and change the income plan if needed. 

If you disagree with the decision, you can:

• request a justification on My Pages TR,

• send a request to review the case to the Client Ombudsman,

or

• sue with the The Welfare Appeals Committee.
  

Arrangement of payments

Old age pension is prepaid on the first day of each month.

If you have a foreign bank account, the Social Insurance Administration will be responsible for transferring payments. Transfers to foreign accounts are made through commercial banks to foreign banks.

You can receive one payment per year if there is a credit after the settlement of the Social Insurance Administration.

The advantage of getting paid once a year on the basis of a tax return is that you get exactly what you are entitled to. There is also no risk of receiving a claim in settlement of overpaid pension.