The AOW pension is the basic state pension in the Netherlands. It is provided by the Dutch government to people who have been insured under the state pension scheme and reached retirement age.
Short for the Algemene Ouderdomswet (National Old Age Pensions Act), which came into effect in 1957, the AOW pension is the first pillar or base layer of the Dutch pension system. As it is part of the national insurance scheme, it is universal. All people who have lived or worked in the Netherlands between the ages of 15 and 67 are entitled to receive the state pension.
The AOW pension scheme is a pay-as-you-go system. This means that the contributions made by working-age employees are not set aside for their future retirement; instead, they are used to pay the pension benefits of those who have already retired.
The state or AOW pension is provided by the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB), which manages and implements the Dutch national insurance scheme.
If you live and work in the Netherlands for an employer, you will almost certainly be insured under the AOW scheme, as your employer is obliged to make contributions on your behalf as part of the national insurance scheme.
If you are self-employed, you will also most likely contribute to the scheme via your regular income tax, calculated each year through your tax return.
For every year that you legally live or work in the Netherlands (in the 50 years before you reach state pension age), you accrue 2% of the full AOW pension. This means that after 50 years of being insured under the scheme, you are entitled to 100% of the state pension.
For any years (or partial years) spent abroad, you will lose 2% of your AOW pension entitlement. For example, if you moved away and spent three years outside the Netherlands, when you reach retirement age you would be entitled to 96% of the full AOW pension.
If you are going to live or work outside the Netherlands, but you intend to return and would like to continue building up your AOW pension, you may be able to take out voluntary AOW insurance. Similarly, if you move to the Netherlands between the ages of 15 and 67, and would like to boost your pension entitlement by making up for lost years of contributions, you can also apply for voluntary insurance.
You can find out more about applying for voluntary insurance on the SVB website (in Dutch).
If you want to know how much AOW pension you have built up so far, you can create an account with SVB to check your position (you will need a DigiD), or contact them to request a statement.
Once you reach retirement age, you can start receiving your AOW pension in the Netherlands. Here’s what you need to know about applying for the AOW pension, and how your benefit is calculated.
As of 2025, the state pension age in the Netherlands is 67 years. In 2028, the statutory retirement age will increase again, to 67 years and three months. You can only receive your AOW pension when you reach this age; early or late retirement is possible, but it will not affect your state pension (see below).
Anyone who has built up an entitlement to the state pension by living or working in the Netherlands, as outlined above, is eligible to receive the AOW pension. It is paid out to your bank account once a month after you reach retirement age.
If you live in the Netherlands, you should receive a letter from the SVB around four months before you reach state pension age. If you do not receive this letter, you should contact the SVB directly.
If you live outside the Netherlands, you should apply for your AOW pension six months before you reach state retirement age. If you live in an EU or EEA country, you can usually apply via the state pension organisation in the country where you live. If you live outside the EU/EEA, or if you are not sure what to do, contact the SVB for advice.
The AOW pension rate is based on a percentage of the net minimum wage in the Netherlands. The exact amount you receive depends on two factors:
For example, people who are entitled to 100% of the full AOW pension would get the following amounts, depending on their living situation:
As of 2025, the full AOW pension rates are as follows:
Note that these amounts are subject to tax and national insurance contributions (see below).
You also receive a holiday allowance on top of your pension. How much you will receive will depend on your personal situation and whether or not you receive a full AOW pension. The holiday allowance is paid out in May each year.
If you will receive a very small AOW pension, or no AOW pension at all, and you don’t have any alternative pension income, you may be eligible to receive the AIO supplement. The AIO supplement is an extra benefit for people in the Netherlands who have a small pension and almost no income or assets. It brings your income up to the guaranteed minimum income.
You can log into your SVB account to get a calculation of approximately how much AOW pension you can expect to receive. You can also apply for a pension calculation tailored to your personal situation.
Your AOW pension only kicks in when you reach state retirement age. You can choose to retire earlier or later, but it will not affect the value of your pension, and you cannot receive your pension benefit earlier or postpone receiving it.
If you want to retire early in the Netherlands, you will need to ensure that you have an adequate income before you reach state retirement age. If you continue working beyond retirement age, you will receive both a salary and your pension; the only change is that you will no longer have to pay contributions towards the AOW pension scheme from your salary.
Contrary to what is sometimes thought, AOW pensions in the Netherlands are subject to both income tax and national insurance contributions.
Your AOW pension is subject to wage tax like regular income. This happens automatically before your pension is transferred to you.
You can also apply for the general tax credit to reduce your overall taxable income, but note that you can only claim this on one source of income - for instance if you have both an AOW and a company pension, only one can benefit from the tax credit. It is usually best to have the tax credits applied to your highest source of income.
You will also have to make contributions to the following Dutch national insurance schemes from your AOW pension (these contributions are deducted automatically):
You will also continue to have to pay for your health insurance. If you live in a nursing home or other care institution, you will have to make a personal contribution towards your long-term care.
Whether or not you can (continue to) receive your AOW pension abroad depends on where in the world you move to. Due to the Dutch Export Restrictions on Benefits Act (BEU), which governs benefit arrangements between the Netherlands and other countries around the world, state pensions cannot be paid out in all countries. You can check the rules for different countries on the SVB website.
If you receive your Dutch AOW pension abroad, you may have to pay tax and national insurance contributions on it. How much you pay depends on your country of residence. The Netherlands has made agreements with many countries to ensure that you do not pay taxes twice on the same income. If your pension is not taxed by the Dutch authorities, you will have to pay taxes on it in your country of residence. It’s worth consulting with a tax advisor in complicated situations such as these.
There is no option to have your AOW pension entitlement paid out as a lump sum (even if it is small), but you can ask the SVB to pay it out every three months or once a year, to avoid you paying too much in charges from your bank.
You will only make contributions to the Dutch national insurance schemes if you are still insured under them (for instance if you are voluntarily insured).
It is important to note that the Dutch state pension only provides limited financial benefits for retirees and must be supplemented with benefits from pension funds, private pensions, or both.