The state pension is paid out of the social tax calculated from salaries. Employers pay 33% of the salary of each employee for social tax, 13% whereof is for health insurance and 20% / 16%* is for the pensions of today’s pensioners.
The state pension is paid for old age, for incapacity for work or loss of provider to
- permanent residents of Estonia,
- aliens residing in Estonia on the basis of temporary residence permit or right of residence.
The state pension is additionally divided into two
- old-age pensiondepending on the work contribution,
- national pension.
A person is entitled to the old-age pension after they have become 63 (65) years old and their length of employment in Estonia is at least 15 years.
The national pension is paid to the persons of retirement age who do not have sufficient length of employment (15 years) in order to receive the old-age pension. A precondition for receiving the national pension is that the person has lived in Estonia for at least 5 years before applying for the pension.
Application procedure
To apply for the state pension, an application and the additionally required documents have to be submitted to the local pension office. You will find the respective contacts here: Estonian National Social Insurance Board
