You can get your AOW pension when you reach your AOW pension age.

Your AOW pension age depends on your date of birth.

The start date for building up an AOW pension is 50 years before you reach your AOW pension age.

For each year that you are insured under the AOW pension scheme during that 50-year period, you will build up 2% of the full AOW pension rate.

If you have lived and/or worked exclusively in the Netherlands, you will normally be entitled to a 100% AOW pension.

The amount of AOW pension you can get depends on:

• whether you live alone or with another adult, and
• how many years you have lived or worked in the Netherlands

If you have lived and/or worked exclusively in the Netherlands, you will normally be entitled to a 100% AOW pension.

If you have lived or worked for a period outside the Netherlands, you will have built up fewer AOW pension rights. This means you will get a smaller AOW pension.

Your pension will be reduced by 2% for each year you were not living or working in the Netherlands.

You may have built up rights to another pension besides your AOW pension. For example, through your employer or your own private pension insurance.

If you do not have any other pension besides your AOW pension, and you cannot get a full AOW pension, you may be able to get a supplement (AIO supplement) on top of your AOW pension.

How to claim your AOW pension depends on the country where you live.

You will receive a letter about 4 months before you reach your AOW pension age. The letter will explain how to claim your AOW pension.

It is easy to claim your AOW pension online. Do you want to know more? 

You can claim your AOW pension about 6 months before you reach your AOW pension age.

There are different ways to submit a claim, depending on the country where you live. Normally, you can start by contacting the pension institution in your home country.