What is deducted from your AOW pension if you live outside the Netherlands?
If you live outside the Netherlands and you receive your AOW pension there, tax and health insurance contributions may be deducted from your AOW pension. The exact amount deducted from your AOW pension will depend on your circumstances and the country where you live.
Read more about tax, health insurance contributions and healthcare services. And where to go for additional information.
Tax
The Netherlands has made agreements with many countries concerning tax payments. The agreements are laid down in bilateral tax treaties to ensure that you do not pay tax on the same income in 2 countries. It depends on the tax treaty whether or not we deduct tax from your AOW pension. If we do not make these deductions from your AOW pension because you are entitled to an exemption from Dutch tax, you will have to pay tax on your AOW pension in the country where you live.
Tax treaties do not cover contributions for national insurance. If you are insured under 1 or more of the Dutch national insurance schemes, we will deduct contributions from your AOW pension. This also applies if you pay tax in the country where you live.
Tax credit
If your AOW pension is subject to deductions for Dutch tax and/or national insurance contributions, you can get a tax credit. The tax credit consists of 2 components, one for tax and the other for social insurance contributions.
If you receive an AOW pension, you can get the contributions component of the tax credit (but not the tax component). This means the amount you get will be higher.
You qualify for the contributions component if:
- you are insured under 1 or more of the Dutch national insurance schemes
- we deduct the Zvw health insurance contribution for non-residents from your AOW pension
If you want to get the contributions component of the tax credit for your AOW pension, please contact us.
The SVB cannot apply the tax component of the tax credit to your AOW pension, even if the bilateral tax treaty states that your AOW pension should be taxed in the Netherlands. You may be able to get the tax component from the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst), but only if you file a tax return in the Netherlands.
Health insurance contributions
The contribution for healthcare for people living outside the Netherlands is called the Zvw contribution for non-residents. The CAK decides whether you have to pay healthcare contributions under a treaty agreement with another country (‘verdragsbijdrage’). If so, we will deduct a Zvw contribution for non-residents from your AOW pension.
The Zvw health insurance contribution for non-residents may consist of up to three components:
- A contribution under the Dutch Health Insurance Act (Zvw)
- A contribution under the Long-term Care Act (Wlz)
- A fixed contribution for each co-insured family member aged 18 or above. The amount of this contribution differs per country, depending on the average cost of healthcare in the country where you live.
- You can find more information on health insurance for people living outside the Netherlands on the CAK website (Dutch only) You will be directed to an external website. This will open in a new screen.
- You can find more information on healthcare contributions under a treaty agreement on the CAK website (Dutch only) You will be directed to an external website. This will open in a new screen.
- View the list of treaty countries
Healthcare services in the EU, EEA or Switzerland
If you live in a country that is a member of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA), or in Switzerland, you may be able to get your medical care in that country paid by the Netherlands.
You can find more information about your health insurance outside the Netherlands on the website ‘netherlandsworldwide.nl’.