The period known as the 'baby-years' period is a 2-year insurance period recognised in the pension contributions history of parents in Luxembourg who have devoted themselves to bringing up a legitimate, legitimised, natural or legally adopted child (under 4 years of age at the time of adoption).

This 24-month period is extended to 48 months if, at the time of the child's birth or adoption, the interested party is bringing up at least 2 other children in their household, or if the child is with a disability constituting an impairment or permanent reduction of their physical or mental capacity of at least 50 % compared to that of a child of the same age without a disability.

This measure is intended to attach value to the work involved in bringing up children in terms of parents' pension entitlement upon retirement.

It must not be confused with the education allowance, or with parental leave. In fact, unlike the education allowance, this 2- or 4-year period is recognised in the contributions history of the parent in question. As for parental leave, this is a measure intended to allow parents to interrupt their professional activity in order to devote themselves, for a certain period of time, to the tasks involved in bringing up their children whilst still guaranteeing them a fixed remuneration and the option to return to their job at the end of the parental leave.

Who is concerned

All parents who:

• are registered with the Luxembourg social security; and
  
• have devoted time to bringing up their legitimate, legitimised, natural or legally adopted child (under the age of 4 at the time of adoption) in Luxembourg.

Prerequisites

Interested parties must provide evidence of a 12-month period of mandatory insurance contributions in the 36 months prior to the birth or adoption of the child.

Months of mandatory insurance contributions accrued in European Union countries during this period are also taken into consideration. For periods accrued in other countries, the interested person can directly contact the National Pension Insurance Fund (Caisse nationale d'assurance pension - CNAP) to check whether these periods can, or cannot, in principle, be taken into consideration.

This 36-month reference period may be extended when it overlaps with periods of child-rearing (known as supplementary periods), during which the interested party brought up one or more children in Luxembourg.

In addition, the baby-years period must not overlap with other insurance periods with special Luxembourg schemes (scheme applicable to civil servants and public sector officials) or with foreign schemes.

Deadlines

There is no deadline for submitting an application to obtain recognition of the baby-years period.

Final approval for the baby-years period cannot, however, be given until a pension application is examined.

How to proceed

Baby-years period

The baby-years period is, as a rule, set at a maximum of 24 months.

If, however, at the time of the child's birth or legal adoption (under 4 years of age), the interested party is bringing up at least 2 other children in their household, or if the child is severely disabled, the baby-years period may be extended to 48 months.

Submitting the application

Applications for recognition of the baby-years period, under the general pension scheme, must be submitted to the CNAP using the corresponding application form.

Supporting documents

Applicants must enclose the following with their application:

• a copy of their identity card or passport;
  
• a copy of the birth certificate or adoption papers of the child in question;
• if the child in question is considered to be disabled, a medical certificate confirming the disability;
• if the applicant has carried out a professional activity outside of Luxembourg, or with an international institution, documentary evidence of their career;
• where applicable, a certificate of school attendance for children aged between 18 and 27 living in the applicant's household, if they are still attending an educational institution.

Eligibility

The 24-month baby-years period starts the month after the child's birth or adoption or, where applicable, the month after maternity benefit expires.

Baby years and pension

The average monthly pensionable income recognised for mandatory insurance contributions during the 12-month contribution period immediately prior to the month of the child's birth or adoption is taken into consideration for the baby-years period.

However, the income recognised may not be less than EUR 270.28 per child and per month assessed according to the cost-of-living index number 100 and to the base year 1984.

The 24- or 48-month period may be granted to just one parent or shared between 2 parents, provided that their applications do not together exceed the maximum period of 24 or 48 months. Should the parents fail to agree on how the period should be split, the pensionable income of the parent with primary responsibility for bringing up the child is prioritised.

The baby-years period is recognition of the work involved in bringing up a child and must not be confused with the education allowance or with parental leave. In fact, unlike the education allowance, this 2- or 4-year period is recognised in the contributions history of the parent in question. As for parental leave, this is a measure intended to allow parents to interrupt their professional activity in order to devote themselves, for a certain period of time, to the tasks involved in bringing up their children whilst still guaranteeing them a fixed remuneration and the option to return to their job at the end of the parental leave.

Forms / Online services

Who to contact