You are covered by the general pension insurance scheme if you:

• engage in a professional activity in Luxembourg, be it as an employee or on a self-employed basis; or
• receive some form of replacement income: sickness benefits, maternity benefits, compensation for an occupational accident or unemployment benefits.

The early old-age pension is granted from the age of 57 or 60.

General remarks

Entitlement to an early old-age pension is subject to:

• an age requirement; and
• a condition of recognised years of insurance: the insurance period.

The years of compulsory insurance, continued insurance, optional insurance or retroactively purchased insurance periods and additional periods are taken into account.

Additional details of the insurance periods are available on the CNAP website.

Eligibility criteria

Early old-age pension is granted:

• from the age of 57, if you have completed a qualification period of 480 months of compulsory insurance periods;
• from the age of 60, if you have completed a qualification period of 480 months of compulsory insurance periods, continued insurance period, optional insurance periods, retroactive purchase insurance periods and/or additional periods which must consist of at least 120 months of compulsory insurance periods, continued insurance periods, optional insurance periods and retroactive purchase periods.

Since 1 July 2026, the insurance period required to qualify for an early old-age pension from the age of 60 has been gradually increasing. The number of additional months of compulsory or voluntary insurance required depends on the year in which the insured person both reaches the age of 60 and completes the required 480 months of insurance.

Cette augmentation ne s’applique pas en cas de départ en pension à la suite d’une préretraite des salariés postés ou de nuit, ou d’une préretraite-ajustement.

Elle ne s’applique pas non plus si l’assuré dispose d’un stage d’assurance de 40 années de périodes d’assurance obligatoire.

There is an economic condition for the award of an early old-age pension. In principle, recipients of an early old-age pension may work, but this may affect the granting, continuation and calculation of the pension.

If you have:

• only ever worked in Luxembourg: you can submit your application between 2 and 6 months before the start date of your pension;
• been affiliated to multiple pension schemes in Luxembourg over the course of your career: you can submit your application 6 months before the start date of your pension;
• worked both in Luxembourg and in one or more foreign countries: it is advisable to submit your application at least 6 months before the planned pension start date.

Filing the application in the country of residence

Application processing time

The time taken to process a pension application will depend on the availability and the soundness of the required data. It may range from:

• a few weeks; to
• several months, if information needs to be obtained from abroad.

When the review is completed, the pension is either approved or rejected by a decision which may be appealed.

Start date

The early old-age pension is payable from the day on which the conditions of age and compulsory insurance periods are met:

• if you cease your professional activity, pension payments will begin on the day following the expiry of your entitlement to an income from a professional activity;
• if you continue to work, pension payments will begin, at the earliest, on the first day of the month following that in which the application is lodged.

Amount of pension

'Length of contribution' component: flat-rate allowances

Flat-rate allowances are awarded based on the length of contribution.

The calculation of this period (up to a maximum of 40 years) is based on:

• periods of compulsory, continued and/or optional insurance;
• insurance periods purchased retroactively; and
• supplementary periods.

'Contributions paid' component: proportional allowances

Proportional allowances are awarded based on the contributions paid over the insured person's insurance history.

An end-of-year allowance is paid to those who are entitled to a pension on 1 December of the calendar year.

The calculation formulae and examples can be found on the CNAP website.

Employment/self-employment

As a recipient of an early retirement pension, you may engage in gainful employment. However, the pension is subject to anti-accumulation rules if combined with earned income.

If you are a pensioner under the age of 65:

• you may have an income of less than one third of the social minimum wage without your pension being reduced or withdrawn;
• you may have an income exceeding one-third of the social minimum wage, and receive both your pension and a salary, provided that the total does not exceed a ceiling set at the average of the 5 highest annual contributory salaries during your working life. If that cap is exceeded, the pension is reduced in relation to that limit.

SMW: social minimum wage
P: pension
INC: income
A5INC: average of the insured person's 5 highest salaries or incomes in their insurance history

As soon as you reach the age of 65, your professional activity is no longer subject to non-accumulation rules.

Minimum and maximum amounts

Your early old-age pension cannot be less than 90% of the reference amount if you have completed 40 years of insurance periods. This sum is decreased by one 40^th per missing year between the 20^th and 39^th years.

To be entitled to the minimum pension, you must have at least 20 years of insurance.

The maximum amount is 5/6^ths of five times the reference amount.

Payment of pension

Pension payments:

• are made monthly and in advance; and
• cease at the end of the month in which the beneficiary dies.

The payment schedule for pensions can be viewed on the CNAP website.

Procedures

Links