Receiving pension from a foreign state
If you have earned at least one year of pension qualifying period in another state, you have the right to apply for a pension there.
Read moreApplying for Estonian pension while residing in a foreign state
If while receiving your pension you relocate to another EEA State or Switzerland, we will pay you your pension earned in Estonia as usual. You also have the right to keep receiving your pension in partner countries. The state of Estonia pays a pension to persons of pensionable age residing elsewhere in the world if they have earned at least 15 years of pension qualifying period in Estonia.
Read moreProof of Life
If you reside outside of Estonia and receive your pension (old-age pension, survivor’s pension or pension for incapacity for work) from Estonia, you are required to prove that you are alive each year. By way of an exception pensioners residing in Russia, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine need not present proof of life. We get that information from these countries through automatic data exchange on the basis of agreements with those countries. Starting from 1 May 2026, Estonian citizens living in Finland and receiving an Estonian pension, are no longer required to proovide proof of life.
Read moreEU pensions and partner countries
Under a bilateral cooperation agreement on social security a person residing in Estonia can apply for a pension from these countries for periods worked there.
Read moreThe difference between the rate of foreign pension and national pension
A person living in Estonia who receives a pension from a foreign country under an international agreement, and from Estonia, and whose total pension amount is below the national pension rate, has the right to apply for compensation for the difference between the foreign pension and the national pension rate. This ensures that the pensioner’s minimum income is at least equal to the national pension.
Read moreRequest for certificates
The Social Insurance Board issues certificates to both residents and non-residents regarding the benefits/allowances assigned to them, as well as the taxes withheld from these payments (TSM, TSM1).
Read moreRelated links
Last updated: 17.03.2023
