Payment of allowances
We pay pensions and benefits according to your wishes:
- To your bank account in Estonia
- To the bank account of another person of your choice, if you complete the application and submit a digitally signed copy, submit the application to our customer service, or submit a notarized application
- At your expense by post, in the form of home delivery (pension, disability living allowance)
- At your expense to your foreign bank account.
Pension/allowance will be brought to your home by post free of charge if you have reduced mobility or if you live in a sparsely populated area and banking services are difficult for you to access. In order to do this, submit an explanatory application to us stating the reasons for requesting home delivery.
If your pension was brought home but you were not at home, the postman will bring your money back. If your pension has not been withdrawn for two months, we will suspend payment of the pension. You must submit an application to continue receiving your pension. We will pay your pension beginning from the suspension.
If your pension is brought home to you but you are in a hospital, you can authorize someone to withdraw your pension, if necessary. The authorization shall be certified by the head of the medical institution (chief doctor) and the authorization certified in this manner shall be valid for the withdrawal of the pension not received within six months.
Changing your bank account
If you want your pension or benefit to be deposited in an account other than the one indicated in the original application, you can make the change
- Log into our self-service at iseteenindus.sotsiaalkindlustusamet.ee and add your new bank account number
- Send us an (digitally) signed application, to the e-mail address [email protected]
If the bank account belongs to someone else you can change it
- By sending us a digitally signed application to the e-mail address [email protected]
- By sending us a notarized application by post to Paldiski mnt 80, 15092 Tallinn
- By coming to our customer service
NB! If you provide us with a new bank account number, please make sure all the information is correct
- If the Estonian National Social Insurance Board pays you various allowances/benefits, they will all be paid to a bank account or sent home
- If you have submitted different current accounts to the Estonian National Social Insurance Board, all transfers will be made to the last submitted account (except for payments related to court orders)
To receive money in a new bank account next month, you must change your account no later than the last business day of the previous month.
Example: If you want to receive family benefits on 8 December in a new account, you must make the change between 1 and 30 November.
Name change
If you change your surname, we can get information about this from the population register. You do not need to inform us separately. However, you must inform the bank to which the pension, allowance or benefit you receive is paid. To do this, call the bank or go there with your identity document and the name change document.
If your name is not changed at the bank, the money will be returned to us. If this happens for two months in a row, we will stop the payment. We can resume payments after you have changed your name at the bank. If you have changed your name at the bank, please let us know so we can continue your payments.
Monthly payment of pensions, allowances and benefits
Social Insurance Board pays pensions, allowances and benefits within 30 days of the decision being made.
|
Form of payment |
Day of the bank transfer NB! The bank transfer is made within the payment day. |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Pensions, |
5th day of each month. When the 5th falls on a weekend, transfer will be made on Monday or Tuesday of the following week |
For the current month |
|
Family allowances Parental benefit |
8th day of each month. When the 8th falls on a weekend, transfer will be made on Friday prior to the 8th. |
For the current month For the previous month |
| Maintenance allowance |
The main payment day for maintenance allowance is the 8th; if the payment does not arrive or arrives partially on this day, additional payments are made on the 10th, if eligibile. |
Maintenance allowance during court proceedings – for the current month; maintenance allowance during enforcement and bankruptcy proceedings – for the previous month |
|
Insurance premium related to work accidents and occupational diseases Payment of compensation to repressed persons, state support for winners of the Olympic Games Compensations for victims of crime |
12th day of each month |
For the previous month Repressed person – once a year for the previous period; Olympic champion – for the current month |
|
Benefit for pensioners living alone |
5 October. When the 5th falls on a weekend, transfer will be made on Monday or Tuesday of the following week |
Once per calendar year for the calculation period preceding the payment of the benefit |
| Reimbursement of travel expenses of social rehabilitation service |
on the Tuesday closest to the 10th of each month and on the last Thursday of the month, i.e. twice a month. |
If the day of the bank transfer falls on a public holiday or other holiday, the working day which immediately precedes the holiday shall be deemed to be the payment day.
If you have to repay the over compensated pension, allowance or benefit to the Estonian National Social Insurance Agency (for example, you were not entitled to the amount or in the event of the death of the recipient), it must be paid into the same bank account from which the pension, allowance or benefit was received.
We will certainly inform the person in writing of any such incident as well.
Types of Benefits Paid by the Social Insurance Board:
The types of benefits provided by the Social Insurance Board include:
- pension,
- pension insurance contributions,
- difference between national and foreign pensions,
- support for single pensioners,
- inflation relief allowance,
- damage compensation,
- state allowance for Olympic champions,
- repressed persons’ support,
- social support for individuals returning to Estonia,
- social support for persons sent to mitigate the consequences of a nuclear disaster,
- social allowances for people with disabilities.
The basis for disbursing these benefits is a certificate of inheritance issued by a notary. The Social Insurance Board pays out unpaid benefits and allowances based on this certificate. If a joint application is submitted, all inheritance may, by mutual agreement, be transferred to one heir if the joint application is signed (digitally signed) by all heirs.
Required Documents:
-
Application for Inherited Assets - Certificate of Inheritance,
- Notarized Power of Attorney (if representing other heirs).
Ways to Submit Documents:
- through the self-service portal,
- by sending a digitally signed application via email to [email protected],
- in person, by visiting the customer service center with all heirs.
Examples
Example 1: You are the sole heir.
The person was entitled to an old-age pension and a social allowance for people with disabilities, but due to their passing, these payments were not made. In order to receive the pension and allowance, the heir must contact a notary to obtain a certificate of inheritance, complete the application for inherited assets, and submit it along with the certificate. If submitted through the self-service portal, no signature is required; in other cases, a (digital) signature is necessary. Based on the submitted documents, we will disburse the pension and allowance to the heir’s bank account provided in the application.
Example 2: There are multiple heirs.
The person was entitled to an old-age pension and a social allowance for people with disabilities, but due to their passing, these payments were not made. To receive the pension and allowance, the heirs must contact a notary to obtain a certificate of inheritance and complete a joint application for inherited assets. The application must be signed either digitally by all heirs or in the customer service center. In the joint application, the heirs may agree to have the inherited funds disbursed to one heir. Based on the documents, we will transfer the pension and allowance of the deceased to the bank account(s) specified in the application.
Last updated: 04.12.2025
