How do I check my pension record in a country I left?

Through the institution that keeps that country's record of your insured periods, and some systems set a short time limit for correcting an entry once the statement arrives. Switzerland: A correction of the contribution entries in an individual account (IK) statement, which will determine the Swiss pension, can be demanded only within 30 days after the statement is delivered (Source: ahv-iv.ch, read 1 September 2026). Liechtenstein: An objection to an entry on a Liechtenstein AHV individual contribution account statement must be raised with the institution within four weeks of the statement being served; otherwise, once the insured event occurs, a correction can only be obtained if the error is obvious or is proved (Source: gesetze.li, read 1 September 2026). Each country keeps its own record, and our pension portals directory names the official record for each one, with the date we verified it.

What if a mistake only shows up at retirement?

Then the bar is higher. Switzerland. If no statement or correction was requested, or the correction request was rejected, then when the insured event occurs a correction of IK entries can only be demanded to the extent that their incorrectness is obvious or full proof of it is provided (Source: ahv-iv.ch, read 1 September 2026).

Is there a deadline for challenging what the record says?

In some systems, a calendar one. Sweden. A challenge to a decision on pension rights (pensionsrätt, the credits earned from a year's income) has a hard calendar cut-off: it must reach the agency by 31 December of the current year, not merely two months after the decision was seen (Source: pensionsmyndigheten.se, read 1 September 2026).

Why is the record hard to reach from abroad?

Because the routes often rest on a local number, a local login or a local address.

• Ireland. The documented fallback posts a paper statement only if your PPS number, date of birth and the address the Department still holds all match automatically, which is exactly what fails for someone who left years ago (Source: gov.ie and welfare.ie, read 3 October 2026).
• Germany. The system's own prompts never reach a short German career either: the automatic pension information and first insurance record are issued only once you are 27 and have five years of German contributions (Source: deutsche-rentenversicherung.de, read 3 October 2026).
• Spain. The postal option works only if the address the Tesoreria holds for you still matches where you live, and correcting it calls for Spanish municipal register evidence a non-resident does not have (Source: seg-social.es and revista.seg-social.es, read 3 October 2026).
• Netherlands. Applying for DigiD from abroad requires a Dutch BSN and a counter appointment or video call; the site warns that waiting times can exceed 30 days (Source: mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl and DigiD aanvragen in het buitenland, read 3 October 2026).
• Norway. Skatteetaten states you must hold a Norwegian identification number, a national identity number or a D number, to get an electronic ID at all, and that for BankID you contact your bank (Source: nav.no and skatteetaten.no, read 4 October 2026).

Our pension questions pages answer this for single countries, for example Ireland, France, Spain and Canada.

Which papers of my own help?

We hold no official row on which personal papers to keep, so we do not list them here. Our reports name who holds the record today and how to reach them.

What can I check today?

The country hubs for the examples above: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Netherlands and Norway.

Our free pension checker and our free map start from your own work history. Our pension questions pages answer single country questions, our authority answers publish what national pension institutions told us in writing, and our monthly data release publishes our agreement routes and deadline rows as CSV, each with its source and read date.

Frequently asked questions

Is a correction the same as an appeal? Not always. Our post on appeals sets out the time limits for challenging a pension decision.

Can PensionHunter read my record for me? No. We identify and research: our reports name the scheme, who holds the record today and how to reach them. We give no financial advice.

Sources

• Deadline register row ch-1, citing ahv-iv.ch, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row li-1, citing gesetze.li, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row se-1, citing pensionsmyndigheten.se, read 1 September 2026.
• Ireland, pension portals directory entry, citing gov.ie and welfare.ie, read 3 October 2026.
• Germany, pension portals directory entry, citing deutsche-rentenversicherung.de, read 3 October 2026.
• Spain, pension portals directory entry, citing seg-social.es and revista.seg-social.es, read 3 October 2026.
• Netherlands, pension portals directory entry, citing mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl and DigiD aanvragen in het buitenland, read 3 October 2026.
• Norway, pension portals directory entry, citing nav.no and skatteetaten.no, read 4 October 2026.
• Our government pension portals directory, each entry with the date we verified it.