Can I get a pension from a country I worked in for only a few years?

In some countries, yes: a few years can stand on their own, while others set a minimum that a short stay may not reach. Sweden: Pensionsmyndigheten states no minimum number of years for inkomstpension or premiepension, so a few Swedish years stand on their own (Source: pensionsmyndigheten.se and skatteverket.se, read 4 October 2026). Canada: Service Canada says you can receive CPP from age 60 with at least one valid contribution; there is no minimum number of years (Source: canada.ca, CPP contributions, CPP eligibility, CPP amount and CRA contribution rates table, read 3 October 2026). Where a country sets a minimum, an agreement can count years from other countries toward it, as our post on social security agreements explains.

Which countries set no minimum?

• Malaysia. If you worked in Malaysia and your employer registered you with the EPF, the balance is still yours and there is no minimum service period: the eligibility test the fund publishes is simply that you have savings with it (Source: kwsp.gov.my, read 3 October 2026).
• Chile. The balance stays invested, it is heritable if you die, and a short spell leaves a smaller balance rather than a closed account (Source: spensiones.cl, read 4 October 2026).

Which countries set a minimum?

• United Kingdom. gov.uk states you need 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get any of it, and 35 qualifying years for the full rate if your record began after April 2016 (Source: gov.uk, The new State Pension, read 3 October 2026).
• Romania. The minimum contributory period is 15 years for women and men, and the complete contributory period is 35 years (Source: cnpp.ro, asfromania.ro, eur-lex.europa.eu, read 4 October 2026).
• Israel. The gate is the qualifying period: 60 insurance months inside the 10 years before entitlement age, or 144 months, or at least 60 months with insured months outnumbering uninsured (Source: btl.gov.il, gov.il, mevaker.gov.il, read 4 October 2026).
• Brazil. The INSS holds a contribution record under your CPF, where an age pension needs 180 monthly contributions, the carencia set by Law 8.213/1991, and nothing partial is paid below it (Source: gov.br/inss, planalto.gov.br and fgts.gov.br, read 4 October 2026).
• Switzerland. AHV/IV leaflet 3.01, position as of 1 January 2026 and read 15 October 2026, says that with an incomplete contribution record "you will receive a partial pension (pension scale 1-43)" and that "One missing contribution year will normally result in a reduction of at least 1/44 in your pension." Periods insured in other EU or EFTA states must be taken into account where a person does not reach the one year minimum (Source: bsv.admin.ch and ahv-iv.ch, read 3 October 2026).

What happens below the minimum?

The rules differ. Indonesia. A few years of Indonesian payroll therefore leaves a JHT balance plus returns, and a JP record that falls far short of the fifteen year minimum, which converts the pension into contributions plus returns and nothing more (Source: bpjsketenagakerjaan.go.id, read 4 October 2026). Italy. Repatriated non-EU workers can obtain the old age pension at 65 despite contributions below the ordinary contributivo minimum (Source: servizi2.inps.it, read 1 September 2026).

What about the workplace pension from that job?

That follows its own rules. United Kingdom. Statute: an occupational scheme must give a member whose pensionable service ends before normal pension age a preserved (short service) benefit once the member has at least 2 years' qualifying service; for members whose benefit would be entirely money purchase, the threshold is 30 days (inserted by amendment) (Source: legislation.gov.uk, read 1 September 2026).

Our pension questions pages answer the minimum for single countries, for example Spain, Ireland, France and the United States.

What can I check today?

The country hubs for the examples above: Sweden, Canada, Malaysia, Chile, United Kingdom, Romania, Israel, Brazil, Switzerland, Indonesia and Italy.

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

Do short spells in several countries add up? Where an agreement or EU coordination covers them, they can count toward a country's minimum, and each country then pays for its own periods. Our post on combining pensions sets that out.

Can PensionHunter tell me what my few years are worth? No. We publish no personal figures. We identify and research: our reports name the scheme, who holds the record today and how to reach them.

Sources

• Sweden, pension portals directory entry, citing pensionsmyndigheten.se and skatteverket.se, read 4 October 2026.
• Canada, pension portals directory entry, citing canada.ca, CPP contributions, CPP eligibility, CPP amount and CRA contribution rates table, read 3 October 2026.
• Malaysia, pension portals directory entry, citing kwsp.gov.my, read 3 October 2026.
• Chile, pension portals directory entry, citing spensiones.cl, read 4 October 2026.
• Switzerland, pension portals directory entry, citing bsv.admin.ch and ahv-iv.ch, read 3 October 2026.
• United Kingdom, pension portals directory entry, citing gov.uk, The new State Pension, read 3 October 2026.
• Romania, pension portals directory entry, citing cnpp.ro, asfromania.ro, eur-lex.europa.eu, read 4 October 2026.
• Israel, pension portals directory entry, citing btl.gov.il, gov.il, mevaker.gov.il, read 4 October 2026.
• Brazil, pension portals directory entry, citing gov.br/inss, planalto.gov.br and fgts.gov.br, read 4 October 2026.
• Indonesia, pension portals directory entry, citing bpjsketenagakerjaan.go.id, read 4 October 2026.
• Deadline register row uk-19, citing legislation.gov.uk, read 1 September 2026.
• Deadline register row it-7, citing servizi2.inps.it, read 1 September 2026.