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Latvia, country page

An asset manager was chosen for you, and nobody told you who.

Research date: 2026-08-09. On that date the state portal's authentication page and the asset-manager register were unreadable to us.

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$99

Country Pension Identification Report, Latvia

Within 24 to 48 hours

Find my pensions in Latvia

Full refund if we find nothing material.

Enhanced Pension Identification Report, $499: your Action Pack, a complete request pack for every fund we identify, written in your voice and ready to send, delivered within five working days of your intake form. Global Pension Identification Report, $799: the same across every country you worked in, up to all 41 we cover, within ten working days. Full refund if we find nothing material, decided at identification.

At the Country Report you contact the administrators yourself, using the routes in your report. On Enhanced and Global: We stay with your case after delivery. If an administrator asks you a question, refuses, or simply does not reply, send it to us and we will tell you exactly what to send next. That continues until every fund we identified has answered you, or the route is exhausted and we say so plainly.

Identification only. We do not open credential-protected accounts, and we do not transfer, negotiate, or make decisions regarding any pension. Everything below is the free official route, and it stays free: you are welcome to use it instead.

Who holds what

  • VSAA, Valsts socialas apdrosinasanas agentura, the State Social Insurance Agency, keeps the level 1 and 2 record, issues the certificates and takes the claim. Its Starptautisko pakalpojumu nodala, the International Services Division, handles cross-border cases.

    vsaa.gov.lv

  • Latvija.gov.lv is the state e-services portal and manapensija.lv the official pension information portal.

    latvija.gov.lv, manapensija.lv, pension level 2

  • Latvijas Banka supervises the second-pillar asset managers.

    bank.lv

Citation note

The Latvijas Banka page still names Financial and Capital Market Commission regulations although Latvijas Banka has absorbed the function, so we attribute supervision to Latvijas Banka.

First, you were put into the second pillar without doing anything

Everyone for whom Latvian social insurance contributions are paid and who was born after 1 July 1971 participates automatically in pension level 2, the valsts fondeto pensiju shema. If you did not choose a plan yourself, one was assigned automatically. The Commission's 2025 guide agrees.

manapensija.lv, pension level 2, ec.europa.eu, Your social security rights in Latvia, 2025

What that means for you

Someone who worked in Latvia for eighteen months two decades ago, never filled in a form and emigrated still has a named asset manager and an investment plan they have never heard of. The money sits with that private manager. VSAA is only the record-keeper.

Second, two free certificates answer the two questions that matter

Neither arrives unless you ask for it.

Informacija par dalibu pensiju 2. limeni

Information about participation in the second pension pillar.

Says whether you are a participant, and names the selected asset managers and investment plans. Free.

vsaa.gov.lv, participation information

Pensiju 2. limena dalibnieka konta izraksts

The account statement of a participant of the second pension pillar.

Gives the balance. Free. Available through the portal, in person, electronically or by post, and sent within 15 days, or 30 with extra processing. The English mirror adds post or email, and in person an identification document or a power of attorney.

vsaa.gov.lv, account statement, vsaa.gov.lv, account statement in English

Third, the inheritance question, where the money actually disappears

A participant may register, before the pension is granted, one of three choices for the capital on death: inheritance under the Civil Law, addition to another person's second-pillar capital, or credit to the state pension special budget.

The default, dated 29 October 2020

In an article dated 29 October 2020 VSAA reported that almost 90 per cent of participants had not chosen, and stated that it credits the capital to the state pension special budget in all cases where there is no application from the person. That is quoted here with its date attached, and it must be re-verified. It is not stated here as current law in the abstract.

vsaa.gov.lv, article of 29 October 2020

The 10-year clock, dated 3 September 2024

Where inheritance was registered the window is long but finite. In an article dated 3 September 2024 VSAA states that heirs may claim the inheritable share within 10 years from the day of death, and records over 1,000 unclaimed second-pillar inheritances between January 2020 and December 2023.

For an executor: if the deceased worked in Latvia and was born after 1 July 1971 there is a pot, defaulting to the state or inheritable, and the clock runs from the date of death.

vsaa.gov.lv, article of 3 September 2024

Qualifying period and aggregation

20 years and age 65

20 years and age 65, the rule in force from 1 January 2025, per VSAA. The minimum required insurance period is the apdrosinasanas stazs. The Commission's 2025 guide agrees. Re-verify before relying on it.

The claim must be made not earlier than one month before that age.

vsaa.gov.lv, granting and payment of the old-age pension, vsaa.gov.lv, vecuma pensija service page

The silence trap

Nothing is pushed to you. The state will not come looking for you.

Aggregation rescues the short-stay worker

VSAA states that if the Latvian insurance period is not sufficient to create the right to a Latvian old-age pension, the periods of other EU and EEA Member States are also taken into account, and the Commission says the same. So four years in Latvia is not four against twenty and therefore nothing.

vsaa.gov.lv, pensions in the EU, Your Europe, state pensions abroad

Beyond the EU

VSAA publishes agreement pages for the United States of America, Australia, Belarus, Estonia, Canada, the Russian Federation, Lithuania, Ukraine, Guernsey and Moldova. We state only that agreements exist.

vsaa.gov.lv, intergovernmental agreements

The free official route

What to ask for

The two certificates above, the pension forecast and, for an estate, information on succession of accumulated capital in pensions tier 2, by free-form application. VSAA states those certificates are free.

vsaa.gov.lv, information on succession of accumulated capital in pensions tier 2

The identifier

The personas kods is the Latvian personal identity code and the record key in practice. The pages we read specify an identification document, a passport or ID card, and none states that the personas kods is the required identifier, so we could not confirm it as an official requirement.

With no Latvian e-credentials

Post is an accepted channel on both service pages, the in-person route takes an ordinary identification document rather than a Latvian eID, and succession information goes by free-form application. So a signed paper letter enclosing a passport copy needs no Latvian digital identity at all.

One conflict, reported rather than resolved: the English page says post or email, while the Latvian page says a time-stamped secure electronic signature.

The portal. It is latvija.gov.lv, also called www.latvija.lv in older English text.

Language. The English site is parallel, the forms Latvian. vsaa.gov.lv, second-pillar application forms

Where to apply if you live abroad

If you live in another EU or EEA Member State, submit the claim to the competent institution of your place of residence, which forwards it to VSAA. The channels are the portal, on site with an identification document, electronically with a secure electronic signature, or through that foreign authority. If you hold no Latvian digital identity, the foreign authority route is the one to use.

vsaa.gov.lv, pensions in the EU

VSAA, as officially published

VSAA Starptautisko pakalpojumu nodala
The International Services Division
Lacplesa iela 70a
Riga, LV-1011, Latvia

spn@vsaa.gov.lv
+371 64507020
General e-mail pasts@vsaa.gov.lv

Give a telephone number for callback when you write.

vsaa.gov.lv, contacts

Response time

A notice of 2 December 2023 says replies come within about one week.

The second pillar is not a cash-out

The capital is used only when the state old-age pension is requested.

vsaa.gov.lv, transfer of second-pillar capital for a life annuity policy

One standing duty once in payment abroad

Apply to VSAA between 1 October and 15 December for continuation of payments for the following year. A notarial statement of being alive is normally required unless the application carries a secure electronic signature. Diarise it.

vsaa.gov.lv, continuation of Latvian pension payments

What to gather before applying

Ordered by how often the missing item stops everything.

  • Your personas kods, the Latvian personal identity code.
  • An identification document, a passport or ID card. It need not be Latvian.
  • Your date of birth. It decides the retirement age and, decisively, whether you are in the second pillar at all.
  • Your Latvian employment history, employers and dates, to reconstruct the apdrosinasanas stazs, and your history in every other EU and EEA state, because those periods aggregate.
  • The pension authority where you now live, because that is where an EU or EEA resident files.
  • A power of attorney if someone else will collect.
  • For an executor, the death certificate and evidence of entitlement to inherit.

Our practitioner guidance, not an official requirement

  • Every name you have used, including maiden and married names and transliteration variants.

Honest rule-outs

  • Never having had Latvian social insurance contributions paid.
  • A whole working life, in Latvia and everywhere else combined, still short of 20 years, and only then. Never on Latvian years alone.
  • More than 10 years since a death, for a second-pillar inheritance.
  • Seeking a lump-sum cash-out. The capital is used only when the state old-age pension is requested.

Born on or before 1 July 1971

That removes the automatic second pillar, but it does not mean there is nothing. Such a person may still have level 1 rights, and VSAA runs a voluntary-participant registration whose rules we could not verify.

Under retirement age

That is a wait, not a rule-out. The certificates and the forecast can be had now.

What is not a valid rule-out

  • "I only worked there a few years." EU and EEA periods aggregate.
  • "I never signed up." Enrolment and plan assignment were automatic.
  • "I never received anything." Nothing is pushed to you.
  • "I have no Latvian e-signature, bank or eID." Post is an accepted channel, and an EU or EEA resident files through their own authority.

The Latvian terms on this page, in one line each

personas kods
the Latvian personal identity code, the record key in practice. The pages we read specify an identification document, a passport or ID card, and none states that the personas kods is the required identifier, so we could not confirm it as an official requirement.
apdrosinasanas stazs
the insurance period. From 1 January 2025 the minimum required insurance period is 20 years and the retirement age is 65, per VSAA. Re-verify before relying on it.
valsts fondeto pensiju shema
the state funded pension scheme, pension level 2. Everyone for whom Latvian social insurance contributions are paid and who was born after 1 July 1971 participates automatically, and where no plan was chosen one was assigned automatically.

Questions

I worked in Latvia briefly and never signed any pension form. Can I still be in the second pillar?

Yes. Everyone for whom Latvian social insurance contributions are paid and who was born after 1 July 1971 participates automatically in pension level 2, the valsts fondeto pensiju shema, and if you did not choose a plan yourself one was assigned automatically. The European Commission's 2025 guide agrees. So someone who worked in Latvia for eighteen months two decades ago, never filled in a form and emigrated still has a named asset manager and an investment plan they have never heard of. The money sits with that private manager; VSAA is only the record-keeper.

Which certificates should I ask VSAA for?

Two, and neither arrives unless you ask. Informacija par dalibu pensiju 2. limeni, information about participation in the second pension pillar, says whether you are a participant and names the selected asset managers and investment plans; it is free. Pensiju 2. limena dalibnieka konta izraksts, the account statement of a participant of the second pension pillar, gives the balance; it is free, available through the portal, in person, electronically or by post, and sent within 15 days, or 30 with extra processing. The English mirror of the statement page adds post or email, and in person an identification document or a power of attorney.

What happens to second-pillar capital when someone dies?

A participant may register, before the pension is granted, one of three choices for the capital on death: inheritance under the Civil Law, addition to another person's second-pillar capital, or credit to the state pension special budget. In an article dated 29 October 2020 VSAA reported that almost 90 per cent of participants had not chosen, and stated that it credits the capital to the state pension special budget in all cases where there is no application from the person. That default is quoted here with its 29 October 2020 date and must be re-verified before it is relied on.

How long do heirs have?

Where inheritance was registered the window is long but finite. In an article dated 3 September 2024 VSAA states that heirs may claim the inheritable share within 10 years from the day of death, and records over 1,000 unclaimed second-pillar inheritances between January 2020 and December 2023. For an executor: if the deceased worked in Latvia and was born after 1 July 1971 there is a pot, defaulting to the state or inheritable, and the clock runs from the date of death.

How many years do I need, and at what age?

20 years and age 65, the rule in force from 1 January 2025, per VSAA. The Commission's 2025 guide agrees. Re-verify before relying on it. The claim must be made not earlier than one month before that age.

Does anything arrive automatically?

No. Nothing is pushed to you. The state will not come looking for you.

Is four years in Latvia worth anything?

Yes. VSAA states that if the Latvian insurance period is not sufficient to create the right to a Latvian old-age pension, the periods of other EU and EEA Member States are also taken into account, and the Commission says the same. So four years in Latvia is not four against twenty and therefore nothing.

What about countries outside the EU and EEA?

VSAA publishes agreement pages for the United States of America, Australia, Belarus, Estonia, Canada, the Russian Federation, Lithuania, Ukraine, Guernsey and Moldova. We present that strictly as agreements exist.

I have no Latvian digital identity. Can I still get anywhere?

Yes, and this is the load-bearing fact on this page. Post is an accepted channel on both service pages, the in-person route takes an ordinary identification document rather than a Latvian eID, and succession information goes by free-form application. A signed paper letter enclosing a passport copy needs no Latvian digital identity at all. One conflict we report rather than resolve: the English page says post or email, while the Latvian page says a time-stamped secure electronic signature.

Where do I apply if I live abroad?

If you live in another EU or EEA Member State, submit the claim to the competent institution of your place of residence, which forwards it to VSAA. The channels are the portal, on site with an identification document, electronically with a secure electronic signature, or through that foreign authority. For a reader with no Latvian digital identity, the foreign authority route is the useful one.

Can I take the second pillar as cash?

No. The capital is used only when the state old-age pension is requested.

I am already receiving a Latvian pension abroad. Is there anything I must do each year?

Yes. Apply to VSAA between 1 October and 15 December for continuation of payments for the following year. A notarial statement of being alive is normally required unless the application carries a secure electronic signature. Diarise it.

Start here

$99

Country Pension Identification Report, Latvia

Within 24 to 48 hours

Find my pensions in Latvia

Full refund if we find nothing material.

Enhanced Pension Identification Report, $499: your Action Pack, a complete request pack for every fund we identify, written in your voice and ready to send, delivered within five working days of your intake form. Global Pension Identification Report, $799: the same across every country you worked in, up to all 41 we cover, within ten working days. Full refund if we find nothing material, decided at identification.

At the Country Report you contact the administrators yourself, using the routes in your report. On Enhanced and Global: We stay with your case after delivery. If an administrator asks you a question, refuses, or simply does not reply, send it to us and we will tell you exactly what to send next. That continues until every fund we identified has answered you, or the route is exhausted and we say so plainly.

Identification only. We do not open credential-protected accounts, and we do not transfer, negotiate, or make decisions regarding any pension. Everything below is the free official route, and it stays free: you are welcome to use it instead.

Important Information

PensionHunter is a research and administrative assistance service only. We search pension registries and employer records to identify whether pension entitlements may exist in your name, we do not provide financial advice, manage pension funds, arrange pension transfers, or assist with claiming or accessing pension funds.

PensionHunter is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or any equivalent financial-services or pensions regulator in your jurisdiction. Our service is limited to research and information provision. We charge a fixed research fee paid in advance, Full refund if we find nothing material.

All decisions about your pension, including whether to contact providers, transfer funds, or take any other action, remain entirely yours. We strongly recommend consulting a qualified independent financial adviser regulated in your jurisdiction before making any decisions about any pension we locate.