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Pension questions

Latvia pension questions

These are the questions people search about a pension left in Latvia. Each page answers its question in the first two sentences, and we show those two sentences below, read from the official source with the date we read it. We identify where a pension is likely held and the route to it. We do not give advice.

English

  • How many years do I need for a Latvian pension?

    Latvia pays an old age pension at 65, and since 1 January 2025 it asks for 20 years of Latvian insurance before it pays anything. The amount is notional: Article 12 of Par valsts pensijam divides the registered pension capital by the number of years over which payment is planned from the grant year, so the figure tracks contributions, not need.

    • Source: vsaa.gov.lv, likumi.lv, read 4 October 2026

  • How far back is a late Latvian pension application paid?

    The old-age pension may be applied for no earlier than 1 month before reaching pension age; if the application is submitted later, the right to the pension arises no earlier than 6 months before the day the application is submitted. Article 30(4) of Par valsts pensijam pays a late application back no further than six months, so every month of delay past 65 is gone.

    • Source: vsaa.gov.lv, read 1 September 2026
    • Source: likumi.lv, vsaa.gov.lv, read 4 October 2026

  • Can I receive a Latvian pension while living abroad?

    The right to the Latvian old-age pension is held by persons living in Latvia, in an EU member state or in a country with which Latvia has a social security agreement; since 17 June 2023 persons living in third countries also have the right. A person drawing a Latvian pension while living abroad must file a continuation request each year between 1 October and 15 December, with a notarial statement of being alive.

    • Source: vsaa.gov.lv, read 1 September 2026
    • Source: vsaa.gov.lv, read 4 October 2026

  • What happens to my Latvian second pillar savings?

    The funded second pillar takes six of the twenty contribution points and holds shares, bonds, other securities and bank deposits. Under Article 3.1 of the Valsts fondeto pensiju likums, a second pillar participant who dies before taking a pension and who named nobody has his funded capital credited to the state pension special budget.

    • Source: vsaa.gov.lv, likumi.lv, read 4 October 2026
    • Source: likumi.lv, vsaa.gov.lv, read 4 October 2026

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