Pension question, Netherlands
Can I get AOW if I live abroad?
AOW must be applied for by the person themselves when they live abroad. A person living outside the Netherlands must apply for their AOW pension themselves six months before reaching AOW pension age.
What to do next
- Work out your AOW pension age and mark the date six months before it.
- Find your BSN, the Dutch citizen service number, on old payslips or tax letters.
- Run our free check to see what else your Dutch working years may have left.
Check your own working life for free
Tell us where you worked. The free check shows which countries may hold a pension for you, and which can be ruled out and why. No sign in, no charge.
Run the free checkQuestions people also ask
How far back can AOW be paid after a late application?
Dutch AOW state pension arrears are capped: the pension cannot start earlier than the first day of the twelfth month before the day of application, so a late application permanently loses the older entitlement unless the SVB treats the case as special.
Do you give advice on what to do?
No. We identify where a pension is likely held and the official route to it, and we name each source with the date we read it. We do not give financial, tax or legal advice.