Norway

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Public Sector Occupational Pension Schemes

Offentlig tjenestepensjon

Coverage

Mandatory insurance

Public sector employees.¹
Some private sector employees where the employer has special public responsibilities.

Financing

General finances

Depending on scheme; some are largely PAYG with some additional financing through state budget (Statens Pensjonskasse (SPK), which covers state employees) and others are predominantly funded (such as Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP), which operates at municipal level).

Contribution rates

Employee pays 2%.
The employer pays around 8-12% of wage in contribution (includes the state as employer).

Taxation of contribution payments

Contributions are tax-deductible.

Administration

A number of public pension carriers; most pensions are administered by the ‘Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund’ (Statens Pensjonskasse (SPK)) and Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP).

Qualifying Conditions

Qualifying conditions

Membership of the national insurance system.
A minimum of one year’s membership in the public occupational pension scheme.

Early retirement

Same principles as in national insurance system.

Deferred retirement

Same principles as in national insurance system.

Combining employment & retirement

Same principles as in national insurance system.

Benefits

Pension benefits

Based on lifetime earnings in public sector employment between ages 13 and 75.
Specific care and education periods may also count.

Benefit calculation

Same benefit calculation rules as ‘income pension’ in national insurance system.
5.7% of pensionable annual income between 0 and 12 G²; and an additional 18.1% (23.8% in total) between 7.1 and 12 G are added to the accumulated individual pension accounts.

Taxation and social security contributions on pension payments

Pensioners pay reduced social security contributions (5.1%, compared to 8.2% for employees).
All pension income is subject to taxation; a tax reduction of up to NOK 30,000 is granted to pensioners.

Coverage

Financing

Administration

Qualifying Conditions

Benefits

Mandatory insurance

Public sector employees.¹
Some private sector employees where the employer has special public responsibilities.

General finances

Depending on scheme; some are largely PAYG with some additional financing through state budget (Statens Pensjonskasse (SPK), which covers state employees) and others are predominantly funded (such as Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP), which operates at municipal level).

Contribution rates

Employee pays 2%.
The employer pays around 8-12% of wage in contribution (includes the state as employer).

Taxation of contribution payments

Contributions are tax-deductible.

A number of public pension carriers; most pensions are administered by the ‘Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund’ (Statens Pensjonskasse (SPK)) and Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP).

Qualifying conditions

Membership of the national insurance system.
A minimum of one year’s membership in the public occupational pension scheme.

Early retirement

Same principles as in national insurance system.

Deferred retirement

Same principles as in national insurance system.

Combining employment & retirement

Same principles as in national insurance system.

Pension benefits

Based on lifetime earnings in public sector employment between ages 13 and 75.
Specific care and education periods may also count.

Benefit calculation

Same benefit calculation rules as ‘income pension’ in national insurance system.
5.7% of pensionable annual income between 0 and 12 G²; and an additional 18.1% (23.8% in total) between 7.1 and 12 G are added to the accumulated individual pension accounts.

Taxation and social security contributions on pension payments

Pensioners pay reduced social security contributions (5.1%, compared to 8.2% for employees).
All pension income is subject to taxation; a tax reduction of up to NOK 30,000 is granted to pensioners.

¹ Some special/additional rules apply to the following groups: Chemists: Act on the Pension Scheme for Chemists (Lov om pensjonsordning for apotekvirksomhet mv. (apotekerpensjonsloven)); The Parliamentary Ombudsperson for Administration: Act on the Pension Scheme for the Parliamentary Ombudsperson (Lov om pensjonsordning for Stortingets ombudsmann for forvaltningen); Supreme Court Judges: Supplementary Act to the Act on the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (Lov om tillegg til lov 28. juli 1949 om Statens pensjonskasse (høyesterettspensjonsloven)); MPs and Government: Act on the Pension Scheme for Members of Parliament and Members of Government (Lov om pensjonsordning for stortingsrepresentanter og regjeringsmedlemmer); Dancers and Singers at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet: Act on the Pension Scheme for Ballet Dancers, Soloists and Choir Singers at the National Opera & Ballet (Lov om pensjonsordning for ballettdansere, sangsolister og korsangere ved Den Norske Opera & Ballett (operapensjonsloven)).

² The wage-indexed basic amount ‘G’ (grunnbeløpet) plays a central role in calculating contributions and benefits under the pension system. 1 G amounts to around 1/6 of average annual full-time labour income (NOK 99,858 as of 1 May 2019).

Legal Basis: Act on the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (Lov om Statens pensjonskasse), Act Concerning a Pension Scheme for Nurses (Lov om pensjonsordning for sykepleierske) and collective agreements for individuals employed by municipalities. Following a reform of public occupational pensions that entered into force on 1 January 2020, the same rules now apply to all occupational public pensions. The new rules for the changes in occupational public pensions were incorporated through the Act on changes in the Act on the Public Pension Fund, the Coordination Act and other Acts (New Occupational Pension for Employees in the Public Sector) (Lov om endringer i lov om Statens pensjonskasse, samordningsloven og enkelte andre lover (ny tjenestepensjon for ansatte i offentlig sektor)).