Estonian Pension System (three pillars)

Estonia's pension has three pillars. Pillar I is the state pension (riiklik pension), paid by the Social Insurance Board (Sotsiaalkindlustusamet) from the social tax of today's workers. Pillar II is the funded pension (kohustuslik kogumispension), saved in your own account. Pillar III is voluntary private saving with a tax incentive.

Pillar I: state old-age pension (vanaduspension)

• Who qualifies: people who have reached pension age and have at least 15 years of pensionable service (staaž) earned in Estonia.
• Pension age: 65 in 2026 (people born in 1961). From 2027 it is linked to life expectancy: 65 years and 1 month in 2027 and 65 years and 3 months in 2028, rising by at most three months a year.
• Amount: a base part that is the same for everyone plus parts that depend on years of service and on the social tax paid for you. Pensions are indexed every 1 April.
• National pension (rahvapension): people of pension age without a right to the old-age pension who lived in Estonia for at least five years just before applying get €414.10 a month from 1 April 2026.
• Flexible pension: you can retire up to five years early if you have more years of service (20 years for one year early, up to 40 years for five years early), with a permanently lower pension. Retiring later raises it.
• Tax: at pension age, the first €776 a month of income is tax-free (2026).

You apply to the Social Insurance Board, from six months before to three months after you reach pension age, to receive the pension from the first day.

Pillar II: funded pension

For Estonian tax residents born in 1983 or later, the funded pension starts automatically from the year after they turn 18. You pay 2% of gross salary (or 4% or 6% if you choose), and the state adds 4 points of the 33% social tax. Since 2021 you can also apply to stop paying or to withdraw the money before retirement, which reduces your future pension.

Pillar III: voluntary pension

You can save in a voluntary pension fund or insurance contract and get back 22% income tax on contributions up to 15% of gross income or €6,000 a year, whichever is lower.

Agreements with other countries

Within the EU, EEA and Switzerland, Regulations (EU) 883/2004 and 987/2009 coordinate old-age, survivors' and disability pensions. Estonia also has bilateral social security agreements with six countries, among them Australia, Canada, Moldova and Ukraine. If you have at least one year of insurance in another country, you can usually apply for a pension there.

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• You need 15 years of pensionable service for an old-age pension; ask the Social Insurance Board whether periods abroad can count.
• Estonia pays a pension outside the EU, EEA, Switzerland and agreement countries only if you have at least 15 years of service in Estonia.
• Leaving pillar II early costs future pension; compare before you withdraw.
• Pensioners living abroad must prove each year that they are alive, unless data is exchanged automatically.

Official guidance: Social Insurance Board: retirement age, Pension indexation, EU pensions and partner countries, Pension Centre: pillar II