Pensions in Luxembourg (assurance pension)

Luxembourg's pension system has three pillars. The first is the statutory pension insurance, run for private-sector workers and the self-employed by the National Pension Insurance Fund (Caisse nationale d'assurance pension, CNAP). The second pillar is supplementary pension schemes set up by employers, and the third is personal retirement savings. Reforms phased in from 2026 keep the legal pension age at 65.

Statutory pension: contributions and conditions

• Contributions (2026): 25.5% of insured earnings, split equally: 8.5% employee, 8.5% employer, 8.5% State. The total rate was 24% from 1985 until the end of 2025.
• Old-age pension at 65: you need at least 120 months (10 years) of insurance, from compulsory, continued or voluntary insurance or periods bought back.
• Early old-age pension: from 57 with 480 months (40 years) of compulsory insurance, or from 60 with 480 months that may include certain other periods (at least 120 months must be insurance periods). Since 1 July 2026, the 480 months needed at 60 are extended by extra months of contributions: +1 month (from 1 July 2026), rising to +8 months from 2030, depending on when you reach 480 months.
• Amount: a flat-rate part based on years of insurance (up to 40) plus a part based on the earnings you paid contributions on. The minimum pension is €2,436.04 a month for a 40-year career, and the maximum pension is €11,277.94 a month (new pensions 2026, wage index of June 2026).
• A pension is not paid automatically: you must apply to the CNAP.

Second and third pillars

• Supplementary pension schemes (régimes complémentaires de pension) are set up by companies for their employees under the law of 8 June 1999. They have also been open to the self-employed since 2019. Ask your employer whether it offers one.
• Personal retirement savings (prévoyance-vieillesse): from 2026, contributions to approved contracts are tax-deductible up to €4,500 a year (previously €3,200).

Working abroad: international agreements

• Within the EU, EEA and Switzerland, the EU coordination rules (Regulation (EC) No 883/2004) apply. Insurance periods in other member states are taken into account.
• Luxembourg also has bilateral social security agreements with more than 20 countries, including for example Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Korea, Turkey and the United States. Except for the agreement with China, they add together insurance periods and allow benefits to be paid abroad.

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• With fewer than 10 years of Luxembourg insurance you have no old-age pension at 65, unless periods from the EU or an agreement country can be added. Check your record early.
• The minimum pension requires at least 20 years of insurance, and it is reduced for each missing year between the 20th and the 40th.
• If you draw an early pension and keep working, income above one third of the social minimum wage (€923.77 a month from June 2026) can reduce the pension, and high earnings can stop it.
• If you also worked abroad, apply at least 6 months early: the CNAP contacts the foreign pension funds, which can take months.

Official guidance: CNAP: early old-age pension, Guichet.lu: old-age pension at 65, CNAP: international agreements, List of bilateral agreements, IGSS: supplementary pensions