Pension FAQs
Early retirement pension
An early retirement pension is income (money) paid by the Social Insurance Institution to people who have not yet reached retirement age. Its purpose is to help people who have lost their job just before retirement and are unlikely to find a new one, or who are unable to find a job in the long term and have no other options to deal with their economic situation.
General partner 
When am I entitled to an early retirement pension?
You are entitled to an early retirement pension if you meet all the following requirements:
- You have no more than 2 years to retirement age or you have completed the required service. Retirement age is set by the state, depending on the year of birth and the number of children raised.
- You have paid into a pension scheme for at least 15 years. You must have paid for it in Slovakia, another EU country or a EU country. However, only years worked in Slovakia affect the amount of your pension and you must have at least one year of pension insurance in Slovakia.
- Your pension is at least 1.6 times the minimum subsistence amount for a single adult.
All three of the above conditions must be met simultaneously. Entitlement to an early retirement pension starts from the date of application, i.e. it cannot be applied for retrospectively.
You must also have completed your employment and not be working as a self-employed person. If you pay compulsory pension contributions, you cannot receive an early retirement pension. This means that you will not be entitled to an early retirement pension if you are compulsorily insured as an employee or self-employed person on the date you become entitled to an early retirement pension. from 1 July 2023 does not apply to the entitlement to payment of an early retirement pension of a compulsorily pension-insured self-employed person who holds a statutory business licence under a special regulation and is not compulsorily pension-insured for any other reason. An insured person who has yet to apply for an early retirement pension and is not in receipt of an invalidity pension cannot benefit from a contribution allowance, and therefore cannot be working on the date from which he applies for an early retirement pension, nor can he be working under a work or employment contract, as he would be compulsorily insured for a pension. An invalidity pensioner working on an agreement on which he has claimed a contribution allowance may, provided that the other statutory conditions are met, be entitled to an early retirement pension, irrespective of the amount of his income. This means that at the time you apply for early retirement pension you must not be gainfully employed either as an employed or contracted-out worker (for contracted-out work, see the disability pensioner exception above) or as a self-employed person.
Can I work alongside my early retirement?
Yes, but only if 2 conditions are met:
- You may not at the time of application have a pension (self-employed) or your employer cannot pay it for you.
- You can earn a maximum of €200 a month, and even then only if you claim an exemption from paying pension insurance premiumsunder the agreement , i.e. if you ask your employer for tax relief. If your income exceeds this threshold of €2,400 per calendar year (whether from employment or business), your entitlement to an early retirement pension will end.
Only a recipient who works on the basis of an agreement on employment or an agreement on the performance of work and has determined this agreement for the purposes of applying the deduction under Section 227a of Act No. 461/2003 Coll. on Social Insurance, as amended, may work and receive an early retirement pension at the same time. The recipient must not be compulsorily insured for a pension for any other reason and his total income from the agreement determined pursuant to Section 227a of Act No 461/2003 Coll., as amended, may not exceed EUR 2 400 in the relevant calendar year. Also, in addition to the early retirement pension, a self-employed person who holds a statutory authorisation to engage in business under a special regulation and is not compulsorily insured for another reason may be compulsorily insured for a pension.
These are authorisations issued for the exercise of activities in the exercise of professions:
- psychologists and health workers under special regulations, except public health workers who supervise working conditions, opticians and dental technicians under the Trade Licensing Act,
- a veterinarian, a veterinary worker and a person carrying out professional work in breeding and breeding activities in livestock breeding;
- lawyer, notary, patent attorney and bailiff;
- Expert witness;
- Interpreter;
- verifier (auditor);
- tax advisor;
- stock exchange negotiator, independent financial agent and financial advisor and other natural person authorized to carry out financial intermediation and financial advice under a special regulation;
- mediator and arbitrator of collective disputes, mediator;
- Authorized architect, authorized landscape architect and authorized civil engineer;
- authorized surveyor and cartographer
- restorer of cultural monuments and collection objects that are works of fine art;
- road safety auditor;
- a social worker according to a special regulation.
In this case, your entitlement will not be extinguished, even if you take out compulsory pension insurance while you are receiving an early retirement pension.
What will be my retirement age?
The retirement age is fixed by the state and depends on your year of birth. You can find the current retirement age for your year of birth on the Social Security website (if you don’t find it in the table, it’s yet to be set).
Parents can reduce their retirement age by 6 months for each child raised (up to a maximum of 18 months), but only one parent can claim. Primarily the mother can always claim – if this is not possible (death, etc.), the father’s retirement age can also be reduced.
Required length of service:
To apply for an early retirement pension, you must have worked for a certain number of years, depending on your year of birth. This number is calculated as the difference between the general retirement age (without taking into account bringing up children) and the number 23. If you have worked as many years as you need for your year, you can apply for an early pension even if you are more than two years short of retirement age (as long as you also meet the other legal conditions).
How much will my pension be and how long will I receive it?
The amount of your pension is calculated by the Social Insurance Institution on the basis of your average salary, the number of days of the pension insurance period and the current pension value in force on the date of entitlement to the pension payment. How much earlier you retired will also be reflected in your pension amount. The amount so determined will be reduced by 0.5% for every 30 days of the period from the date of entitlement to the early retirement pension until you reach retirement age. So if you retire a year earlier, your early retirement pension will be 6.5% lower. You can find the exact method for determining the amount of your pension on the Social Insurance Institution’s website under Calculation and examples | Social Insurance Institution (socpoist.sk).
An early retirement pension is automatically converted into a normal retirement pension when you reach retirement age.
How do I apply for an early retirement pension?
1
One month before you reach retirement age and plan to retire early, book an appointment to write your application
At the social insurance office in your place of permanent residence (or temporary residence). You can find your nearest branch here.
Book an appointment on the day you want to apply for an early retirement pension or, if no appointment is available on that day, a few days before. You can also book online or by phone.
2
Prepare all necessary documents
a valid ID(ID card or passport), etc. The full list can be found below. If you have any problems or questions, a member of staff at the insurance office will help you later.
3
Fill in the application form together with an insurance company employee at the branch and hand in the necessary documents (or send them by post)
4
Your pension will be paid to you in the way you specify in your application, either by bank transfer, in cash via the Slovak Post or directly to a social services institution
5
Wait for the decision. The Social Insurance Office will check your application and make a decision within 60 days (or 120 days in complex cases) of writing it
Payment and remittance of pension
1
If you want to have your pension paid into your account, you must submit this application form, completed and certified by the bank, with the necessary details to the Social Insurance Office.
2
If you want to receive your pension in cash via the Slovak Post, you must send a request (letter) to the Social Insurance Institution informing them that your pension should be sent in cash to your chosen address via the Slovak Post.
The application must state your exact residential address.
3
If you are currently in a social services facility, your pension will automatically be sent to the facility via a bulk voucher unless you request otherwise.
The pension shall always be paid to a pensioner who is in custody or serving a custodial sentence through the custodial institution or prison.
a completed and bank-certified form “Request for transfer of pension benefits to the pensioner’s bank account”, if the insured person requests to transfer the pension in this way.
What documents are needed to apply for an early retirement pension?
Identity card
ID card/passport
Evidence of periods of pension insurance
Evidence of periods of pension insurance: you do not need to bring the documents that are registered in the Electronic Insurance Account (EUP), but fill in the ones that are not registered in the EUP. You can find them under the tab for unrecorded periods in the section Preparing for retirement. You can check what is already on your record in your Electronic Insured Person’s Account, if you have it activated. Otherwise, you can request an EUP statement by calling the freephone number 0800 123 123, emailing podatelna@socpoist.sk, or in person at a branch of the Social Insurance Institution.
Evidence of completion of education
School leaving certificate, school leaving certificate, diploma or school certificate on the length and duration of studies, documents on the completion of compulsory school attendance, if requested by a Social Insurance Officer.
Evidence of military service
Men also have proof of compulsory military service or a military booklet.
Employer’s confirmation of the period of employment before 1 May 1990
In countries with which the Slovak Republic has not concluded an interstate social security treaty.
Children’s birth certificates (if you are applying for recognition of custody)
They are only required if you are a foreigner or the child was born abroad and was not registered in a special registry. If such a child died before the age of 18, a death certificate is also required.
Proof of foster care (if you are applying for recognition of custody of the child)
If you have taken the child into foster care (or other care replacing parental care), you will also need a decision from the competent authority to take custody of the children. If the child was in the care of another person or institution, you will also need to provide proof of the duration of that period.
For more information please visit:
https://www.socpoist.sk/zivotne-situacie/dochodok/ako-poziadat-o-predcasny-starobny-dochodok
