The National Pension Insurance Administration (Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Pension, CNAP) manages the general scheme based on the dual principles of solidarity between generations and a pay-as-you-go system. Active workers contribute to pay the pensions of retirees. The contribution for active workers is 8% of their gross capped salary, with the employer and the state contributing an equivalent amount on behalf of the employee.
The legal retirement age is 65 years. Early retirement is possible at 57 or 60 years of age, provided that a career of 40 years can be justified. To retire at 57, one must justify 480 months of mandatory insurance, including 40 years of effective contributions in Luxembourg. To retire at 60, one must justify a minimum of 480 months of mandatory pension insurance contributions, continued insurance contributions, optional insurance contributions, retroactive purchase and/or supplementary insurance periods, including at least 120 months of mandatory insurance periods, continued insurance periods, optional and/or retroactively purchased periods.
Years of study undertaken between the ages of 18 and 27--in Luxembourg or abroad--can be taken into account to reach the required number of years. These years are not years of contribution and will have no impact on the amount of your pension. During the period from early retirement until 65 years of age, engaging in professional activity is possible within certain limits.
To benefit from a Luxembourg pension, one must have at least 120 months of insurance. The CNAP takes into account insurance periods completed in Luxembourg and in EU countries, the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. An applicant for the old-age pension must submit their application to the pension fund of their country of residence. This country then calculates the pension rights according to its legislation and that of the country or countries where the insured person contributed, based on European or bilateral agreements. The insured person will receive benefits from each country where they contributed, in accordance with the local legislation.
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A Luxembourg pension can be paid abroad, but certain steps must be taken to ensure the continuity of payments and updates to your situation. As of 1 May 2025, the minimum monthly pension for a full career is €2,350.89. The maximum pension stands at €10,883.74. An end-of-year allowance of €1,004.28 is paid in December. Pensions are periodically adjusted with the evolution of salaries and benefit from revaluations linked to indexation.
This article was written for the August/September 2025 issue of Paperjam magazine (Expat Guide), published on 10 July. The content is produced exclusively for the magazine. It is published on the site to contribute to the full Paperjam archive. Click this link to subscribe to the magazine.
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