AFP (Contractual pension)

A contractual pension (AFP) is a collectively negotiated early retirement plan that provides you with the opportunity to take full or partial retirement between the ages of 62 and 67.

Before you apply for AFP

AFP is an option for those who wish to gradually reduce or exit the workforce before the regular retirement age. If you are considering scaling back but do not wish to retire fully right away, you can choose to receive partial AFP, if your employer allows it.

AFP is intended as a benefit to compensate for lost income, not as an addition to income as is the case in the private sector. This means that in order to receive AFP, it is a requirement that you either completely or partially cease working.

Full or partial AFP

You can take out full AFP as long as you completely cease working and no longer have any work income. If you don't completely stop working, you must meet certain conditions to be eligible for partial AFP.

  • You can take out partial AFP as long as you reduce your employment by at least 10 percent AND the remaining employment percentage equals at least 60 percent of full-time employment. Both conditions must be met in the first month for you to be able to take out partial AFP.
  • If you reduce your employment by less than 10 percent or continue working in less than 60 percent of full-time employment, you are not eligible for partial AFP.

This is how you apply for AFP

Application for AFP consists of two parts – one part that your employer should fill out, and one part that you should fill out.

Your employer fills out the pension notification form no later than two months before the month when the pension is supposed to start. The pension always begins on the first day of the month. You must fill out an information form about AFP on www.nav.no and send the form to NAV.

What you need to do:

  1. Agree on the pension date with your employer. If you wish to continue in a partial position, you must also agree on the position size.
  2. Your employer must send a pension notification to us no later than two months before the month when the pension is supposed to start.
  3. Fill out the information form about AFP available on www.nav.no – and send the form to NAV no later than two months before the month when the pension is supposed to start. Please note that the AFP application is not complete until the information form is filled out and sent to NAV.

What happens next?

For AFP applications between the ages of 62 and 65, it is NAV that calculates the pension, manages the case, and pays out the pension. For AFP applications from the age of 65, it is the Pension Scheme for the Pharmacy Sector (SPK) that calculates the pension. The actual payment is processed through NAV.

When you turn 67, we recalculate your pension to a regular retirement pension. We calculate the retirement pension based on the accrual period and the pension base  accruals you had when you took out AFP. The retirement pension is paid out from the month after you turn 67. Remember that you must also apply for the retirement pension under the National Insurance Scheme.

AFP and income

You can choose to have income alongside AFP, but in your AFP application, it's important that you inform us about how much you expect to earn in addition to the pension, because the pension percentage is calculated based on the income you provide.

If it turns out that your actual annual work income differs by more than 15,000 Norwegian NOK from the estimated income you have reported, you must notify us in writing. In such cases, we will recalculate a new pension percentage and adjust the pension payments.

See the following information, in Norwegian: