AFP
AFP is a collective agreement-based pension scheme that allows you to retire at the age of 62. If you are employed in a company with a collective agreement that includes AFP, you may be entitled to AFP.
Previously, AFP was replaced by old-age pension at the age of 67. The AFP benefit is now a lifelong supplement to old-age pension from the National Insurance Scheme.
You must apply for old-age pension through the National Insurance Scheme (folketrygden) at the same time as you apply for AFP. This is because the new AFP is provided as an addition to the old-age pension. However, you do not need to take out 100 percent old-age pension; you can choose to take out 20, 40, 50, 60, or 80 percent.
AFP is only provided if the conditions for old-age pension are met, including the requirement that you are guaranteed a minimum pension level / guarantee pension when you turn 67 years old. When calculating whether you meet the requirement for guarantee pension, the AFP supplement is included.
AFP for foreign workers
It is important to be aware that the total pension accrual for some foreign workers, with a short period of coverage in Norway, is too low to meet the requirements for a guarantee pension at age 67. Therefore, they will not be able to receive early retirement pension (AFP) at age 62, even if they meet the other eligibility criteria for AFP.
What are the requirements to qualify for AFP?
Claims related to turning 62 years old
You must have worked in a company(ies) with a collective agreement that includes AFP in at least 7 of the last 9 years before turning 62.
But there are transitional provisions for those born:
1944 – 1951 is the rule 3 of the last 5 years
1952 is the rule for 4 of the last 6 years
1953 is the rule 5 of the last 7 years
1954 is the rule for 6 of the last 8 years
You must therefore meet the seniority requirement before turning 62. It does not help if you continue working at the company and meet the requirement after turning 62, for example when you turn 63.
During the seniority period, you must have your main employment in an affiliated company, and your pensionable income (salary, etc.) from the company must be higher than your other income.
You must have worked at least 20 percent of a full-time position.
If, in the last three years before turning 62, you have received pension (not disability pension), waiting wages, or other benefits from current or former employment without corresponding work obligation, you are not entitled to AFP, if the value of the annual benefit exceeds 1.5 G.
Requirements related to the timing of deployment
When taking out AFP, the main rule is that at the time of withdrawal, you must have been, and in the last three years prior to this point, continuously been employed and a genuine worker in a company(ies) with a collective agreement that includes AFP. In the last three years before you take out AFP, you must have worked at least 20 percent of a full-time position.