Pension, Pensioners | Cheers about pensions

Of a total of 1,044,200 pensioners, 129,800 were minimum pensioners at the end of the first quarter of 2024, according to recent figures from Nav.

It is 15.4 per cent lower than the first quarter of 2014, mainly thanks to higher earnings among younger age groups.

The decrease from the same quarter last year is 6.8 per cent.

At the end of the first quarter of 2024, 20.3 per cent of female old-age pensioners received the minimum pension, while the corresponding figure was 22.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.

The proportion of male minimum pensions has been relatively stable during this period.

Every fifth adult is an old-age pensioner

In Norway today, one in five adults is an old-age pensioner.

This corresponds to an increase of 2.1 per cent from last year, and something that will probably only increase in the coming years.

Many agree to “early withdrawal”, that is, they start withdrawing their old-age pension before they turn 67. A total of 41.7 per cent of new old-age pensioners in the first quarter of 2024 opted for early withdrawals, most of whom chose to start withdrawals at age 62.

The women hold out the longest

Here we see a marked difference between the sexes: 52.3 per cent of new male old-age pensioners chose early withdrawal, compared to 30.1 per cent of women.

This must be seen in the context of the fact that many women have lower earnings than men, and thus do not have the opportunity to start early withdrawals, and that more women already receive full disability benefits or other pensions and social security payments.

Herman Kruse is an expert on pensions at SSB.

– When it comes to the pension system, we must be careful that there should still be flexible pension withdrawals. We can still retire five years before the standard retirement age, Kruse told Nettavisen in this video interview in March: