AOW: how much you'll get, and when it starts

How much the AOW is in 2026

The AOW is the Dutch state pension, paid by the SVB. A full AOW from 1 July 2026, per person and before tax:

You live	A month	Holiday pay, a month	A year, all in
Alone	€1,662.16	€104.78	€21,203
With a partner	€1,139.39 each	€74.85 each	€14,571 each

The holiday pay builds up every month and is paid once a year, in May. The amounts go up on 1 January and 1 July, with the minimum wage.

Living alone or with a partner

Which rate you get depends on who you live with, not on whether you're married. If you're married, in a registered partnership, or share a home and its costs with another adult, you each get the rate for people with a partner. Together, two people get €14,571 each: more than one person living alone gets, but less than two. There are exceptions, such as living with your own child, and the SVB decides which rate applies to you.

This matters if you plan for one person but expect to live with a partner later. In the calculator, planning just for yourself uses the higher rate for people living alone; under Pensions, answer Yes to "Living with a partner once you get AOW?" to use the rate for people with a partner instead.

How it builds up

You build up 2% of a full AOW for each year you live or work in the Netherlands, in the 50 years before your AOW age. With an AOW age of 67, that's from your 17th birthday. Every year here in that window counts, and every year abroad is 2% less.

Example

You moved here at 29, and your AOW age is 67. You'll have 38 of the 50 years: 76% of a full AOW. Living with a partner, that's about €866 a month instead of €1,139.39, plus holiday pay.

If you moved here later, see what the gap means for you in Moved here later? Your AOW gap.

When it starts

The AOW starts at your AOW age. It's 67 for anyone reaching it in 2026 and 2027, and 67 and 3 months from 2028. The age follows life expectancy, and the government fixes it five years ahead, so for anyone born from 1 October 1964 it isn't final yet. Rijksoverheid's AOW-leeftijd page gives your own age from your date of birth.

Where to find your own figure

Mijn SVB, where you log in with DigiD, shows how much AOW you've built up and when it starts. mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl shows it next to the pensions you build up through work. Both show it before tax, as the calculator asks for it.

Questions people ask

Do you get AOW if you never worked here?

Yes. The AOW builds up from living in the Netherlands, not from working, so a year here counts whether you had a job or not. Working here while living abroad counts too.

Is the AOW paid if you leave the Netherlands?

Yes. What you've built up stays yours, and the SVB pays it abroad too. The years you live abroad before your AOW age don't build any more up.

Is the AOW taxed?

Yes. The amounts in this guide are gross, before tax; the SVB takes income tax off before paying it. From your AOW age you no longer pay the AOW premium, so less tax goes on the same income than before.

Can you start the AOW early?

No. The AOW starts at your AOW age, not before. To stop working earlier, your savings or a pension through work have to pay for the years until then.

Sources

This guide explains the general rules. It isn't personal financial advice.