Danish state pension when you live abroad

You can apply to receive social pensions from Denmark if you move abroad

Self-service - MitID or non-Danish eID

As a pensioner living abroad, you can get MitID using your foreign passport or ID card along with a mobile phone. 

With MitID you can:

  • Use Udbetaling Danmark’ self-service solution ’Min Pension’, where you can notify about changes immediately.
  • See your upcoming payments and letters online at ‘Din Pension’. 
  • Avoid long delivery times on letters - both to and from Udbetaling Danmark. 
  • Get easier communication with Udbetaling Danmark.

In just a few steps, you can get MitID. You can follow these guidelines or video guides under the headline ‘Få MitID med udenlandsk pas/ID-kort’ here: 

For help go to www.mitid.dk/supportor contact MitID support at +45 33 98 00 10.

As an EU/EEA citizen receiving public benefits from Denmark you can now ease your future usage of the Danish public self-services – even if you do not have af Danish MitID. You just need to connect your non-Danish eID to your Danish CPR-number.

This service is now available for Danish State Pension when you live abroad. It is also available for the ATP Livslang Pension self-service. Soon other Danish self-services will follow.

Connect your eID from these countries

Please note that access is only available with electronic identities from the following countries:

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Estonia
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden

More countries will follow. 

When you are connected

When your non-Danish eID is connected to your Danish CPR number you can log in to:

  • inform Udbetaling Danmark of changes to your pension
  • get an overview of your Danish Pension and letters.

Just click the Start button for non-Danish eID.

Start Inform Udbetaling Danmark of changes to your pension
  • When you receive state pension or disability pension abroad, you are obliged to inform Udbetaling Danmark of changes in your personal situation or income that might affect your pension from Denmark.

For example, if:

  • You become single, get married, or get a cohabitant.
  • You are moving to another address.
  • Your or your spouse's/cohabitant’s assets change, e.g., if one of you inherits, buys, or sell equities and receives a return on the assets.
  • There are changes in income for you or your spouse/cohabitant from which you do not pay tax in Denmark, e.g., foreign income.
  • There are changes to your or your spouse's/cohabitant’s independent company, and the company is not taxable in Denmark.

You do not need to inform Udbetaling Danmark of income from which you pay taxes in Denmark. Udbetaling Danmark receives this information automatically.

If you do not have a MitID

If you are a citizen in an EU/EEA country, you can use your national electronic ID (eID). Your eID needs to be connected to your Danish Civil Registration Number (CPR number) before you can log in.

Start Inform Udbetaling Danmark of changes to your pension

When you receive state pension or disability pension abroad, you are obliged to inform Udbetaling Danmark of changes in your personal situation or income that might affect your pension from Denmark.

For example, if:

  • You become single, get married, or get a cohabitant.
  • You are moving to another address.
  • Your or your spouse's/cohabitant’s assets change, e.g., if one of you inherits, buys, or sell equities and receives a return on the assets.
  • There are changes in income for you or your spouse/cohabitant from which you do not pay tax in Denmark, e.g., foreign income.
  • There are changes to your or your spouse's/cohabitant’s independent company, and the company is not taxable in Denmark.

You do not need to inform Udbetaling Danmark of income from which you pay taxes in Denmark. Udbetaling Danmark receives this information automatically.

Use your national eID

If you are a citizen in an EU/EEA country, you can use your national eID. Your national eID has to be connected to your Danish Civil Registration Number (CPR number) before you can log in.

Start Get an overview of your Danish State Pension and letters

In the self-service you can

  • get an overview of your last and coming payments of Danish State Pension
  • read the letters you receive from Udbetaling Danmark – at the time when they are sent.
  • Get an overview of your Danish State Pension and letters (MitID)

If you do not have a MitID

If you are a citizen in an EU/EEA country, you can use your national electronic ID (eID). Your eID needs to be connected to your Danish Civil Registration Number (CPR number) before you can log in.

Start Get an overview of your Danish State Pension and letters

In the self-service you can

  • get an overview of your last and coming payments of Danish State Pension
  • read the letters you receive from Udbetaling Danmark – at the time when they are sent.

Use your national eID If you are a citizen in an EU/EEA country, you can use your national eID. Your national eID has to be connected to your Danish Civil Registration Number (CPR number) before you can log in.

About state pension abroad

You can apply to receive social pensions such as the state pension, payments from ATP and disability pension even if you move to an EU country or a country outside the EU. There are, however, different rules depending on which country you live in. 

As an EU/EEA citizen living in an EU/EEA member country you must fulfill the following conditions:

  • you must be an EU/EEA citizen
  • you must have permanent residence within a member country
  • you must have lived in Denmark for at least three years between the age of 15 and 65.

If you have worked in other EU countries and have earned qualifying years towards state benefits there, then the rule of three years of residence in Denmark will not necessarily apply to you.

In such case one year of residence in Denmark will be enough for you to receive Danish state pension abroad, as Udbetaling Danmark must take into account the years you have worked in the other member state.

If you have worked in several EU countries, then you might have accumulated pension rights in each country.

Apply in the country you are currently living in

When the time comes for you to claim your pension, you normally have to apply in the country where you are living or in the country where you last worked. That country is then responsible for processing your claim and bringing together records of your pension contributions from all the countries you have lived in.

If you live in a country you never worked in

If you have never worked in the country where you now live, you should apply to the relevant authority in the last country where you worked. Your application will then be processed there.

If you have worked in several countries

If you have worked in several countries, you should apply for your pension in the country where you live, unless you never worked there. In the latter case, you should apply in the country where you last worked.

Apply for state pension from Denmark

If you live outside of Denmark and wish to apply for Danish state pension:

Your pension will be paid out on the last banking day of the month.  

If you want to have your pension paid out to a Danish account, e.g. your NemKonto, you must inform Udbetaling Danmark, International Pension about your registration and account number. Udbetaling Danmark, International Pension does not receive this information automatically.  

You can also choose to have your pension paid out into a local account in your country of residence. However, be aware that you will have to pay fees yourself and that the payment of your pension will be made in the currency used in your country of residence.  

If you have Mit ID or eID you can change your bank account via the self-service solution.  

As a pensioner living abroad, you must confirm that you are alive every year. You do this by submitting a life certificate. You only need to submit a life certificate when Udbetaling Danmark requests it in a letter.

Udbetaling Danmark will send out letters about life certificates again from mid-May 2025.  

Udbetaling Danmark International Pension passes on your completed life certificate to the following authorities if you receive benefits from one or more of the following:
ATP Livslang Pension, Arbejdsmarkedets Erhvervssikring and/or Udbetaling Danmark Tjenestemandspension.

This means you only have to confirm you are alive once.

If you do not confirm that you are alive, your pension may be stopped by Udbetaling Danmark. 

In some countries, you do not get a life certificate

For pensioners in some countries, you will generally not receive a life certificate. The reason is that Udbetaling Danmark has an agreement with the pension authorities in these countries to exchange information.

It is only if Udbetaling Danmark requests further information that you will receive a life certificate.

So, you only need to take action when Udbetaling Danmark asks you to.

Therefore, in the following countries you will not normally receive a life certificate:

  • Australia
  • France
  • Germany 
  • Iceland
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland

If you receive a state pension from Denmark and live in an EU/EEA country, Switzerland or United Kingdom you may be entitled to an elderly cheque for pensioners abroad (the supplementary pension allowance).

You are not entitled to an elderly cheque if you receive disability pension. 

If you have previously received an elderly cheque

If you have previously received an elderly cheque, and you meet the conditions for receiving it, it will automatically be paid out to you together with your state pension at the end of January.

If you have not received an elderly cheque before

If you have not received an elderly cheque before, you must apply for it. The due date for application is July 31.

From January 1, 2024, you can, in certain cases, bring your pension supplement to an EU/EEA country, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom if you receive the supplement due to a congenital or early-onset disability.

You can apply to bring pension supplement abroad if you:

  • Move or already reside in an EU/EEA country, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom, and
  • Have never been economically active because,
  • You suffer from a congenital or early-onset disability (long-term physical, mental, sensory, or intellectual impairment).

It is a condition that, due to your disability, you have either never worked or have worked very minimally. You must be medically diagnosed with a long-term physical, mental, sensory, or intellectual impairment that renders you unable or unlikely to take on regular employment.

You can apply retroactively

If you apply before June 30, 2024, you can be granted dispensation to bring the pension supplement with you to an EU/EEA country, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom retroactively from January 1, 2024. 

If you apply for the supplementary pension benefit on or after July 1, 2024, the supplementary pension benefit will be paid from the 1st of the month following the date when Udbetaling Danmark has made a decision in the case.

You should be aware that if you meet the conditions for including the pension supplement in an EU/EEA country, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom, you retain the right to include it in another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom.

However, if you move to a third country, the right to take the pension supplement with you will lapse, and you will need to reapply for the supplement upon returning to an EU/EEA country, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom.

When you transition to old age pension

If you receive the disability pension supplement and continue to reside in an EU/EEA country, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom when you transition to old age pension, you will automatically receive the old age pension supplement.

Other subjects

If you need to help someone else

If you need to help someone else with communicating with Udbetaling Danmark, you must provide a power of attorney. This even applies if you live together, and you just need to talk to Udbetaling Danmark about the other person’s case.

If someone else is going to help you

If you need someone else to help you communicating with Udbetaling Danmark, you must first give that person power of attorney. This even applies if you live together, and the other person just need to talk to Udbetaling Danmark about your case.

How to give a power of attorney

If you want to give a power of attorney, you can do so with MitID or by signing a written power of attorney.

If you are applying for one of the following social benefits from abroad, your application must be handled by Udbetaling Danmark, International Pension. 

In the chart below you can see the case processing time limits:

Social benefit   Case processing time limits Average processing time 
State pension   24 weeks  15 weeks
Deferred state pension  13 weeks  3 weeks
Personal supplement   13 weeks  6 weeks
Disability pension  28 weeks  18 weeks 
Senior pension  28 weeks  18 weeks
Dispensation  9 weeks   

The case processing time limit period begins the same day Udbetaling Danmark receives your application. 

You can help ensure that your application is processed as soon as possible by:

  • Attaching the required documentation
  • Ensuring that your information in the Civil Registration System (CPR) is correct.

If you are not satisfied with how Udbetaling Danmark has dealt with your case, you are welcome to contact Udbetaling Danmark, Pension. Sometimes misunderstandings can occur and can easily be resolved with a verbal explanation.

If you disagree with a decision

You may file a complaint about a decision from Udbetaling Danmark if you disagree with it. A decision can for example be classified as the amount you receive in pension – or any other decision that Udbetaling Denmark makes in your case. You will always receive a letter from Udbetaling Denmark, in which the decision will be stated along with a complaint guide. 

Udbetaling Danmark must receive your complaint no later than four weeks after your receipt of the decision. They will then assess the matter again.

If Udbetaling Danmark reject your complaint, they will forward it to the National Social Appeals Board. The National Social Appeals Board is an independent state institution and the highest complaint board for Udbetaling Danmark amongst others. 

Complaints about other matters

Udbetaling Danmark will also consider complaints received about other matters in your case and investigate whether there is anything that should have been done differently. You will always receive an answer to your complaint. 

How to file a complaint

You can file a complaint by calling Udbetaling Danmark or sending your complaint to Udbetaling Danmark, International Pension, preferably marked ‘Klage over Pension’:

Written by Udbetaling Danmark

Contact Udbetaling Danmark, International Pension

Last updated: 10 December 2024

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