You can accrue a maximum of 50 years of AOW insurance before you reach the AOW retirement age. The start date of the AOW accumulation period, known as the “initial ageâ€, is therefore 50 years before your AOW retirement age. We also call this period the 50-year period.
You can take out voluntary insurance under the AOW and Anw schemes if you meet the following conditions during the 50-year period:
- You move from the Netherlands to another country or take up employment in another country, and
- you apply for voluntary insurance within one year of leaving the Netherlands or starting work in another country, and
- you were insured under the AOW scheme and Anw scheme in the Netherlands for at least one year without interruption immediately before you started taking out voluntary insurance, and
- you have not yet reached the AOW retirement age (This condition only applies to AOW insurance. For Anw insurance, it is possible to join at an older age).
Were you compulsorily insured in another EU country for a few months in the year before you left the Netherlands? As a rule, such a period will be added when determining whether you have been insured for a full year without interruption in the Netherlands under the AOW or Anw scheme.
You must have applied for voluntary insurance during your lifetime. You cannot apply for voluntary insurance after your death.
For more information, contact the SVB in the Netherlands. You can also calculate how much your contributions will be.