Combining Austrian and foreign insurance periods: how pensions from several countries work

If you have worked in Austria and another country, the insurance periods you built up in both countries do not disappear. EU rules combine them when eligibility is assessed, but each country calculates the pension separately for its own insurance periods.

At a glance

• Austria generally takes pension insurance periods completed in the EU into account when assessing eligibility.
• One application is usually enough; the pension insurance institution automatically starts the procedure with the other countries involved.
• The Austrian pension is calculated only from Austrian insurance periods, while the other country calculates its pension from its own periods.
• If you qualify in both countries, you receive two separate proportional pensions (Teilpension).
• Each country applies its own conditions, including the qualifying period and pension age.

When are Austrian and foreign insurance periods combined?

Pension insurance periods in Austria and other relevant countries are covered by Regulation 883/2004/EC (VO (EG) 883/2004). It applies to all EEA states and Switzerland.

The regulation coordinates the countries’ social security systems, but it does not make them uniform. Each state continues to apply its own national conditions. These may differ, for example, in:

• the minimum insurance period required for a pension, known as the qualifying period (Wartezeit);
• the pension age (Pensionsantrittsalter).

Adding the periods together (Zusammenrechnung) is relevant to eligibility. When a country checks whether you have completed the qualifying period under its national rules, it adds pension insurance periods completed in all relevant states.

This can be important if you do not have enough insurance time in either country separately, but meet the requirement when the periods are combined.

Every country in which you completed insurance periods pays a benefit if the combined periods create entitlement under that country’s rules.

How is the pension amount calculated?

Combining periods is used only to decide eligibility, not to calculate the pension amount.

• Is there an entitlement? Insurance periods from all relevant countries are added together.
• How much is the Austrian pension? It is calculated only from Austrian insurance periods.
• How much is the pension from the other country? That country’s pension insurance institution calculates it from its own periods.
• Who pays? Each country pays its own share separately.

Austria does not reimburse insurance periods completed abroad. If you qualify in both countries, you receive two proportional pensions (Teilpension): one from Austria and one from the other country. Each country pays when you have reached the pension age applicable there.

When and where should you submit the application?

You should apply for the old-age pension (Alterspension) to the pension insurance institution that was last responsible:

• in the country where you live; or
• in the country where you most recently completed an insurance period.

When submitting the application, state that you also completed insurance periods abroad. You do not need to apply separately in every country. The pension insurance institution receiving your application automatically starts the interstate pension determination procedure (zwischenstaatliches Pensionsfeststellungsverfahren).

Cases involving several countries can take a long time to process.

In Austria, the pension insurance institution (Pensionsversicherungsanstalt, PVA) also holds international consultation days (Internationale Sprechtage).

What happens if one insurance period is shorter than 12 months?

If you completed less than 12 months of pension insurance in a country, that country’s pension insurance institution is not required to take periods from the other member states into account when checking whether the minimum insurance period has been met.

In Austria, this exception does not apply to benefits paid from the pension account (Pensionskonto) under the General Pensions Act (Allgemeines Pensionsgesetz, APG).

What about periods completed outside the EU?

Austria has also concluded pension insurance agreements with several countries outside the EU, including Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Moldova, Turkey, the USA, Canada and Australia. With the United Kingdom, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement contains rules with the same content.

If you completed insurance periods in a country where the regulation does not apply and no agreement exists, those periods are not taken into account.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to apply for a pension separately in Austria and the other country?

No. One application to the competent pension insurance institution is enough if you state that you completed insurance periods abroad. That institution starts the interstate procedure.

Does Austria pay the pension for years worked in the other country?

No. The Austrian pension is calculated exclusively from Austrian insurance periods. The pension insurance institution in the other country pays for the periods completed there.

Will I receive both pensions at the same time?

Not necessarily. Each country pays when you reach its own pension age, and the pension ages may differ.

What happens if I worked in Austria for only a few months?

If the insurance period in a country is shorter than 12 months, that country is not required to count periods from other countries towards the minimum insurance period. In Austria, this does not affect benefits paid from the pension account under the APG.

Practical steps

1. Collect records of your pension insurance periods in Austria and every other relevant country.
2. Apply to the competent pension insurance institution in your country of residence or in the country where you most recently completed an insurance period.
3. Clearly state that you completed insurance periods abroad.
4. Check that the application includes all countries and periods relevant to your pension record.
5. Allow extra time for the interstate pension determination procedure, as cases involving several countries can take a long time.
6. For Austrian-specific information, contact the Pensionsversicherungsanstalt (PVA) or ask about Internationale Sprechtage.

Important: This article is based on publicly available information and is not legal, pension or other professional advice. Use it at your own responsibility and seek advice from a qualified professional if needed.

Source: oesterreich.gv.at