Children’s pension

You can get children’s pension if you are under the age of 20 and have lost one or both parents.

The deceased parent must have been a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme for the last 5 years before their death. In addition, you must be a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.

You can receive children’s pension regardless of whether your parents were married, divorced or living together as cohabiting partners.

If your mother has died and your paternity has not been established, you will be treated in the same way as people who have lost both parents.

There are increased rates for children’s pension from 1 January 2024.

• If you have lost one of your parents, you will receive the national insurance basic amount which currently amounts to NOK 124,028 a year.
• If you have lost both of your parents, you will receive 2.25 times the national insurance basic amount, NOK 279,063.
• If you have siblings, they will also receive the same amount. The child's pension will not be divided between you.

The benefit may be lower if the deceased has lived abroad.

Did you get children’s pension before 1 January 2024?

Your childrens’s pension will be recalculated according to new rules if it is better for you. If you are paid more under the old rules, you will keep the childrens’s pension as it is.

You can receive children’s pension up to and including the month you turn 20 years of age.

If you were granted children’s pension before 1 January 2024 and the death was due to occupational injury or occupational illness, you may be entitled to benefit until you turn 21 years of age.

If the deceased had an occupational pension plan, you may be eligible for payments from some of these schemes. If your parent was in work until their death, you should contact their employer for more information.

Other public schemes that may be relevant:

• Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• KLP insurance

If you are in education, you can apply for grants and loans from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (“Lånekassen”).

You can contact NAV for more information and guidance, and/or help filling out the application form.

You will receive a written decision once your application has been processed. Normal processing time is maximum one month; you will be notified if it is going to take longer to process your application.

Have you received a decision from us that you think is wrong? You can complain to the NAV Unit that issued the decision. They will reassess your case. If they do not agree with your complaint, they will forward it to the NAV Appeals Management Unit.

If you are under the age of 18, your children’s pension will be paid to your surviving parent. If you have lost both of your parents, the money will be paid to your legal guardian. 

When you turn 18, the children’s pension can be paid to your (the child’s) bank account, if NAV has received notification of payment to a new bank account number, which you (the child) have signed after you turned 18. Payment to your bank account can then take place from the month in which you turn 18.

Children’s pension is paid out once a month.

In your payment overview, you can see upcoming payments several days before the actual payment date. 

The time of day when the payment will be credited to your account will vary, as it is your bank that transfers the payment into your account. Payments can therefore arrive in your account in the afternoon or evening. 

Holiday pay

There is no holiday pay on this benefit. 

Children’s pension is taxable. Children’s pension for children 16 or younger is considered investment income, and the tax payable on this income is included in the parents’ tax assessment.

From the year the child turns 17, the child is treated as an independent taxpayer, and it is the child who must pay tax on the children’s pension.

No advance tax will be deducted unless you, as a parent, request that tax be withheld from the children’s pension.

There are different ways to request for tax to be withheld. You can either

• tick in the application form that you want a tax deduction on the child pension
• ask the Norwegian Tax Administration for a new tax card with a higher deduction rate, or
• ask NAV to include a voluntary tax deduction from the children’s pension

You must check whether the voluntary tax deduction has been transferred at the end of the year. If it has not been transferred, you will need to re-enter it.

You can use this form to apply for a voluntary tax deduction from the children’s pension. The form is in Norwegian.

More about tax deductions on payments from NAV

If you are going abroad

First, you need to find out whether you will retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme while you are abroad.

Contact NAV to check whether you can keep your financial support during your temporary stay or permanent move abroad.

Your obligations if you move

If you (the child) move abroad, your legal guardian must

• notify NAV in writing. The legal guardian notifies NAV on the form for submission of additional documentation in connection with children’s pensions. Enter the personal identification number of the person you are the legal guardian of.
• register the move in the Norwegian National Registry

The legal guardian must contact the Norwegian Tax Administration to find out about the rules regarding duty to pay tax to Norway.

Moving to Norway

You can only receive children’s pension if your deceased parent had been a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme for the last 5 years before their death. There are also a number of requirements that you yourself must meet in order to receive the benefit.