The Cyprus state pension: contributions, pension age and claiming it from abroad

The Cyprus state pension is the old-age pension paid by the Social Insurance Services (SIS) from age 65, provided you have at least 780 weeks (15 years) of contributions and enough insurance over your working life. You can take it from 63 with a lifelong 12% cut, and years worked in the EU, the UK and several other countries can be added together to help you qualify.

This guide explains how the pension is built, what you pay in 2026, what happens if you are short of contributions, and how to claim when part of your career, or your retirement, is outside Cyprus. For how the pension is taxed once you are retired here, see our retiring in Cyprus guide.

What is the Cyprus state pension and how is it made up?

The old-age pension comes from the Social Insurance Fund, which every employee and self-employed person in Cyprus pays into. It has two parts:

• Basic pension: linked to your contributions on earnings up to a yearly reference level called basic insurable earnings. The reference level is updated every year, and this part can include extra amounts for dependants.
• Supplementary pension: earned on the part of your salary above that reference level, up to the earnings ceiling. The long-standing formula, as summarised by the US Social Security Administration, is 1.5% of those higher insured earnings.

To give a sense of scale, the full basic pension rose by 3.38% in January 2026 to €529.82 a month, and the minimum basic pension for someone with no dependants became €450.35. The supplementary part was not increased in January because there was no cost-of-living allowance due, but in July 2026 both the basic and supplementary parts of Social Insurance pensions rose by 1.46%. Your own pension depends on your record, so treat these as reference points, not a forecast.

When can you get the Cyprus state pension?

The standard pensionable age is 65 (63 for miners). According to the SIS, you must meet two contribution conditions by then:

1. At least 780 weeks of insurance, with basic insurance paid up to pension age worth at least 780 times the weekly basic insurable earnings. In practice, that means roughly 15 years of contributions on at least the basic level of earnings.
2. Insurance points equal to at least 30% of the years in your qualifying period. That period normally runs from 5 October 1964, or from the start of the year you turned 16 if that was later, until just before you claim.

Both paid and credited basic insurance count towards the points.

Can you retire early at 63?

Yes, if you meet the 780-week condition and your weekly average of insurable earnings is at least 70% of the basic insurable earnings. The catch is the reduction: a pension claimed at 63 is cut by 12%, and the cut stays for life. It was introduced in 2012, and in June 2025 the Labour Ministry said there were no plans to remove it.

Reform on the way (as of October 2026). The government's pension reform bill proposes reducing the early-retirement cut from 12% to about 7.5%, keeping the pension age at 65 with the option to work until 67, not raising contributions, giving pensioners on up to €600 a month at least €30 more, and for the first time crediting time spent raising children or caring for relatives. The target start date is 1 January 2027, but on 15 October 2026 the bill was still with the social partners and had not reached parliament. Do not plan around the new figures until the law is passed.

How much do you pay in social insurance contributions in 2026?

Contributions are a percentage of your insurable earnings, up to a ceiling. These are the 2026 rates:

The maximum insurable earnings from 1 January 2026 are €68,904 a year, €5,742 a month or €1,325 a week. You pay nothing on salary above that, and it does not count towards your pension either.

If you are new to Cyprus, you first need a social insurance number; our guide to getting a social insurance number covers the form and the office. If you work for yourself, read registering as self-employed, because self-employed contributions are based on a minimum level for your occupation unless you show higher actual earnings. GESY healthcare contributions are separate and do not build a pension.

Some people can also pay voluntary contributions, for example if they work abroad for a Cypriot employer. The rates differ from the standard ones, so ask your District Social Insurance Office before you leave.

What if you do not have enough contributions? The social pension

If you reach 65 without qualifying for an old-age pension, or your pension is very small, you may be entitled to the social pension. It is not based on contributions but on long residence: the UK government's Cyprus guidance describes the condition as living in Cyprus for 20 years since age 40, or 35 years since age 18.

From January 2026 the social pension was €429.15 a month, up from €415.13. It is means-tested against other pensions: if you already get a pension higher than the social pension, it is not paid, and if your pension is lower, the difference can be made up. Most expats who arrive in their fifties or later will not meet the residence condition, so do not count on it when you plan your budget.

How does the EU add up pensions from different countries?

Inside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, social security is coordinated under EU Regulation 883/2004. Three rules matter for your Cyprus pension:

• Periods are added together. If you worked eight years in Germany and ten in Cyprus, Cyprus counts your German years to decide whether you have reached its 15-year minimum.
• Each country pays its own share. Cyprus calculates a theoretical pension as if your whole career had been in Cyprus, then pays the part that matches your Cyprus years. You get whichever is higher of that and any pension you would get on your Cyprus record alone.
• Short periods are not lost. Periods of less than a year in one country are picked up by the countries where you worked longer.

You claim through the pension body of the country where you live, or where you last worked, and it passes your claim to the others. Each country then sends you a decision, and the P1 form summarises all the decisions so you can check them together. Your Europe advises asking for information at least six months before you plan to retire, because multi-country claims take time.

What about UK nationals after Brexit?

Two agreements now protect British workers:

• The Withdrawal Agreement covers UK nationals who were living in Cyprus by 31 December 2020. For them, the EU coordination rules above continue to apply: UK and Cyprus periods are added together, and the UK State Pension keeps rising each year while they live here. See our guide to UK citizens' rights after Brexit.
• The UK–EU protocol on social security coordination, part of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, covers people who moved after 2020. Old-age pensions are still aggregated, so UK National Insurance years and Cyprus contributions both count towards each country's minimum, and each country pays its own share.

Your UK State Pension is claimed from the UK, not from Cyprus. From abroad, you send form IPCBR1NSP (if you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016) with the payment form IPC1394 to the International Pension Centre. If you worked in Cyprus, your Cyprus claim goes through the SIS here, which contacts the UK about your record. Retirees moving from the UK will find more in our step-by-step guide for British retirees.

Which other countries have pension agreements with Cyprus?

Outside Europe, Cyprus has bilateral social security agreements that work in a similar way. Two of the most used by expats are:

The SIS publishes guides to its other bilateral agreements on its website; check there if you have worked outside the EU in another country.

How do you apply for the Cyprus old-age pension?

1. Check your record a year or so ahead. Ask the Social Insurance Services for a statement of your insurance account so gaps can be fixed while employers and records are still easy to trace. Since December 2025 the Citizen Service Centres (KEP) also issue them by videoconference, but that remote service is only for Cypriot citizens with a verified CY Login.
2. Gather your documents: passport or ID card, your social insurance number, Cyprus bank account details (IBAN), and details of any insurance in other countries, with their social security numbers.
3. Submit the claim at your District Social Insurance Office, or, if you live in another EU country, through that country's pension body. If you live in Canada, you can start with form CY/CDN 1 there.
4. Wait for the decision. If other countries are involved, each one decides separately; the P1 form brings them together.

Employers and the self-employed use the SISnet online system to pay contributions, and a guide to linking SISnet with CY Login was published in September 2026. It is a payment system, though, not a place to file a pension claim.

Can you get your Cyprus pension paid abroad?

Yes. The old-age pension is payable abroad. If you live in another EU country, it is normally paid into a bank account there. If you move outside the EU, you may need a bank account in Cyprus; ask the SIS how payments will work in your new country before you go.

Moving abroad does not stop the Cyprus pension, but it can change where you pay tax on it and where you get healthcare. Inside Cyprus, a Social Insurance pension is taxed on the normal income tax scale (the first €22,000 is tax-free from 2026). We cover that, the 5% option for foreign pensions and the GESY contribution in detail in our retirement, pensions and tax guide.

What to do next

• If you are working, check that your employer is paying contributions on your full salary, and ask for an insurance account statement at least once every few years.
• If you have worked in other countries, list them with dates and social security numbers now; this speeds up any EU, UK or bilateral claim.
• About a year before 65, contact your District Social Insurance Office, or the pension body where you live, about your claim.
• If you are thinking of retiring at 63, wait for the outcome of the 2026–27 reform before you decide, because the early-retirement cut may change.
• For your UK State Pension, get a forecast from GOV.UK and use the International Pension Centre forms when the time comes.