When a person is no longer contributing to the compulsory pension scheme, they have the option of voluntary pension insurance affiliation with the Social Security Centre (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale - CCSS). The purpose of this voluntary insurance is to maintain the person's pension insurance record and therefore their entitlement to old age, disability and survivor's pension insurance benefits.
There are different types of voluntary pension insurance:
- continued insurance, the aim of which is to continue the insurance of persons who no longer have a professional activity in order to maintain their entitlement to pension insurance benefits (old age, disability and survivor's pensions).
- optional insurance, which enables insured persons who have given up their professional activity for family reasons and no longer meet the conditions for admission to continued insurance to maintain their entitlement to pension insurance benefits (old age, disability and survivor's pensions).
- complementary insurance, which enables persons insured with a compulsory pension scheme to increase their contributions to top up their pension insurance, or to make up any months missing in their pension insurance record due to having worked an incomplete month or reduced working hours.
Persons concerned
Any person who wishes to continue or top up their pension insurance.
How to proceed
Prerequisites
To be admitted to the continued insurance scheme, the person concerned must:
- be 18 or over;
- have contributed to the compulsory insurance scheme for at least 12 months in the 3 years preceding the end of compulsory insurance;
Periods considered as 'compulsory' are, for example: professional activity whether salaried or self-employed, periods receiving unemployment benefit, the so-called 'Baby-Years' (see the CNAP website for more information).
- make their application within 6 months of losing their compulsory insurance.
If the application is not made within this 6-month period, it will automatically be converted into an application for optional voluntary pension insurance.
To be admitted to the optional insurance scheme, the person concerned must:
- be 18 or over;
- have contributed to the compulsory insurance scheme for at least 12 months.
Periods considered as 'compulsory' or equivalent are, for example: professional activity whether salaried or self-employed, periods receiving unemployment benefit, the so-called 'Baby-Years' (see the CNAP website for more information).
- obtain a favourable opinion from the Social Security Medical Board (CMSS) (Contrôle médical de la sécurité sociale - CMSS);
- have reduced or ceased their professional activity for family reasons. At the time of applying the following are taken into account: periods of marriage or civil partnership, periods spent bringing up minors, periods spent providing care or assistance to a person recognised as dependent;
- be 65 or under;
- not be entitled to a personal pension.
Useful information
After receiving an application for affiliation with the optional voluntary pension insurance scheme, the CCSS sends the person concerned a complementary form which the applicant must take to the doctor of their choice. The doctor fills in the form and returns it to the CCSS, which will then pass on the application to the CMSS for its opinion.
To be admitted to the complementary insurance scheme, the person concerned must meet the conditions of admission for continued pension insurance.
Applying for voluntary pension insurance affiliation
A person who wishes to continue or top up their pension insurance record must send the 'Application for continued/complementary/optional pension insurance' form to the CCSS.
The application for admission to the continued or complementary pension insurance scheme must be made within 6 months of losing affiliation or reducing professional activity.
On the form, the applicant must specify:
- the type of insurance (continued, complementary or optional);
- the start date of the insurance;
- the contribution base.
Further information can be found in the 'Start of insurance' and 'Amount of the contributions' sections below.
At the end of the form, the applicant can also specify whether they wish to pay the contributions by direct debit.
After receiving the application, the CCSS checks whether the conditions of admission are met and informs the applicant of the decision.
Useful information
If the last period of an applicant's pension insurance is outside the Grand Duchy and they have paid pension insurance contributions for at least 12 months in different countries, but including at least one month in Luxembourg, the applicant must specify the last foreign pension insurance scheme they paid into and enclose a certificate of affiliation issued by the foreign social security organisation (form E205 or form P1) with their application.
Start date of voluntary pension insurance
In the case of continued or complementary insurance, the person concerned may ask it to take effect either:
- on the first day of the month following the month when the application is made;
- on the first day of the month following the month when affiliation was lost or the professional activity reduced (at the most 6 months before the application);
- on the first day of the month following the end of periods spent bringing up children in Luxembourg recognised as so-called 'Baby-Years' (www.cnap.lu).
Optional insurance takes effect on the first day of the month following the month when the application is made.
Contributions for voluntary pension insurance
The contribution rate for voluntary pension insurance is 16 %.
The monthly contribution base is situated between the minimum wage and the 'individual ceiling'.
The individual ceiling is determined by calculating the average of the 5 best years of contributions in the insured's pension insurance record, as long as this does not exceed the annual contribution assessment ceiling.
At the insured's request, the contribution base can be reduced to a third of the minimum wage (EUR 901,25) for a period limited to 60 months out of the total record period. When the 60-month limit is reached, the CCSS informs the insured by post that the contribution base is about to be raised to the minimum wage (SSM). If the insured does not wish to contribute at the higher rate, they can ask to terminate their voluntary pension insurance.
Comparative table of current contributions:
| Contribution base chosen | Amount of the monthly contribution (rate = 16 %) |
|---|---|
1/3 SSM (EUR 901,25) (limited to 60 months out of the total record period) |
EUR 144,20 |
| SSM (EUR 2.703,74) | EUR 432,60 |
| 2 x SSM (EUR 5.407,47) | EUR 865,20* |
| 5 x SSM (EUR 13.518,68) | EUR 2.162,99 |
| Individual ceiling | see definition above |
* If the individual ceiling is lower than twice the minimum wage (2 x SSM), the insured can ask for their contribution base to be raised to 2 x SSM.
Details of contributions for voluntary supplementary pension insurance
Contribution base
The insured person chooses the contribution base for complementary insurance, while respecting the minimum (minimum social wage) and the maximum threshold (the individual ceiling). This contribution base also applies to following years. If the income from the professional activity changes, an adjustment will be made automatically and will be recorded on the monthly invoice.
Contributions
The contributions for complementary insurance take into account the pension contributions already paid in the context of a professional activity.
Example of an insured person who reduces his/her professional activity from full-time (100%) to part-time (75%):
Former salary (100% working time) : EUR 4,000
New salary (75% of working time) : EUR 3,000
In order to maintain a monthly contribution base of EUR 4,000, the voluntary contribution base must be EUR 4,000 (corresponding to the former full-time salary) and not EUR 1,000 (which corresponds to the difference between the former and the new salary).
Regularisation
Regularisations are made every month and recorded on the monthly invoice.
Example :
A person who receives a monthly salary of EUR 3,000 and who chooses to make voluntary contributions based on EUR 4,000 per month, will contribute the difference between the two amounts, which in this case is equivalent to EUR 1,000.
Monthly voluntary contributions: EUR 1.000 x 16% = EUR 160
Paying voluntary pension insurance contributions
Every month, the CCSS sends the insured an account statement that serves as an invoice.
The contributions must be paid by the person concerned or their appointed authorised representative.
Forms
Demande d'admission à l'assurance pension volontaire
Antrag zur freiwilligen Rentenversicherung