In 2025, 73,200 Norwegians began drawing retirement pensions, marking the highest number of new retirees in a single year since 2014, figures from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (Nav) have revealed.

The majority of this growth came from 62-year-olds, as 17,500 people in this age group began drawing retirement pensions in 2025, a growth of 15 per cent since 2024.

Nav department director, Ole Christian Lien, explained that the increase is due to the contractual pension (AFP) reform in the public sector.

“From January 2025, the rules for AFP in the public sector were changed, so that public AFP can now be combined both with withdrawal of retirement pension and with full-time employment,” he explained.

According to analysis from NAV, the reform has led to an increased number of public sector employees now drawing retirement pensions from the age of 62, while more people than before have continued to work beyond the age of 62.

Overall, 1,084,600 people were receiving old-age pensions at the end of December 2025, an increase of 2 per cent from the previous year.

The figures also showed an increase in purchasing power for the oldest pensioners, with old-age pensioners receiving an average of 3.4 per cent more in pension payments in 2025 than in 2024.

This figure was higher than the inflation rate, which was 3.1 per cent, but the largest growth in purchasing power was experienced by women and those aged 80 or older.

Among female pensioners, nearly one in five was considered a minimum pensioner in December 2025, and 43 per cent of those 85 years and older were minimum pensioners.

The number was much lower for men, as in total, 4 per cent of male pensioners were considered minimum pensioners.

And even for those aged 85 and older, where the proportion of male minimum pensioners was the largest, only 8 per cent were minimum pensioners.

Commenting, Lien said: “The fact that it was women and the oldest pensioners in particular who experienced the greatest growth in purchasing power is related to the fact that the Storting increased the minimum pension for single people by NOK 6,000 a year in addition to the ordinary adjustment.”

Additionally, female pensioners had a 4 per cent increase in pension payments compared to last year, with the growth being particularly strong for those aged 80 or older.

In contrast, male pensioners received 2.9 per cent more in paid pension, and only men over 80 years of age had an increase in paid pension that was stronger than inflation.

Nav’s analysis highlighted that the purchasing power for men under the age of 80 was weakened in 2025, as they received an average of 2.2 per cent more in pension than in 2024.

“Men clearly are more likely than women to choose to draw their old-age pension from the age of 62, even if they continue to work. Many men can achieve a higher pension by waiting to draw it until they stop working,” Lien said.

---