The legal retirement age in Luxembourg is 65, corresponding to a full rate of 40 years of pension contributions or, in other words, 480 months. However, you can retire earlier, provided you fulfil certain conditions.
You can retire before the age of 60 if you have paid in the required 40 years' worth of pension contributions. Alternatively, you can retire before the age of 65 years if you fulfil the above contribution or you have made complementary contributions, which can refer to the years you spent working, but also includes studies and the years spent at home raising a child/children.
According to the National Pension Insurance Fund (CNAP) website, the minimum pension amount for someone who paid in over 40 years would be the gross sum of €1,841.51 per month.
While this is a very widespread rumour, it is actually completely false. All employees in Luxembourg have the right to the pension scheme provided they've worked in Luxembourg for one year and a total of ten years throughout European Union member states. The latter point also applies to countries including Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway, as Luxembourg has signed bilateral agreements with these countries.
According to legal expert Julien Dauer of the Frontaliers Grand Est association, the false information is one that many believe, which in turn means that cross-border workers turn down opportunities abroad.
Yes. As with salaries, pensions are indexed based on the cost of living/inflation and automatically raised by 2.5% if the government triggers an indexation.
This issue is one that remains a worry for many residents and cross-border workers, but you can be assured that European legislation protects cross-border workers, according to Dauer. If you've worked a few years in Belgium, then in France, and finally in Luxembourg, you will not lose those years.
However, you should research the conditions of retiring in each country (such as legal age, the required years of contribution) and the pension amount each worker has the right to.
The relevant procedures have been simplified and you request retirement in your country of residence. The pension fund then takes charge of searching for information amongst different institutions.
For further information, consult the CNAP's brochure (in French). Cross-border workers can find more information on the website of the Frontaliers Grand Est association.
