You’re over 60 and five more years on the job sounds impossible? Are you unable to cope due to poor health or just want your well-deserved rest? One option is to apply for early retirement. In this article, we look at when you’re eligible to retire and how early retirement works and how it’s paid.
The conditions for retirement are determined by years of service before retirement and reaching a specified age, which varies according to the year of birth.
By years of pensionable service we mean the minimum period of payment of social insurance. During your studies, the state pays social security for you (but only the time between 18 and 24 counts towards your pension), after which your employer pays it for you or you pay it yourself as a business.
Tip: Social security is a levy that almost all working people have to pay. However, many people do not know why they pay social security and how much is actually deducted from their wages or salary. In our next article, we’ll give you the answers to who has to pay social security, where and how much.
The minimum period of payment of social insurance also includes the so-called substitute period of insurance, e.g. the aforementioned studies, parental leave, etc. The minimum period increases with time. Its length therefore depends on when you reach retirement age. It is determined as follows:
| Reaching retirement age | Minimum period of payment of social insurance |
|---|---|
| before 2010 | 25 years |
| in 2010 | 26 years |
| in 2011 | 27 years |
| in 2012 | 28 years |
| in 2013 | 29 years |
| in 2014 | 30 years |
| in 2015 | 31 years |
| in 2016 | 32 years |
| in 2017 | 33 years |
| in 2018 | 34 years |
| after 2018 | 35 years |
In the case of a man born before 1936, the retirement age was set at 60. In the case of a woman born before 1936, it still depended on how many children she had raised:
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In this case, your retirement age is based on your year and month of birth. Again, the retirement age differs between men and women and on the basis of children brought up. To find out exactly how the retirement age is determined, see the table on the Czech Social Security Administration website.
If you were born after 1971, your retirement age is set at 65. It does not matter whether you are male or female or how many children you have raised. The maximum retirement age is therefore 65. This does not mean that it will not increase in the future.
Tip: Is it worth continuing to work after you have retired? And what’s the deal with retiree employment? Does the method of employment or the employment contract change the moment you retire? And what about early retirement? Find out in our article on retirement and employment of seniors.
Early retirement is when a person retires before the standard retirement age. This depends on everyone’s date of birth, but is currently set at a maximum of 65 (see above). Early retirement is only available to those who meet the conditions set out in the Pensions Act. These conditions include:
From October this year, the rules on the minimum period of payment of social insurance for early retirement will be tightened. This will now be set at 40 years.
However, in the case of early retirement, a substantial reduction in the pension paid must be taken into account. This reduction applies throughout your retirement, not just for the duration of your early retirement. You should therefore think carefully about this step.
How much your pension will be reduced depends on when you take early retirement. Specifically, the pension is reduced as follows:
| Early retirement: | The pension is reduced by a percentage of: | You will lose the following amount per month: |
|---|---|---|
| 90 days | 1,5 % | 144 crowns |
| by 180 days | 3 % | 288 crowns |
| by 360 days | 6 % | 576 crowns |
| by 720 days | 12 % | 1 344 crowns |
| by 1 080 days | 24 % | 2 304 crowns |
If you would like to avoid a pension cut but still want to retire early, there is a solution in the form of an early pension without payout. In this case, you apply for an early pension but not for a payout. You will therefore become a pensioner, but you can continue to work without restrictions. The conditions for calculating the pension will also be fixed and the amount of the pension will then be determined when it is paid out.
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The conditions are the same as for an early retirement pension with payout – attainment of a certain age and a minimum period of social insurance payments. The advantage is that the period of early retirement without payout counts towards your total period of social security payments. This is because the total period of social insurance is only added when you request the release of your pension payment.
You must apply for an early pension in person at the district social security office of your place of residence. Only in exceptional cases can you apply by letter, which you can send by post or electronically. However, even in this case you will have to apply in person within six months. A paper application is only used to preserve the date of entitlement to the pension.
You will need proof of identity, i.e. an identity card or passport. You will also need to provide documents confirming your period of insurance that are not in the CSSA’s records (e.g. proof of children being brought up, proof of studies, proof of compensatory periods, etc.) If you want to have your pension payment sent to your or your spouse’s account, you will also need a certificate from your bank.
Tip: Changing your pension payout is not a problem in the future. How to do it will help you with a guide from the Czech Social Security Agency.
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