A pension is a quiet kind of freedom. In Latvia it sits in a funny corner of Europe: a coastline with pine forest and a long, dark winter, where a retired couple can live on a modest income and rent a flat near the sea. Retiring in Latvia is entirely possible with a foreign pension. The questions are health cover, tax and which authority pays what.
Can you retire in Latvia and keep your pension?
Yes. Your pension stays with the country that pays it, and within the EU it is generally paid into an account in your country of residence, according to Your Europe. Inform your pension funds of your new address and account details.
You will also need to register your stay if you stay longer than three months. As a pensioner you prove sufficient resources and health insurance (see residence in Latvia for EU citizens), and you receive your personal code. Keep your pension statements: you will use them for the registration, the bank and the tax return.
How does the S1 work for retiring in Latvia?
Before you leave, ask the health insurer of the country that pays your pension for an S1 form. Then register it with the National Health Service (NVD) in Latvia and sign up with a family doctor; see healthcare in Latvia for expats. Without it you have no right to state-funded care in Latvia, and the EHIC only covers urgent and necessary care during a temporary stay.
Two details: you can only be insured in one country, and if you receive a pension in the country where you live that opens health rights, that country covers you, even if you hold other pensions. In that case your foreign S1 may no longer be needed.
Not sure how your pension and S1 fit together, or what to bring to the NVD and the PMLP? Moovy can sort your case, list the forms and draft the letters to your pension fund and the NVD.
How is a foreign pension taxed in Latvia?
Once you are tax resident (declared residence, or 183 days in 12 months), you declare worldwide income and pensions are in principle taxable in Latvia at 25.5% up to 105,300 euros a year (33% above), after a 12,000 euro annual allowance for pensioners in 2026. The allowance is applied during the year by the body paying the pension, which means the VSAA does it for a Latvian pension but a foreign fund does not. For a foreign pension you claim it in your annual return, which you must file anyway when you have income from abroad.
The allowance applies to a foreign old-age pension once you have reached the Latvian pension age. If your foreign pension is not taxable in Latvia, because the treaty reserves it to the other country, the allowance shrinks to the positive difference between 12,000 euros and that pension (Law On Personal Income Tax, article 12). Latvia has 61 tax conventions in force according to the VID, so check yours. Some public-service pensions are taxed only by the paying state.
Read income tax in Latvia for new residents for the return calendar. If you have a pension from a Latvian employer or the VSAA, the VSAA applies the allowance monthly.
Do you qualify for a Latvian state pension?
Only if you also worked and paid contributions in Latvia, or in other EU countries that count. The Latvian old-age pension needs:
- Age: 65 for women and men since 1 January 2025;
- Insurance: at least 20 years (it was 15 between 2014 and 2024), counting periods in other EU countries.
Early retirement is possible two years before the legal age with at least 30 years of insurance, but the pension is then paid at only 50% until the legal age, and stops if you resume insured work or leave Latvia for good, unless European rules say otherwise. Revaluation takes place each year on 1 October.
The minimum pension in 2026 is based on a 213 euro base: 255.60 euros a month with at least 20 years of insurance, plus 4.26 euros for each additional year. To apply, use the VSAA through latvija.gov.lv, an agency or the body of another country, at the earliest one month before your 65th birthday. A decision comes within 22 working days. If you apply late, retroactivity is limited to six months.
What changes for British pensioners?
The Withdrawal Agreement and the EU-UK trade agreement provide pension coordination and the S1. The VSAA says the Withdrawal Agreement keeps regulation 883/2004 for those covered, and the trade agreement protocol applies from 1 January 2021. To claim a Latvian pension you list all your periods in the EU, the EEA and the UK (form E207), and the claim can go through the UK's International Pension Centre or directly to the VSAA.
Since 6 May 2026 the VSAA can pay a Latvian pension into a euro account in another EU or EEA country, in Switzerland or in the UK, but you must renew the request every year between 1 October and 15 December (not needed with a Latvian bank account). British new arrivals still need a residence permit first; see moving to Latvia from the UK.
What traps should you avoid when retiring in Latvia?
- Leaving without an S1.
- Assuming the 12,000 euro allowance is automatic on a foreign pension.
- Forgetting the treaty. Depending on your country and the type of pension, the other country may tax it.
- Leaving Europe later. If you leave permanently for a country outside the EU, EEA or agreement states, a Latvian pension is recalculated without the state-budget-funded part.
- Mixing up two pensions and the country that must cover your health.
For costs, see cost of living in Latvia.
How do you build a retirement budget in Latvia?
Start from your foreign pension in net terms. Then work out the Latvian tax: 25.5% on the part above the 12,000 euro allowance, unless the treaty gives the right to tax to the other country, in which case the tax paid abroad matters more. Then subtract rent and fixed costs, with a winter heating bill in mind.
Before you commit, ask the body that pays your pension how it will treat a move to Latvia, and have a tax adviser who knows the treaty with your country check where each pension is taxed. Your treaty and the type of pension can change the result.
When should you plan retiring in Latvia around the calendar?
Pensions are revalued in Latvia on 1 October each year. Your annual return runs from 1 March, and a pensioner with foreign income files it anyway. If you plan to receive a Latvian pension paid abroad, remember the renewal window between 1 October and 15 December in the cases described above. Ask the pension funds about their own certificates of life, which many ask for each year.
What if you outlive your savings plan?
Latvia has a minimum pension for people with enough insurance, but do not rely on it for planning. A small buffer, a health insurance policy and a plan for winter heating are more useful, and retiring in Latvia is easier with a local contact who can help with letters in Latvian.
Who can help when you are retiring in Latvia?
Three bodies cover most questions. The VSAA handles Latvian pensions and answers on social insurance, the NVD handles health cover and your S1, and the VID handles tax on your pension. Each has English pages and a telephone line; the NVD lists its free helpline on its website. Keep copies of every form you send, with the date, because pension and health files often involve two countries at once.