Retiring in Romania: S1, pension tax and the Romanian pension age

Retirement abroad has an old script: a sunny coast, a golf course, a pension that stretches. Romania does not follow that script. Its attraction for a retiree is more modest and, for many, more interesting: lower property prices outside the capital, a Latin-rooted language that helps French, Spanish and Italian speakers, and an administration that can be handled with preparation. This guide explains the mechanics of retiring in Romania from another European country: your pension, your health cover, your residence and your tax.

What do you need for retiring in Romania?

Three things. First, your pension keeps being paid by the country that owes it, and EU rules let you receive it abroad. Second, you need a right of residence, which for a retiree rests on sufficient resources and health insurance. Third, you need health cover that the Romanian system recognises, which in practice means an S1 form.

The residence rule is explained in residence in Romania for EU citizens. If you stay more than three months, you register with the immigration office (IGI) of your county within three months of entry. For a retiree, the IGI asks for proof of resources at least equal to the Romanian guaranteed minimum income, such as a pension slip issued no more than three months before you entered Romania, your income tax return for the previous year or bank statements, plus proof of health insurance. The registration certificate is valid for five years.

How does the S1 work?

If you do not have a Romanian pension, and your pension gives you a right to healthcare in the country that pays it, ask the health insurer of that country for an S1 form. You then register it with the county health insurance house (CAS) where you live in Romania. From that point, you are treated as an insured Romanian, and the cost is paid by the country that pays your pension: you do not pay the Romanian health contribution on that basis.

Your European Health Insurance Card is not the same thing. It covers temporary stays and is not meant for living in Romania. The complete picture, including the family doctor and the national health card, is in healthcare in Romania for expats.

The order matters: S1 first, then residence, then the county health house, then the tax declaration. Moovy, our AI assistant, can walk you through that sequence for your country of pension and prepare the list of papers for each office. It does not contact your pension fund or the Romanian authorities for you.

How is a foreign pension taxed when retiring in Romania?

This is the part where treaties matter. Romania taxes a pension only above 3,000 lei a month, at 10%. The rule works two ways:

• Romanian pensions are taxed at source: the payer withholds 10% on the part above 3,000 lei a month, after the health contribution where it applies.
• Foreign pensions, when the treaty between Romania and your country lets Romania tax them, are declared by you in the Declarația unică: 10% on the gross pension of the year, minus 3,000 lei per month and any health contribution, according to article 130 of the Fiscal Code. Tax paid in the other country is credited under the treaty.

If the treaty gives the taxing right to your country, your pension may be taxed only there. Which applies depends on the treaty and the type of pension, public or private. Read income tax in Romania for new residents for the filing calendar: the return is due by 25 May of the following year.

What if you also build a Romanian pension?

If you have worked in Romania, you apply to the territorial pension house (casa teritorială de pensii) of your home or residence, with the documents proving your contribution periods. The national public pension house (CNPP) also handles the rights of migrant workers. If you worked in several EU countries, you make one application, to the pension body of the country where you live or of the last country where you worked, and each country pays its share when you reach its pension age.

The Romanian rules, for reference:

• Age: 65 for men; 62 years and 6 months for women on 1 January 2026, rising gradually to 65 in January 2035.
• Contributions: at least 15 years. The full period is 35 years for men and 33 years and 3 months for women in 2026, rising to 35 for women in January 2030.
• Calculation: a points system, with a reference point of 81 lei since January 2026.
• Early retirement: up to 5 years before the standard age with the full contribution period or more, with a reduced amount.
• Private fund: compulsory for people born after 1 July 1971 who contribute to the public system.
• Assimilated periods: validated university studies, military service and parental leave can count, so keep the documents.

What mistakes should retirees avoid?

• Arriving without an S1. The European card is not an insurance for residents.
• Assuming your foreign pension is taxed like a Romanian one. Check the treaty.
• Forgetting that the registration certificate expires. It is valid for five years; renew it in time.
• Overlooking assimilated periods if you worked in Romania.
• Ignoring currency risk. Your pension arrives in euros or sterling and is spent in lei.

What changes for British retirees?

British citizens living in Romania before 31 December 2020 may be covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. Others follow the national immigration rules. For healthcare, the UK government says a UK State Pension holder can request an S1 from NHS Overseas Healthcare Services and register it with the county health insurance house in Romania, after registering as a resident. That page dates from October 2022, so confirm your case with the CNAS. See moving to Romania from the UK.

Is retiring in Romania affordable?

We do not quote a pension that would "go further": no official source gives a single cost-of-living index. Rents and property prices by city are in cost of living in Romania. The IGI's own test is simpler: your resources must be at least equal to the Romanian guaranteed minimum income, plus health insurance.

A retiree with an S1 does not pay the Romanian health contribution on that basis, which removes one cost that a younger person without an employer would face. Taxes are the second variable: Romania taxes pensions only above 3,000 lei a month, but the treaty with your home country may give that country the right to tax your pension instead. The rest of practical life, from a bank account to a telephone contract, depends on your CNP, the personal number printed on your registration certificate.

What is a sensible timeline for retiring in Romania?

1. Several months ahead: ask your pension fund for the S1 and confirm in writing that your pension can be paid abroad.
2. Before you move: check the tax treaty and find out who taxes your pension.
3. First weeks: sign a lease and register your residence at the IGI before the third month ends.
4. Second month: register your S1 with the county health insurance house and choose a family doctor.
5. Within the year: open a bank account, declare the pension if Romania has the right to tax it and file by 25 May of the following year.
6. Before the certificate expires: go back to the IGI to renew it.

Before you decide where to live and how to receive your pension, have your situation confirmed by your pension fund or by a tax adviser who knows both countries. Following the sequence also avoids the classic problem of arriving with the pension but without proof of cover.

Where to go next?

Choose your town first, using best places to live in Romania, then follow the sequence above. Taxes, treaties and pension rules change, so confirm each point with the relevant authority.