The Czech Social Security Administration (hereinafter “CSSA”) has issued a report on the modification of the conditions for early retirement from 1 October 2024. The information shows that at least 40 years of pensionable service will now be required for this type of retirement.

To meet this condition, it should be added that not only gainful activity is included in the period, but also substitute periods of pension insurance, i.e:

• childcare for children under 4 years of age,
• basic military service,
• care for a person dependent on the help of another person at least in level II.,
• the period of study after primary school, whether at secondary school, high school or university,
• registration at the Labour Office of the Czech Republic will also be counted to a certain extent.

The other eligibility conditions for early retirement remain the same: it is still possible to leave no earlier than 3 years before reaching retirement age, the calculation will be permanently reduced by 1.5% for every 90 days of early retirement (the reduction is permanent) and the early retirement pension is not indexed until the date of reaching the retirement age for the ordinary retirement pension.

Be careful about the insured person’s gainful employment when taking early retirement. In the old-age pension, only a limited possibility of gainful employment is assumed, therefore only such earnings are possible that do not trigger participation in the pension insurance (e.g. at maximum an agreement to perform work with income up to CZK 10,000 per month or small-scale employment with a relevant income below CZK 4,000 per month). For self-employed persons, income after deduction of expenses must not exceed the statutory limit, which in 2024 is CZK 8,794 for each month of self-employment.

Finally, in its report, the ČSSZ states that the conditions for entitlement to a regular old-age pension will not change from 1 October 2024 and will remain the same – in addition to reaching the retirement age, at least 35 years of insurance are required.