Retired on a world trip: your AOW, the AIO supplement and the life certificate

If you go travelling in retirement, one question is the key: does the SVB still see you as a resident of the Netherlands? As long as it does, nothing changes to your AOW. On a temporary trip of less than a year that is usually the case, even if you have to deregister with your municipality. An AIO supplement, though, stops much sooner: after 91 days outside the Netherlands. And once you are no longer a resident, you report changes yourself, the SVB may ask for a life certificate, and your AOW may become lower.

Three things to know in advance:

• Your AOW depends on the SVB's judgement, not on your registration with the municipality.
• With an AIO supplement you may be away for at most 91 days a year.
• Health insurance through the CAK is only possible if you live in an EU country or a treaty country.

Does my AOW stay the same?

Yes, as long as the SVB sees you as a resident. The SVB uses its policy rule SB1027 for this. Away for less than a year, and temporarily: you remain a resident. Longer than a year, but not permanently: for the first year still. Away indefinitely: no longer, from the day you leave. More about that test in on a world trip: stay registered or deregister.

Once you are no longer a resident, the SVB says: "Whether your AOW changes depends on your personal situation and the country where you go to live." The deductions can change as well, so a different amount reaches your account. Have the SVB calculate this before you leave.

When can my AOW become lower?

The SVB writes: "In some countries we pay a lower AOW." The rule is in article 9a of the AOW, and it is short: if you don't live in the Netherlands, you get the AOW amount for a married person. Net, that is 50 percent of the minimum wage, instead of 70 percent for a single person. The law doesn't ask where you do live. Whoever lives nowhere also falls under it as soon as the SVB no longer sees you as a resident of the Netherlands.

There is one exception: you live "in a country" with which the Netherlands has a treaty on this. Those are the countries of the EU and the EEA, Switzerland, the Caribbean part of the Kingdom and the treaty countries on the SVB's list, such as Australia, Canada, the United States, Morocco and Turkey. If you live there, you keep the single rate. If you live nowhere, you can't show that you live in such a country, and under the letter of the law the lower amount stands. The government put it this way in 1998: "The AOW will always be paid at the rate of a married person." No court has ever decided this for someone on a boat or travelling.

For whoever is married or lives with a partner, nothing changes: they already get the married rate. For a single person it makes a difference of more than EUR 500 gross a month in 2026. Voluntary insurance doesn't help here: it counts for your accrual, not for the rate. The amounts are in your Dutch pension abroad.

If you keep your boat in one country, for instance with a fixed berth in Spain or on Curaçao, put that to the SVB: then there is a country where checks can be made. Which country the SVB uses in practice if you have no address is written nowhere. Ask before you leave, in writing, with your travel plan.

What happens to an AIO supplement?

The AIO supplement is the top-up for people with an incomplete AOW. Strict limits apply, according to the SVB:

• You may be outside the Netherlands for at most 91 days (13 weeks) a year.
• If a stay runs over the turn of the year, it may not last longer than 91 days in total.
• If your partner has not yet reached the AOW age, they may be away for at most 28 days.

If you are away longer, the AIO supplement stops. Once you are back, apply for it again straight away. If you are away for more than 91 days in a year, report it to the SVB. Assets outside the Netherlands, such as a house or land, count too. So a year-long trip and an AIO supplement do not go together.