StraksGuides
Retiring in the Netherlands, explained
Plain-English guides to the AOW, your pension fund, Box 3 and lijfrente, with the 2026 figures and where they come from.
Early retirement · Start hereRetiring early in the Netherlands: the years before your AOWStop before your AOW and pension start, and your savings pay for everything for a while. How long that lasts decides most of how much you need saved.Read the guide
Early retirementHow much do you need to retire in the Netherlands?How much you need in savings and investments to stop working, from your budget, AOW, pensions and the years before they start, with a worked example.
Early retirementHow to estimate your spending in retirementTurn what you spend now into a budget once retired: what to leave out, what changes when you stop working, and what Nibud's figures show.
Early retirementDoes the 4% rule work in the Netherlands?How much of your savings you can take out each year in the Netherlands: 3% to 4%, with Box 3 on top, about 2% a year in 2026.
Early retirementRetiring as a couple: two AOWs, two pensions, one planWhen can you both stop working? Two AOW ages, two pensions and the bridge to the last of them, with a worked example for a couple of 36 and 34.
PensionHow pensions work in the NetherlandsThe AOW, your pension through work and a lijfrente: what each pays, who pays in, and how they add up, with a worked example.
PensionAOW: how the Dutch state pension worksYou build up 2% of a full AOW for each year you live in the Netherlands. Where to find your own figure on Mijn SVB.
Tax and savingsDutch income tax: Box 1, 2 and 3Which income goes in Box 1, 2 and 3, the rates and tax credits, and where your pension, lijfrente and home fall. With a worked example.
Tax and savingsTax after AOW age: why the same pension is taxed lessWhy your pension is taxed less from your AOW age: the brackets, the ouderenkorting and where it phases out, with a worked example.
Tax and savingsHypotheekrenteaftrek: how your mortgage and home are taxedHow the mortgage interest deduction and the eigenwoningforfait work, the 30-year limit, and what changes once you retire. With a worked example.
Tax and savingsBox 3 in 2026: how your savings and investments are taxedIn 2026 Box 3 takes 36% of a return the tax office assumes, not of what you earned. With a worked example for a couple.
Tax and savingsThe Box 3 reform: what changes for you from 2028From 2028 the government wants to tax the gain on shares and funds when you sell. Where the law stands in October 2026, and what it means for you.
PensionLijfrente: how a Dutch private pension worksA pension you arrange yourself: tax back on what you put in, no Box 3 while it grows, the lock-in, and when it pays out.
Tax and savingsJaarruimte 2026: how much you can put into a lijfrenteHow your Jaarruimte is worked out each year, up to €35,589 for 2026, where to find yours, catching up on earlier years, and the 30% ruling.
PensionIs a lijfrente worth it compared with investing in Box 3?Where a lijfrente's gain comes from, when investing the same money in Box 3 does better, and a worked example for a made-up couple.
PensionEmployer pension: how the Dutch workplace pension worksWho pays into a pension through work, how it builds up, where to find yours, and what it pays if you stop working early.
FamilyWhat does a child cost in Amsterdam?€11,000 a year per child is our estimate. Daycare dominates the early years.
Moving countriesMissing AOW years: what they cost, and buying them backA full AOW takes 50 years in the Netherlands; each missing year is 2% less. What that costs you, and when buying the years back from the SVB pays off.
Moving countriesYour Dutch pension when you leave the NetherlandsWhat stays yours when you move, what changes, and what to decide before you go.
How the Straks calculator worksWhat the calculator works out, the assumptions behind it, and one made-up household worked out step by step.
PensionGlossary: Dutch retirement terms in plain EnglishAOW, Jaarruimte, lijfrente, Box 3, UPO, factor A and other Dutch pension and tax terms, each in one or two sentences.