From 6 May 2026, persons have more options for receiving the State Social Insurance Agency's (SSIA) services.
Amendments to the Law on State Social Insurance provide that pensions, benefits, or indemnities granted in Latvia may be transferred not only to a bank account in Latvia or a postal payment system (PPS) account, but also to an account opened in another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom, if such an account permits receiving payments in euro.
This also applies to Revolut electronic money accounts and payment institutions such as Paysera if they provide the IBAN format.
What a pension or indemnity recipient residing in Latvia should know if he/she chooses to receive payments in a foreign account
Pension and insurance indemnity recipients residing in Latvia who choose to receive these SSIA payments into the account of a payment institution in another EU/EEA country, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom will henceforth have their pensions and indemnities paid as if they were persons leaving for permanent residence abroad:
the payments are provided until 31 December of the current year;
to continue receiving payments in the following year, the person must submit an application to the SSIA for the continuation of payments between 1 October and 15 December each year.
The application may be submitted:
electronically, signing the application with a secure electronic signature;
by post or through an authorised person, enclosing a notarised life certificate;
in person at the customer service centre of the SSIA department.
Example: On 14 May 2026, a person residing in Latvia whose old-age pension is paid to the account of a Latvian credit institution submits an application to the SSIA indicating his/her account opened with a UK payment institution for payment of the old-age pension. The SSIA provides payment of the pension to the account specified until 31 December 2026. To continue receiving pension payments from 1 January 2027, the person must submit an application between 1 October and 15 December 2026 to continue receiving pension payments, just like a person residing in the UK. Henceforth, an application for continuation of pension payment must be submitted every year. If the person again indicates an account with a Latvian credit institution for the payment of a pension, an application for continuation of pension payment no longer needs to be submitted annually.
If the recipient of a pension or indemnity leaves Latvia for a permanent residence outside Latvia, the procedure established above remains in effect.
When permanently residing outside Latvia in other EU/EEA countries, Switzerland, or the UK, Latvian pension and insurance indemnities are transferred to a personal account opened with a payment institution in the country where the person resides, to which payments in euro can be credited. A person can also indicate his/her Latvian credit institution or PPS account for receiving a pension or indemnity. A recipient of a Latvian pension or benefit living abroad must continue to submit an application for the continuation of pension payments annually between 1 October and 15 December in accordance with the above procedure, which is established for persons who leave for permanent residence abroad.