Retiring in Estonia: Residence, Pension Taxation, the S1 Form and Cost of Living

Citizens of the European Union stay in Estonia for up to three months with a valid travel document or identity card, without registering their residence (politsei.ee, France Diplomatie, the French foreign ministry). Beyond that, they register their residence in the population register, after obtaining a personal identification code in person from the local authority; an Estonian identity card is then applied for within the month following registration. Your Europe sums up the conditions for a retiree: full health insurance and sufficient income to live without financial assistance.

• Document issued: the temporary right of residence is valid for five years and is extended automatically in five-year periods as long as the residence stays registered; it is revoked if registration ends (politsei.ee).
• Amount of resources: the official pages consulted set no figure; the administration assesses each situation, and a pension statement eases the file.
• Permanent residence: after five years of legal, uninterrupted residence, the right of permanent residence is acquired automatically; an absence of more than two consecutive years can cause it to be lost (europa.eu).
• Documents: identity document or passport, personal code and a lease signed by the owner to register the address (eesti.ee).

The page on living in Estonia details the documents and registration with the consular register.

The convention between France and Estonia, signed in Paris on 28 October 1997 and in force since 1 May 2001 (BOFiP), allocates the right to tax each category of income. A consolidated version, which incorporates amendments arising from other conventions, is published on impots.gouv.fr.

• Private pensions and social security pensions (Article 18): subject to paragraph 2 of Article 19, pensions and similar remuneration paid to a resident of a State in respect of past employment are taxable only in that State. For a retiree resident in Estonia, these pensions therefore fall to Estonia; the French administration indicates that, where a convention contains no specific clause on social security pensions, the right to tax in principle goes to the State of residence (BOFiP). The return to be filed should be confirmed with the French and Estonian administrations.
• Public pensions (Article 19, paragraph 2): pensions paid by a State or authority for services rendered to that State are taxable only in that State, unless the beneficiary is a resident and national of the other State without holding the nationality of the first. A former French civil servant remains in principle taxed in France.
• Estonian scale: income tax is 22%, with a basic allowance revised every year, higher at retirement age than for others (Estonian tax authority); the rules for applying it to a foreign pension should be checked with that authority.
• French levies: with tax residence outside France, the health contribution of 3.2% (basic pension) and 4.2% (supplementary pension) applies to general scheme pensions, and 7.1% to those of the self-employed; with tax residence in France, the CSG, CRDS and CASA apply (CLEISS).

The guide on receiving your pension abroad details the payment of pensions outside France. Individual advice lets you check the returns to be filed in each country.

A retiree who receives only a French pension, settles permanently or for more than six months a year in Estonia and does not work there requests the S1 from their pension fund (the CNAV, the national old-age insurance fund, for the general scheme; the public finance directorate for foreign residents for State pensioners), preferably before leaving (CLEISS). They hand two copies to Tervisekassa with their registration application; the fund checks that they live in Estonia and have no other Estonian insurance, then registers them and informs them in writing (Tervisekassa). They then receive care on an equal footing with Estonian retirees, and the issuing State reimburses Estonia.

• No local contribution: CLEISS indicates that no contribution to the local scheme is withheld, as the French pension already bears levies.
• Care in France: the holder stays covered in France and can be treated there for any reason, under French rules (CLEISS).
• Care pathway: family doctor, GP free at the surgery, patient share of up to €5 for a specialist, €2.50 per day of hospitalisation, medicines reimbursed from 50% to 100%, 90% for over-63s (CLEISS); see the Estonian healthcare system and the page on healthcare reimbursement.
• Dental: up to €85 per year for people aged 63 and over, and dentures up to €260 per three years (CLEISS).

To complement this with first-euro cover or wider access to private providers, Expavy helps you compare the options; see also the page on retirement insurance abroad.

The minimum wage is set per month and revised every year (Estonian tax authority), which shows the level of local incomes. The Estonian national pension, funded by taxation, guarantees a modest amount, revalued regularly, which shows the level of local pensions without setting a budget for a French retiree.

• Housing: rents and prices vary between Tallinn, Tartu and small towns; the Estonian statistics office publishes the reference statistics. A lease signed by the owner is used to register the address.
• Health: the patient’s share remains modest, but dentistry, optical care and long-term care may leave an out-of-pocket cost; the guide on budgeting for health abroad helps put a figure on it.
• Currency: the euro, with no exchange-rate risk for a pension paid in euros.
• Heating: the winters justify a heating and insulation budget, to be asked about with the landlord.

Tallinn concentrates health services, the French embassy and international connections; it is the densest city in the country. Tartu appeals with its university setting and its hospital, Pärnu with its coast, provided you accept a quiet low season.

The choice depends on proximity to a hospital, a family doctor and transport: France Diplomatie flags precautions in Tallinn (pickpockets, night-time scams), tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease for stays in forests, and the need for insurance covering repatriation. A trial stay of a full season, winter included, before signing a long lease limits unpleasant surprises; learning Estonian eases social life.

Periods completed in France and Estonia are added together to open entitlement: the guide on quarters worked abroad explains the aggregation. According to CLEISS, the statutory age is 65, then linked to life expectancy, with an increase limited to 3 months per year.

• Minimum period: 15 years of contributions for the contributory pension (CLEISS).
• Early retirement: possible with a reduction, from 5.2% for one year early with 20 years of contributions to 22.6% for five years early with 40 years of contributions (CLEISS).
• Deferral: the pension is increased by 5.7% for one year of deferral, up to 35.6% for five years (CLEISS).
• Application: in the six months before the statutory age or within the three months after (CLEISS).

• Request the S1 from your pension fund, for yourself and for each family member concerned, and notify the French funds of the change of address and payment account.
• Obtain the personal identification code from the local authority, then register your residence before the end of the third month.
• Hand two copies of the S1 to Tervisekassa, then choose a family doctor.
• Apply for the Estonian identity card within the month following registration of the address.
• Register on the register of French nationals living abroad with the embassy in Tallinn.
• Declare the social security pension under the tax convention, after checking which State taxes it.

In the event of a return to France, the insured person contacts the last health insurance fund they came under: the page on returning to France details the steps.