This year, the pension update process began in May. Most working pensioners will receive increased pensions in June, and all updated pensions must be paid out no later than the end of July.
The size of the pension depends on the person’s length of service acquired throughout their life, accumulated pension accounting units, the current basic pension amount, and the value of the accounting unit. When assigning a disability pension, the determined level of participation is also important – the greater the lost participation, the higher the pension a person receives.
The pension of a working person is recalculated individually each year – according to how many contributions the person paid in the previous year.
For example, if a recipient of an old-age pension worked for the entire year 2025 for a salary equal to the minimum monthly wage – 1,038 euros before taxes, upon updating the pension, they acquire 0.49 pension accounting units and one year of pension social insurance length of service. For a person who has been granted an old-age pension with the required length of service, the pension would increase by an average of about 14 euros, and for those without the required length of service – by about 4 euros.
If a recipient of an old-age pension worked for the entire year 2025 for a salary equal to the average wage – 2,108.88 euros before taxes, they acquire 1 pension accounting unit and one year of pension social insurance length of service. In this case, for a person with the required length of service, the pension would increase by an average of about 18 euros after the update, and for those without the required length of service – by about 8 euros.
Additionally acquired length of service and pension accounting units increase the pension not only in the current year. They will also be evaluated in the future, thus affecting both the pension amount and its subsequent indexation.
How is the underpayment paid out?
Updated pensions are paid together with the underpayment accumulated since January. This means that a person receives not only the new pension amount but also the difference for the months when the pension was still paid at the old amount.
For example, if the pension increases by 14 euros after the update, and the new pension amount starts to be paid in June, along with the June pension, the person will also receive the underpayment for January, February, March, April, and May. In this case, in June, they will be paid a pension that is 14 euros higher and an underpayment of 70 euros for the five previous months. In total, in June, the person will receive 84 euros more than usual. In July and subsequent months, they will consistently receive a pension that is 14 euros higher.
Pension recipients do not need to submit any applications for pension updates. In Lithuania, data for working pension recipients is updated automatically, and each person’s pension is recalculated individually.
When will the updated pension and underpayment be paid out?
Since a large number of pensions are updated annually, updated pensions may start to be paid at different times. Some recipients will receive the updated pension already in June, others in July. In all cases, the underpayment accumulated since the beginning of the year will also be paid out.
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Example:
Pension before update: 745 Eur
Pension after update: 759 Eur (+14 Eur)
If the updated pension starts to be paid in June, the person also receives the underpayment for the period from January to May.
Underpayment for January–May:
5 months × 14 Eur = 70 Eur
Paid in June: 759 Eur + 70 Eur = 829 Eur
From July: 759 Eur each month
Some pensions may not increase
For some recipients of old-age and disability pensions who worked last year, pensions after the update may not increase or may increase less than the average.
This may happen due to the pension non-reduction rule applied in 2018. At that time, when recalculating old-age pensions, some recipients whose pensions would have decreased after recalculation were left with the previous, higher pension amount. If, even after a new update, the calculated pension is still lower than the currently paid one, the person continues to receive the previous pension amount.
Disability pensions increase due to the update only if the accounting units calculated based on the recipient’s 2025 pension social insurance contributions exceed the accounting units that were already evaluated when calculating the disability pension for those years.
What is the difference between pension indexation and pension update?
Pension recipients can observe two different changes in pension amounts annually – indexation and updating.
Indexation applies to all pension recipients, regardless of whether the person works. This is a general increase in pensions related to changes in the wage fund and economic indicators. When pensions are indexed, the basic pension amount and the value of the pension accounting unit increase.
Pension updating applies only to those pension recipients who worked and paid pension social insurance contributions in the previous year. In this case, the pension is recalculated individually – according to the additionally acquired length of service and accumulated accounting units.
For self-employed pension recipients, pensions are updated after they declare their income to the State Tax Inspectorate and pay social insurance contributions to “Sodra”. Self-employed pension recipients are not obliged to pay social insurance contributions, but by not paying them, they do not acquire more length of service and pension accounting units.
