• Around 74% of pensioners, or about 49 thousand individuals, were overpaid and must be reimbursed accordingly, as of 1 September. The average number of people who owe is almost ISK 164,000.

• Over 17% of the population, or about 12 thousand people, have a pension. On average, pensioners who have a pension have a pension of over ISK 215,000.

A significant number of pensioners received overpayments in 2022, or 74%, compared to 51% in 2021. The increase in the number of overpayments is mainly due to the impact of high inflation and interest rates, which have had a significant impact on both pension payments and capital income.

Why does the discrepancy exist?

Payments from the Social Insurance Administration are based on pensioners’ income estimates, i.e. what they think they will earn in the coming year. The re-calculations are based on income information from the tax returns for 2022. This comparison reveals whether a pensioner has received payments in accordance with his/her rights, or whether an irregularity causes an individual to receive under- or over-payments during the year.

It is normal that deviations in payments occur during re-calculations, as it can be difficult to estimate earnings ahead of time. It is appropriate to point out that relatively small changes in earnings can cause deviations in payments during re-calculations. Therefore, TR stresses the importance of pensioners updating their earnings plan as soon as possible in the event of changes in earnings.

TR seeks ways to reduce discrepancies

Although pensioners are responsible for the most accurate income reporting, TR staff are constantly looking for ways to reduce the discrepancies that can occur. In this way, better information flow is being made between TR and pension funds as well as with tax authorities. We intend to put even more emphasis on encouraging and informing pensioners about the importance of immediately changing the income plan on My pages. This will help reduce over- or under-payments.

Finally, TR will promote a payment arrangement, such as one payment per year, that is suitable for those pensioners who receive relatively low monthly payments.

Remedies for settlement and recovery of claims

If a pensioner has comments on the result of the re-calculation, you can ask for a reasoning, object to the result or contact the Tax on Tax Change. For further information on the remedies, please see

As a general rule, claims should be repaid in 12 months, but it is especially pointed out that if it proves to be burdensome, you can always contact TR and negotiate payments for a longer period. For further information on collection resources, please contact

Electronic service channels

Pensioners are encouraged to check the letter on the results of the re-billing and settlement on the TR's My pages and to use electronic service channels for queries and other matters. You can also check the letter in the mailbox on island.is. In the coming days, considerable stress can occur on tr.is and on the TR's My pages, which can cause delays in access and we apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause. We ask customers to be patient. We have increased the number of telephone answering services and there is a special selection for the settlement in the telephone service, which is open from 11.00 - 15.00 on weekdays.