What income counts for UDI, and how a lifetime annuity qualifies
Written by Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent · CA 4273294Short answer: UDI counts wages, NAV benefits and “other permanent pensions or periodical benefits (insurance payments or similar)” (utlendingsforskriften § 10-8 (1)(c): “pensjon eller andre faste periodiske ytelser”). It does not count “own funds (money in an account).” A lifelong annuity fits the rule; a 5-year or 12-year annuity does not. It has to be the sponsor’s income: the American applicant’s own income counts only if he or she works legally in Norway. So the way to make savings count in 2026 is to turn them into lifetime income in the Norwegian spouse’s name, ideally with payments already flowing before you apply.
Free guide: Moving abroad on a fixed income
Income rules and taxes by country: Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Malta and more, plus how a lifetime annuity fits.
This is the question I get most from families like mine: “We have the money. Why isn’t that enough?” Because UDI’s test is about income, and the regulation lists what income is. Balances, however large, are not on the list. And it is about whose income: the sponsor’s. In my parents’ case that is my mom, the Norwegian spouse, so my American dad’s Social Security and savings do not count toward her test.
The rule text
Utlendingsforskriften § 10-8 (1) lists the income that counts: (a) work income; (b) NAV sickness, parental, disability or old-age benefits; (c) pension or other fixed periodic benefits, except social assistance; (d) student loans and grants; (e) a combination. UDI’s English page renders (c) as “other permanent pensions or periodical benefits (insurance payments or similar).” The income must be likely to continue for at least one year, and UDI may check it during the first year of residence.
Counts / does not count
| Income source | Counts? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| US Social Security | Yes | UDI confirmed in writing to my parents |
| NAV old-age pension | Yes | Can also unlock the lower pensioner rule |
| Private or employer pension paid for life | Yes | “Permanent pensions” |
| Life-only immediate annuity (SPIA) | Fits the rule | “Periodical benefits (insurance payments or similar),” lifelong |
| 5-year or 12-year (period-certain) annuity | No | UDI’s written answer: time-limited annuities do not count |
| Deferred annuity still accumulating (for example a MYGA) | No | It is savings until it pays out |
| Income rider (GLWB) on a deferred annuity | Doubtful | An account value can still be cashed out, so it reads as savings; ask UDI before relying on it |
| Any income in the American applicant’s name | No, unless the applicant works legally in Norway | § 10-8: the requirement is on the sponsor |
| Bank and brokerage balances | No | “Own funds (money in an account)” |
| Interest, dividends, capital gains | Not on the § 10-8 list | Ask UDI before relying on any of it |
| NAV social assistance | No | Never counts |
Single or married: can a couple combine income?
No. Norway’s requirement is one figure, 3.2 G (NOK 436,957 in 2026), or the lower pensioner figure UDI confirmed to my parents (NOK 243,759), and it is the Norwegian sponsor who must meet it. The applicant’s income counts only if the applicant is in lawful work in Norway; a third-party guarantee is not allowed for spouses. When the American spouse holds the Social Security and the savings, the fix is to put lifetime income in the sponsor’s name: a SPIA owned by the sponsor, on the sponsor’s life (or joint and survivor with the sponsor as a payee), priced on the sponsor’s age and sex. If the sponsor is not a US citizen, note that gifts to a non-citizen spouse above $194,000 in 2026 need a Form 709 (generally no tax due, but confirm with a tax adviser).
Which annuity counts, and why a lifetime annuity fits
A life-only single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) is a contract with an insurer: you pay a premium once, and the insurer pays a fixed amount every month for as long as the annuitant lives. There is no account balance to draw down and no end date. That is a periodic benefit in the plainest sense, and it is lifelong, which is the line UDI drew for my parents between annuities that count and ones that do not.
It also solves the Norwegian-bank problem we hit: the products we were offered in Norway had a 12-year minimum term, not lifetime payments. A US SPIA bought before the move is lifetime by design. And because an annuity from an insurer never licensed in Norway is outside Norwegian wealth tax (details), the money you convert stops being taxed as wealth every year.
In the same boat? Let’s run your numbers
See roughly what a lifetime annuity would cost to close your income gap, then get my personal read by email. I can help while you still live in the US.
Estimates use the September 9, 2026 ImmediateAnnuities.com payout survey (life only) and a 15% cushion. Illustrative, not a quote.
Making it count in practice
| Step | Why |
|---|---|
| Buy while you still have a US address | US insurers sell to residents of states where they are licensed; after the move it is hard or impossible |
| Choose life-only (or life with refund), no commutation rider | Lifelong, no cash-out rights; period-certain alone fails |
| Make the sponsor the owner and annuitant | The requirement is the sponsor’s income; confirm the structure with UDI |
| Start payments 3 to 12 months before applying | Bank statements show the deposits are real and flowing |
| Expect US withholding | Since January 1, 2026, a US citizen with a foreign residence address cannot opt out of federal withholding, even with a US bank account (IRC § 3405(e)(13), Treas. Reg. 31.3405(e)-1); it is a prepayment, not extra tax |
| Size with 10 to 25% headroom | G rises every May; USD/NOK moves |
| Ask UDI in writing about the prior-year test | UDI also looks at prior-year income; a newly started annuity has no prior year yet |
The paperwork
- A letter on the insurer’s letterhead stating the monthly amount, that it is paid “for the lifetime of the annuitant,” and the start date.
- The contract’s schedule page showing the payout option.
- Bank statements showing the deposits arriving.
- Social Security and NAV award letters for the rest of the income.
- Check UDI’s document checklist for your application type, including whether translations are needed.
The regulation does not say the income must be paid in kroner or to a Norwegian account. Ask UDI how it converts dollar income, and keep the answer.
The open question, stated plainly
Under the ordinary rule UDI also tests the sponsor’s prior-year income, and UDI told my parents that annuity income should show in the Norwegian tax settlement. A brand-new annuity cannot show there yet. The pensioner rule has no prior-year test, which is one reason it matters so much. If you are under the ordinary rule, buy earlier rather than later and ask UDI in writing how a newly started annuity is treated. Nobody can promise approval; what the annuity does is turn “capital UDI may or may not credit” into “income UDI counts by rule.”
Example: a 62-year-old American couple moving to Norway
If the Norwegian sponsor is 62 and has no counted income, covering the ordinary $3,774 a month bar takes a life-only premium of about $626,000 for a man or $648,000 for a woman (survey average payout at 62: $603 and $582 per $100,000 a month, ImmediateAnnuities.com, September 9, 2026). With $1,500 a month of the sponsor’s own Social Security, it is about $377,000 or $391,000. A joint and survivor annuity pays less per dollar, so get a quote. Illustrative, not a quote; add 10 to 25% headroom.
Does Norway have a wealth tax?
Yes, 1.0% of net wealth above NOK 1.9 million per person in 2026. Savings left in the bank fail the income test and are wealth-taxed; a life annuity from an insurer never licensed in Norway counts as income and is not taxable wealth (Skatte-ABC F-24-2.1).
Tax, in brief: Norway taxes payments from a US insurer at 22% of the gross amount (Skatte-ABC F-24-5.1); the US taxes a US citizen on the part above the exclusion ratio, and under the 1971 treaty Norway is the country that credits the other’s tax (Article 23(2)(b)). See US taxes while living in Norway.
The trade-offs, once: a SPIA is irreversible, payments are level unless you add an inflation rider, and they are paid in dollars. In exchange you get income for life that meets the rule and drops out of the Norwegian wealth tax base.
Married? Make the income outlive either of you. In Norway only the sponsoring spouse’s income counts, so the annuity is owned by and pays the sponsor. A joint and survivor payout then keeps paying the other spouse after the sponsor dies. If a single-life annuity is on one spouse and that spouse dies first, the payments stop, and the surviving spouse may have to show income of their own at the next renewal. A joint and survivor annuity, which keeps paying until the second death, or a separate annuity on each spouse closes that gap. Joint and survivor pays less per dollar than single life, so ask for both quotes and compare.
Frequently asked questions
Free annuity gap analysis for Norway. Tell me your ages, your Social Security or pension, and whether you are single or a couple. I will show how far your income is from the Norway requirement and what a lifetime annuity would cost to fill the gap, in the sponsor’s or main applicant’s name where that matters.
Related reading
- Moving to Norway from the USA: the hub
- UDI income requirement 2026, explained
- Family immigration with a US spouse (pensioner sponsor)
- Norway wealth tax and the US annuity exception
- Underholdskrav familieinnvandring 2026 (norsk)
- FBAR, FATCA and double taxation with a US annuity
- Best SPIA rates 2026
Sources
- UDI: Income requirement in family immigration cases
- Utlendingsforskriften chapter 10 (sections 10-1, 10-8, 10-9, 10-11, 10-12), Lovdata
- UDI: The reference person receives a disability pension or retirement pension
- Skatteetaten, Skatte-ABC F-24 Livrenteforsikring (wealth and income tax)
- Skatteetaten, Skatte-ABC F-24-5.1 (income tax on annuity payments)
- Skatteloven chapter 4 (section 4-2), Lovdata
- Skatteetaten: Wealth tax rates 2026
- IRS: United States and Norway income tax convention (text)
- 26 U.S.C. section 3405 (withholding on pensions and annuities; see also Treas. Reg. 31.3405(e)-1, T.D. 10008)
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments, gifts to a non-citizen spouse)
- ImmediateAnnuities.com annuity rates by age (survey of September 9, 2026)
Goldstein & Co. LLC dba Goldstein Insurance Services · Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent, CA lic. #4273294 · NPN 20602398 · 213-414-2808 · hans@hansgoldstein.com
Education, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules, thresholds and exchange rates change; confirm with the consulate or immigration authority and a local tax adviser before you act, and get answers in writing. Hans Goldstein is a licensed insurance agent (CA 4273294) and can only offer annuities to residents of states where he is licensed. Annuity payments are guaranteed by the issuing insurer’s claims-paying ability, not by any government. Payout figures are illustrations from a published survey, not quotes. Immediate annuities are generally irrevocable.