Iceland has two tiers of disability – one for people with between 50% and 74% lost
work capacity, and another for people with 75% or greater lost work capacity.
a. To qualify for a disability benefit under the residence-based system (first pillar),
a person must be under age 67 with at least 50% loss of work capacity and have resided
in Iceland for at least 3 years.
b. . To qualify for a disability benefit under the occupational pension system (second
pillar), a worker must be under age 67 with at least 50% loss of work capacity and
have at least 2 years of valid contributions to a pension fund.