Pension in Germany for Expats

Pension in Germany for expats works through three layers: a mandatory statutory pension, an optional company pension, and optional private savings. If you take a job here, the first layer starts with your first payslip, and money leaves your salary whether you plan to stay for two years or twenty. This guide explains what you pay, what you get, what happens if you leave, and how to check your own record. It describes the rules neutrally and does not recommend any product.

Quick answer: how pension in Germany works for expats

The three pillars of the German pension system

For most people the statutory pension is the largest part of retirement income. The other two pillars fill the gap, and how much you need depends on your income, your age and, for expats, on how long you expect to stay.

Statutory pension (Gesetzliche Rentenversicherung)

How much do you pay in 2026?

The general contribution rate is 18.6% of your gross pay in 2026 and has stayed unchanged for nine years in a row. Employer and employee each pay half, so your share is 9.3%. Contributions are only charged on income up to the contribution ceiling (Beitragsbemessungsgrenze) of €8,450 per month, or €101,400 per year. Income above it is free of pension contributions, and it also does not earn extra pension.

The amounts above are calculated from the 9.3% share and rounded to the cent. Your payslip may differ slightly, for example for special payments. For a view of the full deduction picture, read our taxes in Germany guide and the salary in Germany guide.

Who is covered?

Most employees are compulsorily insured from their first working day, regardless of nationality and regardless of whether they are on a visa, a Blue Card or a local contract. Self-employed people and civil servants are treated differently, and some groups of self-employed professionals are covered by compulsory rules or by their own professional pension schemes. If you work for yourself, see our start a business guide and check your own status with the Deutsche Rentenversicherung or a tax advisor. Your choice between public and private health insurance does not change your pension insurance: both are separate systems. See the health insurance overview for that decision.

How many years do you need?

For a regular old-age pension you must have completed the general waiting period of 5 years (§50 SGB VI). Qualifying months include months with contributions and certain credited periods. Periods in other EU countries, or in countries with which Germany has a social security agreement, can in many cases be added to the German ones to reach the 5 years. Longer waiting periods of 35 and 45 years exist for early retirement options and are mostly irrelevant for people with a short German career.

How is the pension calculated?

Each year you earn pension points (Entgeltpunkte) in proportion to your pay relative to the national average. The pension per month is the sum of your points multiplied by the current pension value (aktueller Rentenwert), which is €42.52 from 1 July 2026. Higher earnings and more years in the system mean more points. This is why a short stay in Germany leads to a small pension, and why checking your record matters (see below).

Standard retirement age by birth year

The standard retirement age (Regelaltersgrenze) is rising in steps from 65 to 67. If you were born in 1964 or later, it is 67.

If you retire earlier under special rules, deductions apply. Check the details with the Deutsche Rentenversicherung before planning around an early exit.

Company pension (bAV) and Entgeltumwandlung

A company pension (betriebliche Altersversorgung, bAV) is a pension funded through your employer. The most common route for employees is Entgeltumwandlung: you agree that part of your gross salary is paid into a pension product instead of reaching your payslip. Because the money is taken before tax and social security, your net pay falls by less than the amount saved.

• Your right: Under §1a of the Betriebsrentengesetz (BetrAVG), you can ask your employer to convert up to 4% of the contribution ceiling of the general pension insurance into a company pension. With the 2026 ceiling of €101,400 that is up to €4,056 per year (calculated).
• Employer top-up: If the employer saves social security contributions through the conversion and uses a pension fund, Pensionskasse or Direktversicherung, it must add 15% of the converted amount.
• Tax: Employer contributions to such schemes are tax-free up to 8% of the contribution ceiling in the general pension insurance (§3 Nr. 63 EStG). In 2026 that is €8,112 per year (calculated).
• Trade-off: Payouts in retirement are generally taxed, and lower salary today can slightly reduce your future statutory pension. Fees and guarantees differ strongly between providers.

Ask your HR department what scheme the company offers, what the employer adds, and what happens to your pot if you leave: vesting (Unverfallbarkeit) rules decide how much you keep. This matters for expats, who tend to change employers or countries.

Private pension: Riester, Rürup and ETF savings plans

For expats, the key question is portability. Subsidised contracts and tax-deductible contracts are tied to German tax residence, and benefits can be lost or reduced if you leave. An ETF account is easier to keep, but it should be set up in line with the tax rules of the country where you will live. The bank account guide explains how to set up the account side, and a tax advisor who speaks English can check how each option works for your case.

Leaving Germany: can you get your contributions back?

If you leave Germany for good, you have two choices: keep your pension claim and collect the pension when you reach retirement age, or, if you qualify, apply for a refund of contributions (Beitragserstattung, §210 SGB VI).

The conditions for a refund

According to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, all of these must be true when you apply:

• You are no longer compulsorily insured.
• You do not have the right to pay voluntary contributions.
• At least 24 calendar months have passed since you left compulsory insurance.

Who is excluded?

What you get and what you lose

• Only the contributions you paid are refunded. For compulsory contributions from employment, that is usually only the employee share, not the employer share.
• A refund ends your insurance relationship. All claims from the earlier periods disappear, including credited periods you did not pay for (for example child-raising or unemployment periods).
• You cannot choose to have only part of your contributions refunded.

Social security agreements

Germany has bilateral social security agreements with a number of countries outside the EU. They are designed to remove disadvantages that come from different systems: foreign insurance periods can help you qualify for a pension, and pension rights you have earned are not lost. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung lists these countries, among others: Albania, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada and Quebec, Chile, India, Israel, Japan, Kosovo, Morocco, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, the Philippines, Serbia, South Korea, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay and the USA. Most of them apply regardless of nationality, with limits in the agreements with Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey.

Inside the EU, European coordination rules do the same job. You can combine German and foreign periods to meet the 5-year minimum, but under one set of rules at a time: for example EU law for German and French periods, or the USA agreement for German and US periods, not all of them together (some agreements, such as Brazil, allow combining all periods). Your nationality and your countries of work decide which rules apply, so write down every country and period you worked in before you contact the Deutsche Rentenversicherung.

Getting your German pension abroad

The German statutory pension is generally paid abroad too, normally to a bank account of your choice. According to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung:

• If you only stay abroad temporarily, nothing changes.
• If you move permanently to an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, your pension in almost all cases stays the same.
• In countries with a social security agreement, the pension usually stays the same as well.
• In countries with no agreement, further restrictions are possible, so get advice before you move.

Once a year the Renten Service of Deutsche Post checks on behalf of the Deutsche Rentenversicherung that you are alive, and a digital life certificate is available as an alternative. Tell the Renten Service of your move at least two months in advance. If you live in an EU, EEA or agreement state, you can usually submit your pension application at the pension insurer of your country of residence, who forwards it.

How to check your Rentenauskunft

Checking your pension record is the easiest way to catch mistakes early, and it takes less than an hour.

1. Wait for your Renteninformation. From the year you turn 27, you receive a Renteninformation every year, by post or electronically (§109 SGB VI). It shows the pension you have earned so far and a projection.
2. Know the switch at 55. After your 55th birthday the Renteninformation is replaced by a Rentenauskunft every three years. You can also request a Rentenauskunft earlier if you have a legitimate interest.
3. Use the online portal. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung customer portal gives access to your insurance account and lets you submit binding applications. You need your insurance number (Versicherungsnummer), which the pension insurer uses to find your account.
4. Check the Versicherungsverlauf. Look at every employment period, including minijobs, parental leave and periods abroad. Missing months can be corrected through a Kontenklärung (account clarification), for which you will need proof such as employment contracts or payslips.
5. Request it for free. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung provides these documents free of charge. Do not pay a third-party site for them.

If you do not read German, a colleague or a professional adviser can help you with the first review. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung also runs a phone service on 0800 1000 4800.

Tax on pensions

Germany taxes pensions at the payout stage (nachgelagerte Besteuerung). For someone who starts receiving a statutory pension in 2026, 84% of the pension is taxable (§22 EStG). The taxable share rises for later retirement years, to 86% for 2030 and 91% for 2040. A tax-free part remains, and the personal tax-free allowance still applies. Whether Germany or your future country of residence taxes your pension depends on the double taxation agreement, which is why a cross-border check with a tax advisor is worth it. See the taxes in Germany guide for the basics.

Pension checklist for expats

When you start working

• Check your payslip for the pension deduction and keep your insurance number safe.
• Ask HR about a company pension, the employer top-up and the vesting rules (see find a job in Germany).

Every year

• Read your Renteninformation and compare it with your payslips.
• Report missing periods and request a Kontenklärung if necessary.

Before you leave Germany

• List all countries you have worked in and ask the Deutsche Rentenversicherung whether periods can be combined.
• Find out whether you are eligible for a refund and whether keeping your claim is worth more.
• Tell the pension insurer your new address and bank details.

FAQ

Sources

Figures checked on 15 October 2026. Always confirm your own case with the Deutsche Rentenversicherung.

• Contribution rate 18.6%, ceiling €8,450/month and €101,400/year: Deutsche Rentenversicherung, changes from 1 January 2026
• Pension value €42.52 from 1 July 2026: Deutsche Rentenversicherung, Werte der Rentenversicherung
• Waiting period of 5 years: §50 SGB VI
• Standard retirement age: §35 SGB VI and §235 SGB VI
• Refund of contributions: §210 SGB VI; Deutsche Rentenversicherung, Beitragserstattung
• Renteninformation and Rentenauskunft: §109 SGB VI; Deutsche Rentenversicherung, Rentenauskunft
• Social security agreements: Deutsche Rentenversicherung, Sozialversicherungsabkommen; combining periods: Deutsche Rentenversicherung, Zeiten im Ausland
• Pension abroad: Deutsche Rentenversicherung, Rente im Ausland
• Company pension: §1a BetrAVG; §3 EStG
• Riester and Rürup: §10a EStG, §84 EStG, §10 EStG
• Savings allowance: §20 EStG; taxable share of pensions: §22 EStG
• Reform of subsidised private pensions: Bundesfinanzministerium, FAQ on the reform