Can I Get My German Pension Contributions Back if I Leave Germany?

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While you were employed in Germany, a percentage of your salary was paid to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung for your retirement. According to the German Social Code (§210 SGB IV) those contributions are refundable after leaving Germany, If you meet the following criteria:

• a. You are not allowed to pay voluntary contributions to grow your retirement benefits.

And:

• b. 24 months have passed since your last contribution in Germany

Or:

• c. You have reached the German age of retirement but do not qualify for benefits

If you are eligible, get your refund now! Check how much you will get back with our free refund calculator.

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How Many Years Do I Have to Work in Germany to Get Retirement Benefits?

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To qualify for benefits, a minimum of 60 monthly contributions is required. The pension authority calls that “general waiting period”.

Times spent with unemployment benefits between jobs, sick leaves, maternity leaves, and contributions in other EU countries can also be counting towards those 60 months.

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How Do I Calculate My German Pension Refund Amount?

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To calculate the amount of money you will get back if you claim a refund – eligibility given – is a simple formula: Your gross salary of every year you worked (up to a maximum equal to the cap) times the percentage in the corresponding year. Add the sums together and you have your German pension refund amount. But before you start looking up caps and percentages, simply use the free calculator that we've build just for you :).

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Who Can Claim My German Pension Refund?

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To prevent fraud and protect your money a reimbursement of your German pension contributions can only be claimed by:

1. yourself,
2. your heirs, or
3. a legal third party.

Legal third parties include:

• Legal representatives
• Guardians
• Custodians

• Authorized representatives

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How Long Does a German Pension Refund Take?

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The Social Court Act (§88 SGG) allows a maximum of 6 months to process. If after 6 months you have not received a decision (Bescheid) from the authority, you have the right to sue them for inaction. The court will then force them to act, and they get fined. Unfortunately, you cannot give German authorities a deadline until when they have to process a claim or face consequences. Yet, they are bound to deadlines.

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How To Speed Up The Process Time To 8 Weeks?

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The German authorities know that most foreigners are shy suing them, and most likely are not aware of the specific laws residing abroad. But we are not. We are right here for you – next to where they keep your German pension refund. We never wait for them. The moment we know which officer is in charge of your German pension refund claim, we keep chasing after them over the phone on a daily basis to speed up your process. And if some document is needed, we will take care of that and send them everything they need right away. This is one of many reasons why we are able to deliver the fastest pension refunds with average process time of 8 weeks and less while others have to wait the full six months or longer.

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Do I Have to Pay Taxes on My German Pension Refund?

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While you were employed in Germany, a percentage of your salary was paid to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung for your retirement. Those contributions were deducted before your income was taxed. A reimbursement therefore is considered a taxable extra income in Germany and the pension office will notify the tax office about the amount.

If your home country has signed the Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA), at some point that information will reach your local tax office.

Whether or not your German Pension Refund is taxable depends on the local tax laws where you live. As an extra income earned abroad it might be tax exempt. To be on the safe side you could consult your local tax office.

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Can I Get a Pension Refund After 5 Years of Contributing?

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Have you been told that after 60 months contributing to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, you cannot get a refund? Well, good you found us, because despite its popularity, this is a misunderstanding and only valid for few selected nationalities.

The German Social Code (§210 SGB IV) defines who is eligible for reimbursement: Here you can find that you are eligible:

If you are not allowed to pay voluntary contributions into the German Pension Scheme after you have left Germany for at least 24 months and now reside outside of the EU, EEA, CH, or UK. Anyone can wait longer or move outside the EU.

But the more important question is whether you are allowed to keep paying into the German Pension Scheme. Most nationalities are not allowed, if you are among them, you can get a refund after having contributed for 5 years or even longer.

So, who are the few selected that cannot get refunds after 5 years?

EU member state nationals and citizens of some of the 20 countries that have signed social security agreements with Germany. Germanypensionrefund.com is specialized on special cases.

Go ahead and check which rules apply for yourself. Do not get discouraged if you find out that your home country is a contracting state.

There is not general rule, agreements differ regarding whether you are allowed to pay voluntary contributions and under which conditions.

For some nationalities it depends where you currently reside, for others it depends for how long have paid contributions (those are the ones that tell everyone that it is impossible to get a refund after 5 years, just because they cannot :))

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Can I “Cancel” My German Pension Before I Reach Retirement Age and Get the Money Out?

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There are a lot of misconceptions: You might have heard that if you have contributed for 60 months or longer, you cannot get a refund. Those statements are only true for a few nationalities.

The German Social Code (§210 SGB IV) defines, who can get a refund: If you are a not allowed to pay* “voluntary contributions”, and if you are not subject to “mandatory (German pension) contributions”, you are eligible for a refund, 24 months after your last contribution was paid.

What does that mean for you?

1. Once you have left Germany you are no longer subject to mandatory contributions.

2. If you have left the EU+ (incl. EEA, CH, UK) and you are not an EU+ citizen, and your home country has not signed a social security agreement with Germany that specifically allows you to pay voluntary contributions, then you are not allowed to pay voluntary contributions. That means you can cancel your pension and get a reimbursement of your contributions.

Please find yourself in one of the below listed groups to see which situation applies to you:

1. You live in the EU+: NO REFUND
2. You are a EU+ citizen: You cannot cancel your pension, no refund
3. You are a contracting state national outside of the EU+: Depends on the agreement with your home country. Please check here.
4. You are a non-contracting state national outside the EU+: YOU CAN CANCEL YOUR PENSION AND GET A REFUND

Please note, that if you are eligible to get a refund, only contributions that were paid by you (out of your gross salary) can be refunded.

Contributions that were paid by your health insurance while you were sick or by your unemployment insurance while you were between jobs, as well as contributions paid by your employer, cannot be refunded.

In case you have already received any benefits related to the pension insurance (sick leaves, maternity leaves, etc.) you can only get a refund of contributions paid after receiving benefits.

For example, you have paid 8000 Euros in contributions and then you took a sick leave and got rehabilitation treatments. After regaining health, you continue to work and pay another 8000 Euros in contributions.

The total amount you paid is 16,000 Euros, yet you can only get a refund of those 8000 Euros paid after you received benefits.

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What Documents Do I Need to Get My German Pension Refund?

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V0901 German pension Claim for Refund, Proof of residence, Currently valid passport, Certificate of Life and Nationality (different types for different countries), Payment Declaration (different types for different countries), Annual Tax Slips, Insurance Record (optional), Deregistration Certificate from Germany etc.

Throughout the process the officer in charge of your case will ask you to provide further documents if they see a reason for that. Some of the documents are internal pension office documents that are prepared individually for your case and that you cannot prepare in advance.

This is the most importent stage, be very carefull adding and sending the right documents to the claim. Pay attension: If you will make a mistake in one of the documents it can cost you a lot of time and a very strong headake.

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Can I Claim My German Pension Contribution Refund Online?

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Yes. Direct Link: Claim My German Pension Refund GermanyPensionRefund.com does not charge any up-front fees, and there is no minimum fee to pay. Our office offers free consultation and evaluation of your case. If you choose us to be your partner in getting your refund, you will be able to lean back and relax until your refund has been deposited into your bank account.

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German pension contribution refund for Non-Contracting State Nationals

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If you reside outside the EU/EEA/CH/UK, and 24 months after your last contribution in Germany have passed, you are eligible for a refund. Despite what you might have heard: It does not matter how long you have paid contributions (more or less than 60 months). You have the right to get a reimbursement of all contributions you paid back in Germany. Current agreements exist between Germany and: ​ Albania, Australia, BosniaHerzegovina, Brazil, Canada/Quebec, Chile, India, Israel, Japan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Philippines, Serbia, South Korea, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, United States of America. If you are eligible, get your refund now! Check how much you will get back with our free refund calculator.

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German pension contribution refund for Contracting State Nationals

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In case that your home country has signed a social security agreements with Germany, it might affect your eligibility for a refund: In general: Every agreement is unique. There is no general rule regarding your eligibility, you will have to look at the specifics of the agreement with your home country. You can Contact us to get specific answers. ​ The agreements define whether you are allowed to pay voluntary contributions to Germany while you are residing outside of the EU/EEA/CH/UK. Some agreements do not allow you to pay voluntary contributions ever. If that is your case, you are eligible for a refund. Other agreements require you not to live in your home country, or not having paid contributions for longer than a certain period. For more information press here

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German pension contribution refund for European Nationals

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European citizens, including citizens of the EEA, CH, and UK citizens that have started to work in Germany before BREXIT, are covered by EU regulations, which require you to be treated equally to German citizens. ​ German citizens are allowed to pay voluntary contributions from anywhere in the world, a German pension refund is only possible if a German has reached the age of retirement but not contributed for 60 months or more (which means they do not qualify for retirement benefits). The only way for you to get a refund of your contributions is holding dual citizenship or taking on a different nationality. If you are eligible, get your refund now! Check how much you will get back with our free Pension Refund Calculator.

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