If you might not spend your whole career in Germany, there's a second question that matters just as much as "how much will I get?": what happens to my pension rights if I move to another country later? We cover both. 12

The short answer

  • In 2026 the standard total statutory pension contribution rate is 18.6%, generally split equally between employer and employee in ordinary insured employment. 3
  • Pension entitlements are largely calculated using Entgeltpunkte (pension points).
  • Since 1 July 2026 one pension point is worth €42.52 a month (before: €40.79). 8
  • For people born in 1964 or later, the regular retirement age is 67 under the current schedule. 4
  • A regular German old-age pension generally requires a five-year qualifying period, with important cross-border coordination rules. 5
  • German pensions can, subject to the specific rules, be payable abroad. 2

A pension system, not a savings account

Layer 1

Basic provision

Statutory pension (gesetzliche Rente) and the Rürup pension (Basisrente).

Layer 2

Supplementary provision

Workplace pensions (bAV), Riester and, from 2027, the Altersvorsorgedepot.

Layer 3

Private savings

Your own investments, for example an ordinary ETF depot. No special tax treatment, full access.

The three layers commonly used to describe retirement provision in Germany. The layers differ in tax treatment and in how freely you can use the money.

Germany's statutory pension insurance is a compulsory social-insurance system for many employed people. Regular contributions help finance current pension payments while creating entitlement under the statutory calculation formula. It is not the same as a private ETF Depot, company pension (betriebliche Altersversorgung) or private Basisrente.

Your entitlement is based mainly on insured work and credited periods. Your contributions don't earn an investment return the way an ETF would.

Want the nerdy details?The rules, the exact numbers and the edge cases. Open it whenever you're curious.
  • The formula, in one line
  • How do you collect pension points?
  • What you and your employer pay in 2026

The formula, in one line

The Deutsche Rentenversicherung multiplies four factors:

Monthly gross pension = Entgeltpunkte × Zugangsfaktor × Rentenartfaktor × aktueller Rentenwert. 1

  • Entgeltpunkte (EP): earnings points accumulated across relevant years and credited periods.
  • Zugangsfaktor: adjusts for taking a pension early or postponing it.
  • Rentenartfaktor: reflects the pension type; a standard old-age pension typically uses 1.
  • Aktueller Rentenwert: the value of one pension point, adjusted by law over time.

Let's do the maths: 25 pension points

Say a hypothetical person has 25 EP, takes an ordinary old-age pension without age-related reductions, and has a pension-type factor of 1.

25 × 1.0 × 1.0 × €42.52 = €1,063.00 gross per month.

This is an illustration with the 2026 point value, not a forecast of your pension. Deductions, tax rules and future pension-value adjustments are not included. 1

How do you collect pension points?

A year's insured earnings are compared with the defined average earnings for that year. Earning the average generally corresponds to one pension point for a full year's relevant earnings, subject to the system's rules and ceilings. The provisional average annual earnings for 2026 are €51,944. 16

Illustration: If your relevant annual earnings equal the provisional average in 2026, that year corresponds approximately to one EP. Earning roughly half that average, under otherwise applicable rules, corresponds approximately to half a point. Actual calculations account for statutory details and recorded insurance data.

Certain periods involving child-rearing or caring for others may also be recognized or credited. So a month without paid work doesn't always mean zero pension rights. 1

What you and your employer pay in 2026

The general contribution rate is 18.6%. For a standard insured employee, 9.3% is normally the employee share and 9.3% the employer share. In 2026, the maximum monthly earnings base for general pension contributions is €8,450. 36

Illustrative €4,000 gross salary: monthly employee pension contribution = €4,000 × 9.3% = €372. The employer generally contributes its own amount too. That doesn't mean €744 lands in a personal ETF account each month.

When can you retire?

The regular retirement age rises under a birth-year schedule. For 1964-born and younger insured people, the normal retirement age is 67. Other pension types can have earlier ages, waiting periods and sometimes permanent reductions, such as pensions for long-term insured or severely disabled people. 4

"You can retire at 63" doesn't apply to everyone, and often not without deductions. The rules depend on birth year, the relevant qualifying periods and the specific pension type.

The five years you need first

A regular old-age pension generally requires at least five years of qualifying insurance periods (allgemeine Wartezeit). This is not necessarily the same as exactly five calendar years working full time in Germany. Relevant credited periods and international coordination can matter. 5

If you worked abroad in another EU/EEA country, Switzerland or a social-security agreement state, qualifying periods may be coordinated so that an entitlement becomes possible, subject to detailed rules. Each country may calculate and pay its own pension; there is not simply one universal European pension pot. 25

If you leave Germany, do you lose it?

Usually not. Moving abroad doesn't normally erase insurance periods you built up in Germany. A German statutory pension can in many cases be paid to someone residing outside Germany, subject to the specific legal rules, applicable periods and the country involved. 2

Your country of residence can affect administration, taxes, health-insurance treatment and special benefit components. Don't rush to request a contribution refund just because you're leaving. Refund eligibility has strict conditions, and coordination rules may preserve future entitlement. 5

Before you go, it's worth doing this:

  1. Request or save your Versicherungsverlauf (insurance history).
  2. Check that employers and contribution months are recorded correctly.
  3. Keep your Rentenversicherungsnummer and correspondence.
  4. Check pension coordination rules relevant to your destination country.
  5. Later, apply through the relevant pension authority when eligible.

That letter called Renteninformation

The Deutsche Rentenversicherung generally sends an annual Renteninformation to insured people who are at least 27 and have five years of relevant insurance periods. It includes accumulated rights and illustrative future outcomes based on assumptions. 7

A projected gross pension isn't what you'll have to spend. Health and care contributions and tax can come off. The future purchasing power of the pension may also differ substantially because of inflation.

Use the letter for planning. It doesn't guarantee the exact amount shown.

Will it be enough?

There's no answer that fits everyone. It depends on expected pension entitlements, retirement expenses, housing, life expectancy, other pensions and investments, taxes and inflation. International residents may have several pension streams across countries.

To estimate your own gap, take the expected pension from your Renteninformation and enter it in our Retirement Gap Calculator. It does not guess your pension from your age or salary.

Try it with imaginary numbers

Your timeline to 67, and what saving on the side could add

yrs
€

37 years until 67. You'd pay in €0 in today's money. Depending on how markets go, it could grow to:

  • If markets go slowly 2% a year€0
  • Somewhere in the middle 5% a year€0
  • If markets go well 7% a year€0

Three made-up scenarios, not forecasts. Returns are before a 0.2% yearly fund cost and before tax, shown in today's money with 2% inflation. Real markets don't move in a straight line, and they can fall. *The Deutsche Rentenversicherung sends the yearly Renteninformation from age 27 once you have five years of insurance periods. Regular pension age of 67 applies to people born in 1964 or later. Work out your own gap with your Renteninformation

Pension myths worth unlearning

“My employer’s contributions are a personal account balance.” No. The statutory system uses pension entitlements and a legal formula.

“If I leave Germany, I lose everything.” Generally wrong. Pension and coordination rules decide what happens. 2

“Everyone retires at 63 without deductions.” Wrong. Retirement age and pension type matter. 4

“The Renteninformation shows what I'll have to spend.” No. It shows an illustrative gross amount. Taxes, contributions and inflation still matter. 7

Check yourself

What do your pension contributions buy you?

Video lesson · In the makingHow the German state pension works

Official sources

  1. Deutsche Rentenversicherung, pension formula
  2. Deutsche Rentenversicherung, pension rights abroad and coordination
  3. Deutsche Rentenversicherung, pension adjustment 2026 (€40.79 to €42.52)
  4. Deutsche Rentenversicherung, changes for 2026 and pension contribution rate
  5. Deutsche Rentenversicherung, regular retirement age
  6. Deutsche Rentenversicherung, pension entitlement for time working in Germany
  7. Deutsche Rentenversicherung, social-insurance values for 2026 (provisional average earnings €51,944)
  8. Deutsche Rentenversicherung, Renteninformation eligibility and contents

Last checked:

We explain how the German rules work in general. This isn't personal financial, tax or legal advice. Investments can lose value.

Where to go from here

See it with your own numbersRetirement Gap Calculator

Also useful

Workplace pensions (bAV)Rürup pensionThe Altersvorsorgedepot