In this handy guide, we tackle how to get your Germany pension refund for expatriates who have lived and worked in the country
Wherever you are in the world right now – if you are reading this article, you most certainly have some kind of connection to Germany.
Have you been to Germany already? Are you planning on moving there soon? What are the pictures that come to your mind when thinking of Germany? Bretzel, Bratwurst, Oktoberfest? Punctuality, outspokenness, timbered houses?
Some of those pictures will be personal and hopefully joyful and others quite unique. One that most of us will have in common is the feared ongoing, paper-loaded German… bureaucracy!
If you’ve already lived in Germany, you know how complicated and time-consuming it can be and how overwhelming and frustrating it can be to tackle complex bureaucratic tasks in a foreign language. If you’re an expatriate moving to Germany – it‘s always good to be prepared.
Dealing with paperwork in Germany
This is where we step in: Germany Pension Refund offers help in dealing with the vast and complex German security system by taking care of the dreaded paperwork for you!
Germany Pension Refund have over 15 years of experience in the field and specialise in helping expats with their pension refund from Germany. To give you an idea what to expect, let’s have a look at the basics of the German pension scheme.
What is the German Pension Scheme?
f you are employed and working in Germany, you will need to pay 9.3% of your gross salary into the German pension scheme which is part of the country’s social security system.
Those contributions are used to finance the current pension payments of the retired population. Once you reach , your pension payments will be financed by the contributions of the younger, working generation.
The amount that you are contributing to the German pension scheme is automatically deducted from your salary which is why many people neither are aware what institution they are contributing to, nor are they aware of the height of their contribution.
If you stay in Germany until retirement age, you will receive a monthly pension. But what happens if an expat leaves Germany before reaching retirement age? Let’s have a closer look.
Am I eligible for a pension refund from Germany?
Given that you have contributed to the German pension scheme during your time in Germany, you have a great chance of being eligible for a refund of those contributions if you meet all of the three following requirements:
1. You are a non-EU citizen.
2. You live outside of the EU.
3. 24 months have passed since your last pension contribution.
Good to know: Only contributions paid by yourself can be refunded and no interest is applied. If pension contributions were made on your behalf, for example while you received unemployment insurance benefits, those contributions cannot be refunded.
If you have already received any benefits from the pension insurance, only contributions made after receiving those benefits can be refunded.
Contrary to the monthly instalments that you would receive after reaching retirement age, the pension refund will be a lump sum payment.
Specific requirements for your eligibility based on your citizenship
Due to social security agreements between Germany and the following countries, some additional rules might apply depending on your citizenship.
USA, India, Australia, Canada, Albania, Moldova, The Philippines, South Korea, Brazil, Uruguay
If you are a citizen of one of the countries above, you qualify for a refund if you have contributed to the pension scheme for less than 60 months. Once you contribute for 60 months or more, you don’t qualify for a refund anymore, regardless of your age or your country of residence. If you don’t qualify for a refund of your contributions, you can apply for a German pension once you have reached retirement age.
Japan
If you originate from Japan and have moved back there, you also qualify for a pension refund, if your pension balance holds less than 60 months of contributions. If you contributed for 5 years and above, you can apply for a German retirement pension once you reach retirement age.
However, if you live abroad (outside of Japan) this limit does not apply. As a Japanese citizen living outside of Japan, you are eligible for a refund of your contributions regardless of the number of months of contribution.
Israel
Israeli citizens only qualify for a German pension refund if they live outside Israel. It does not matter how many months they have made contributions to the pension scheme in Germany.
How much will I gain out of it?
Let’s have a look at some simple number examples:
If you have contributed 20 months with a gross salary of 2,000 Euros, your estimated refund will be 3,750 Euro.
If you have contributed 42 months with a gross salary of 2,000 Euros, your estimated refund will be 7,874 Euro.
If you have contributed 30 months with a gross salary of 6,000 Euros, your estimated refund will be 16,740 Euro.
If you have contributed 10 months with a of 6,000 Euros, your estimated refund will be 5,580 Euros.
Being unaware of the financial potential of a pension refund, a lot of expats leave this money behind when leaving Germany.
Good to know: Choosing Germany Pension Refund’s service is financially risk free. Their success-based service fee only applies once your refund has been granted. No refund – no fees, no risk for clients!
Get in touch below to begin calculating your refund, no strings attached.
BIO:
Germany Pension Refund
Germany Pension Refund has been operating since 2007, offering people from all over the world a quick, easy and secure pension refund. Collaborating with the required legal experts, Germany Pension Refund takes care of the whole refund process for you, keeping you informed at all times. Their success-based service fee only applies once your refund has been granted. No refund – no fees, no risk for clients. Visit the official website to see what to expect and how other clients experienced working with them, and start your today!
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