Can You Get Your Pension If You Leave Germany After a Few Years?

Leaving Germany soon? Find out if you can get your pension refunded or claim it later!

3/13/20252 min read

pensione signage near brown concrete building

Many people who come to work in Germany wonder whether they can access their pension if they decide to leave after a few years. It is important to understand how the pension system works and what options you have if you move to another country or back home.

1. How the German State Pension Works

Germany’s state pension system requires workers to contribute for at least five years (60 months) to qualify for retirement benefits. Every month, a portion of your salary is deducted and paid into the pension fund (Deutsche Rentenversicherung), with your employer also making contributions. The total contribution is 18.6% where employee and employer contribute at the rate of 9.3%.

If you leave Germany before completing five years, you may not qualify for pension payments in retirement, but you do have other options to recover your money. Remember for this case only employee personal contribution will be recovered.

2. Can You Get a Refund of Your Pension Contributions?

You can request a refund of your pension contributions if you have permanently left Germany and do not plan to return for work and At least two years have passed since your last pension contribution.

The refund will only include your own contributions (the deductions from your salary). The amount contributed by your employer will not be refunded. You can also use the available tools online to calculate the potential amount that you may receive.

The process takes time and you need to keep all your employment and pension contribution documents to make sure you do not miss any important paper required during the process.

3. What Happens If You Complete Five Years?

If you have contributed for at least five years, you will be eligible for a pension in the future. This means that even if you leave Germany, you can still claim your pension once you reach retirement age (67), and it can be paid to you wherever you live in the world.

4. Can You Transfer Your Pension to Another Country?

Some countries have social security agreements with Germany, allowing you to transfer your pension rights into another country’s system, such as the U.S. or Canada. If the country you are going has no agreement with Germany, meaning your only options are to request a refund or leave your pension until retirement.

5. What Should You Do?

If you are planning to leave Germany: If you have not reached five years, you can apply for a pension refund after two years. If you have completed five years, you can keep your pension rights and claim them at retirement.