Statutory Pension in Germany: Who Pays and What You Get

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The statutory pension insurance (gesetzliche Rentenversicherung) is the first thing your employer signs you up for, before your first payslip. It is run by the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, and you never choose a provider or a plan. To see what it takes from your own salary, run your numbers through the income tax calculator. To see what you could add on top, the private pension guide compares the options, and the broker comparison shows where to open an ETF savings plan.

Who must pay in

Anyone employed for pay or in vocational training is insured from the first day of work. Nationality and residence permit play no role, and neither does how long you plan to stay. A posting works differently: if a foreign employer sends you to Germany for a limited time, you can stay in your home country’s system under EU rules or a social security agreement. People on sick pay or unemployment benefit stay insured, with the paying agency covering the contributions, and so do parents in their child-raising years.

Minijobs. Up to €603 a month, a business employer pays a flat 15% to the pension insurance and you add 3.6% to reach the full rate. In a private household the split is 5% and 13.6%. You can opt out of your share with a written request to your employer. Since 1 July 2026 you can also reverse that decision once, so that your own contributions start again. Opting out leaves more in your pocket today and less in retirement. The minijob guide covers the tax side.

Not in the system. Civil servants (Beamte) have their own pension scheme. Members of a professional pension fund for doctors, lawyers, architects and similar chamber professions can be exempted from the statutory pension when they work as employees. Self-employed people are covered only in certain professions, listed on pensions for the self-employed.

What the contribution costs you

The contribution is a fixed percentage of gross pay, taken directly from your salary. On €4,000 gross a month you pay €372 and your employer pays another €372. Pay above the yearly ceiling is free of contributions, and it also earns no pension. The ceiling is adjusted every year and the rate changes when the pension finances require it, which is why your payslip in January can look slightly different from the one in December.

How your pension is calculated

Every year of contributions turns into pension points (Entgeltpunkte). If you earn exactly the average salary of all insured people, you collect one point. Twice the average gives you two points, half the average half a point. The average for 2026 is provisionally set at €51,944 a year. Because of the ceiling, nobody collects much more than two points a year.

At retirement, your points are multiplied by the pension value of the day. Since 1 July 2026 one point is worth €42.52 a month. Example: you earn €65,000 a year for eight years. That gives you about 1.25 points a year, about 10 points in total, and a pension of about €426 a month at today’s value. The value is reset every 1 July and follows wage growth. Until 2031 the law also keeps the standard pension level at 48% of average earnings.

The five-year minimum

A regular old-age pension needs at least five years of insurance (the general qualifying period). The count runs in calendar months, and a month with only a few days of contributions counts as a full month. Years in another EU country, or in a country with a social security agreement, count toward the five years. If you live in Germany and are short of five years, voluntary contributions can close the gap. Longer periods unlock earlier retirement: 35 years for retiring from 63 with deductions, 45 years for retiring at 65 without them. The dates for your birth year are on retirement age in Germany.

Your insurance number and your statement

The Deutsche Rentenversicherung assigns you an insurance number (Versicherungsnummer) when you first start work, and you keep it for life. Every contribution your employer pays is booked under that number. From age 27 you receive a yearly pension statement (Renteninformation) with what you have earned so far and a projection to retirement age. Check it once after arriving and report missing periods, such as school or university years, so that your record is complete. The earlier you clarify your account (Kontenklärung), the more precise the projection.

More than an old-age pension

The same contributions insure you against reduced earning capacity and protect your spouse and children with survivors’ pensions. For a disability pension you generally need three years of compulsory contributions in the five years before you become unable to work. Rehabilitation, such as a stay in a clinic to get you back to work, is paid from the same insurance.

Bottom line

As an employee you do not have to do anything to be insured. Check your yearly statement and decide how much you want to save privately. If you might leave Germany, learn what happens to your points before you go.

Part of the German pension system. Related: leaving Germany · pension taxes · working in Germany.

Frequently Asked Questions