You are planning a research stay in Germany and want to find out about pension scheme contributions?

Pension Scheme ("Rentenversicherung") contributions are part of the statutory social security payments. The scheme protects those insured and their families if their employment capacity is endangered or reduced and when it ends due to age or death. It covers medical rehabilitation measures, professional rehabilitation, pensions due to diminished employment capacity, old-age pensions, surviving dependents' pensions. It certainly does not just pay retirement pensions. Its aim is to maintain employment capacity, too.

Contributions to the statutory pension scheme ("Rentenversicherung") are deducted from salaries at source. The employee does not have to worry about them. As a rule, the employer is responsible for paying half of the contribution towards pensions, the employee the other half. The employer registers his employee with the respective health insurance provider ("Krankenversicherung") who then automatically forwards the registration to all the other social security providers.

Fellowships are usually exempt from compulsory social security payments.


Recognition of pension rights:
When examining the prerequisites for entitlement, Member States of the EU or Partners to the Agreement have to recognize periods during which pension rights have been accrued in Germany. Periods during which pension rights have been accrued in countries which do not have a Social Security Agreement   ("Sozialversicherungsabkommen") with Germany may not be added to the German periods in order to fulfil the prerequisites for entitlement. It is definitely worth informing yourself beforehand about the regulations valid in your country.

If you have been employed in different countries in the course of your working life and have paid contributions to the respective social security systems you should make enquiries about your entitlements with the social security providers in the individual countries well in advance.

On principle, it is not foreseen that a single pension, comprising all the periods covered, should be paid by any one country. There are just a few exceptions aimed at avoiding mini-pensions. Your pension scheme contributions will remain valid in every country in which you have been covered and have paid contributions, until you have reached pensionable age according to the laws of the respective country. All social security providers award pensions on the basis of their own national legislation. This could mean that you might receive various different pensions.


Reimbursement of pension contributions:
If you return to a country which does not have a Social Security Agreement you are eligible to have the pension contributions paid in Germany refunded. After a waiting period of 2 years you may apply to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung for reimbursement.


Questions and answers on pension scheme





Further Information:

Supplementary pensions for the public sector
Information about the Pension Institution of the Federal Republic and the Länder (VBL) which is the largest provider of supplementary pensions for the public sector in Germany
Pension Institution of the Federal Republic and the Länder

Living abroad and pensions
Information on living abroad and statutory pension schemes
Deutsche Rentenversicherung

FAQ
Frequently asked questions on the recognition of pension rights
Deutsche Rentenversicherung