You qualify to get money back from the pension in Germany, if you meet three criteria: 1. You don't have to pay money into the pension fund anymore. 2. The last time you paid money into it was at least 2 years ago. 3. You can't choose to pay money into it on your own. That means: Two years after the last contribution in Germany you can get your pension money back, if you are a non-EU citizen living in a non-EU country. ​ If you are a citizens of the United States, Australia, India, Canada, Brazil, Albania, Moldova, South Korea, Uruguay, or The Philippines you can only get your pension money back if you contributed for less than 5 years total (otherwise you do not meet criteria 3 anymore).

To speed up the process and avoid any potential complications claim your refund online.

You can withdraw your pension contributions if you are a non-EU citizen when 24 months have passed since your last payment, and you currently live in a non-EU country after leaving Germany.

You can check your eligibility here for free.

You can ask the German pension insurance for your insurance record.

You can do this online https://www.eservice-drv.de/SelfServiceWeb/.

You will need your social insurance number (Sozialversicherungsnummer). The document will be mailed to the address you have registered with the DRV (German Pension Office). If you failed to update your recent address, the letter will be sent to your former address in Germany and returned undeliverable to the pension office. In that case you can upload a copy of your passport and inform them about your current address.

Pension insurance contribution is currently 9.3% of your gross income. When you get a refund, you will get the same amount back that was taken out of your paycheck. Only contributions paid by yourself or received through pension equalization in a divorce ruling can be refunded. Contributions paid on your behalf by third parties (unemployment insurance, credited periods for parenting, employer's share) cannot be refunded.

You can use our free calculator to get a quick estimate.

Pension insurance contribution is currently 9.3% of your gross income. When you get a refund, you will get the same amount back that was taken out of your paycheck. Only contributions paid by yourself or received through pension equalization in a divorce ruling can be refunded. Contributions paid on your behalf by third parties (unemployment insurance, credited periods for parenting, employer's share) cannot be refunded.

You can use our free calculator to get a quick estimate.