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German Pension Refund Eligibility |USA
The information below is for American citizens who previously worked in Germany and contributed to the German pension system.
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German Pension Refund Eligibility for American Citizens
How to get a German Pension Refund online | Germany Pension Refund | All Rights Reserved
As an American Expat, while you were employed in Germany, each month a percentage of your gross salary was paid to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung - the statutory German Pension Insurance - as a pension insurance contribution for your retirement pension.
But what happens to your contributions now, after you have left Germany? Can you get that money back?
The German Social Security Code (§210 SGB VI) regulates the reimbursement of pension contributions from the German Pension Insurance in general, while the Social Security Agreement between Germany and United States of America defines how this law applies to you.
Rule of Thumb For Americans:
As an American you can be reimbursed only if you have worked in Germany for less than 5 years and since your last contribution in Germany 24 months have passed.
Can American Citizens Claim a Refund of their German Pension Contributions?
After leaving Germany you are generally eligible for a German pension refund, if...
a) you are not allowed to keep paying German Pension contributions (voluntary insurance) where you currently live, and...
b) at least 24 months have passed since the last pension contribution payment in Germany.
If you are allowed to pay voluntary insurance (a), is defined by the agreement with your home country.
Office building Rentenversicherung, Berlin | The German statutory pension insurance | All Rights Reserved
Are American Citizens Allowed to Pay Pension Insurance Contributions After Leaving Germany?
The Social Security Agreement* between Germany and USA answers that question:
If you still live in the EU or the United Kingdom, you are allowed to keep paying pension contributions to Germany.
Also, if you have already paid contributions for at least 60 months you are allowed to keep paying German Pension Contributions from anywhere in the world. In that case you cannot get a refund, because you have qualified for old age pension from Germany and as an US citizen you are allowed to pay voluntary contribution (no matter if you make use of it).
In other words:
As an American citizen, you can only get a pension refund if you have not qualified for retirement pension yet, and you live outside of the EU / United Kingdom.
*Agreement between Germany and the USA on Social Security (DE/EN)
Social Security Agreement:
Based on the Social Security Agreement between Germany and USA you are allowed to grow your German pension from anywhere in the world (voluntary insurance) after leaving Germany if you have qualified for old age pension.
As a American Expat in Germany, after 60 monthly contributions you qualify for a retirement pension.
If you have not qualified, but still live in the EU or the United Kingdom, you are allowed to pay towards the 60 months to qualify, too.
If you have not qualified for pension, and you live outside the EU or the United Kingdom, you could be eligible for a pension refund, 24 months after the last contribution was paid.
How Long Does a German Pension Refund for American Citizens Take?
The German pension authority is supposed to provide a decision on your claim within 6 months from submission.
If after 6 months you have not received a decision (Bescheid) from the authorities in Germany, our specialists will take legal action based on the Social Court Act (§88 SGG) and sue the authority for inaction. The court will then force the pension office to act.
How We Speed Up the Refund Process:
GermanyPensionRefund.com is able to provide you with the fastest average process times of 8 weeks while others have to wait six months or longer.
A German law firm escrow account will be provided, which makes your refund process most Easy, Quick, and Secure. The correspondence happens within days, and our legal specialists know exactly how to speed up the process for you.
How Much Can I Claim From My German Pension Insurance?
While you were employed in Germany, 9.3%* was deducted from your gross salary up to the income threshold and transferred to the German Pension Insurance.
As an American citizens you can claim your pension insurance contributions based on the rules explained above.
Use our free reimbursement calculator to get an estimate of your possible premium reimbursement.
Louis Vitti
DEC/19/2024
Highly recommend
The process is straightforward, fast and they are extremely responsive! Would highly recommend.
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Darren Sholes
OCT/29/2024
Responsive, clear, well worth the fee
Excellent service, really happy I used Germany Pension Refund. They were very responsive and clear. Super helpful navigating the German bureaucracy, especially since I'm now living in the USA. Everything was done electronically, and they translated important documents and instructions into English. The bank transfer went smoothly. Well worth the fee they charge!
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Mollyvmc
OCT/22/2024
Incredibly efficient and effective
The team was incredibly efficient and effective in retrieving my pension refund. It was a pleasure to work with them!
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Mike S.
OCT/08/2024
Amazing...highly recommend
Amazing experience and very quick! Highly recommend. Johannes in particular was very helpful and a pleasure to work with!
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Nicholas Gawreluk
SEP/27/2024
Best decision ever!
Working with these guys was the best decision ever! It relieved so much stress and they were amazing at making the process easy. Clear communication and trustworthy. Thank you!
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Chris Gregg
SEP/26/2024
Straight-forward, professional, and easy
After moving back from Germany to the US, German Pension Refund made the process of getting my refund very straight-forward, professional, and easy. I highly recommend their services.
- Chris
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Janice Murphy
SEP/23/2024
Highly recommend
Julia Kim helped me patiently through this process step by step. The time from the submission of the paperwork to getting the refund was least then what I expected. I would Highly recommend anyone to use Germany Pension Refund. Thank you for all your help.
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Ryan Westley
AUG/12/2024
Highly recommend
Julia and team were instrumental in helping recover my Rentenversicherung payments. Highly recommend!
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Hanna Owens
JUN/11/2024
Absolutely excellent..I highly recommend!
Julia with German Pension Refund is absolutely excellent!! She made the process so simple for me, providing clear instructions and translations of all German paperwork, checking in with me on a regular basis and nudging the pension office during the waiting period. It took about 7 months from start to finish for me to receive my refund but at no fault of Julia or the company. The pension offices in Berlin are understaffed and overwhelmed (of course), and she continued to ensure me that all was well and that it would arrive eventually. I highly recommend using German Pension Refund! Thank you Julia!
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Ben Paro
JUN/02/2024
Periodic updates on the
Johannes and Germany Pension Refund made the process of getting me and my wife's pension refunds clear, simple, and easy! I really appreciated the periodic updates on the progress of our paperwork through the system, especially since one of our refunds took an unusually long time at the desk of the pension officer.
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Len Dickter
MAY/18/2024
Delivered on everything they promised
You can absolutely trust this company. They are honest, professional, communicative and delivered on everything they promised. My refund took longer than expected because of the German govt., but they kept in touch with me throughout, and ensured everything was successfully processed in the end. I cannot recommend them enough, especially given how frightening it can be to trust an overseas company with a financial transaction such as this.
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Nicholas Wood
MAY/16/2024
Very good about keeping in touch...I wouldn't hesitate to recommend
Johannes was great to work with and was very good about keeping in touch and providing updates throughout the process. It took longer than expected but that is typical with my experience dealing with German bureaucracy. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Germany Pension Refund.
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