German pension gap calculator (Rentenlücke)

How the calculator works

The German state pension (gesetzliche Rente, paid by the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, DRV) is a points system. The calculator follows the official formula:

Gross pension = Entgeltpunkte × Zugangsfaktor × aktueller Rentenwert

1. Points (Entgeltpunkte). Each year your gross pay is divided by the average pay of all insured people (€51,944 in 2026). Pay above the contribution ceiling of €101,400 a year earns nothing extra. The calculator adds the points you have so far, either from your own records or estimated from your years of contributions, and the points you will earn at today’s salary until the pension starts.
2. Access factor (Zugangsfaktor). 1.0 at your regular pension age (67 if born 1964 or later), 0.3 % less for each month earlier, 0.5 % more for each month later.
3. Pension value (Rentenwert). One point is worth €42.52 a month since 1 July 2026.
4. From gross to net. As a member of statutory health insurance in retirement (KVdR) you pay half of the 14.6 % general rate and half of the 2.9 % average extra contribution, so 8.75 %, plus 3.6 % care insurance (4.2 % without children). Income tax is charged on the taxable share for your start year, after the €102 allowance for costs, the €36 allowance for other deductions and your health and care contributions, at the 2026 rates, single assessment.
5. Gap, capital, saving. The gap is your target net income minus the net pension and other pensions. The capital is what pays that gap at the start of every month until the age you choose, at the real return (your return minus inflation), using the annuity formula. The monthly saving is the level amount that grows to that capital by the pension start at the same real return.

Today’s money, honestly. Every figure is at today’s wage level. The calculator assumes your salary rises with average wages (so you keep earning the same points a year) and that the pension value rises with wages too. Then the pension it shows is what today’s pension value pays for your points. That equals today’s purchasing power if wages keep pace with prices; if wages rise faster than prices, it buys a little more. If pensions grow more slowly than wages, which the pension formula allows, the real pension will be lower. Your saving is shown in today’s money as well: raise it each year with inflation.

Example: 34 years old, €52,000 a year

Someone aged 34 earning €52,000 gross a year (about average pay) with 12 years of contributions reaches 45.0 points by 67. That is a gross pension of €1,915 a month. Health insurance takes €168, care €69 and income tax €131, because a pension that starts in 2059 is fully taxable. €1,548 is left.

With a target of €2,300 a month the gap is €752. Paying that until 90 needs €151,686 at the start of retirement, at a real return of 2.9%. Saving €229 a month from now gets there.

Retiring at 63 instead changes a lot: four fewer years of points and a 14.4 % deduction for life bring the net pension down to €1,268, and the monthly saving needed rises to €426.

German pension terms in plain English

If you moved to Germany for work, your letters from the DRV use words that matter for this calculator:

• Renteninformation: the yearly statement from the DRV once you are 27. It projects your pension at the regular age, gross, before health insurance and tax.
• Rentenauskunft: the detailed statement, sent every three years from 55 and available earlier on request. It lists your insured periods and explains your Entgeltpunkte; use it for “I know my points”.
• Regelaltersgrenze: your regular pension age, 67 for everyone born in 1964 or later.
• KVdR: health insurance for pensioners. If you were privately insured (PKV), you pay your premium instead, which this calculator does not model.
• bAV (betriebliche Altersversorgung, company pension) and Riester/Rürup (state-subsidised private pensions): enter what they pay after tax under “Other pensions”.

Years insured in other EU countries count towards the minimum insurance periods (Wartezeit), but there is no combined “European pension”: each country pays its own pension for its own years. This calculator only sees the German part.

What it can’t see

It assumes steady pay rising with wages, no career breaks, no part-time years and no child-raising credits beyond what is already in your points. It treats you as single for tax, ignores church tax and the tax on investment returns from your savings, and uses one return for saving and spending. A partner’s pension, survivor’s pensions, property and the years between stopping work and the first pension all change the answer. Zenarios puts these together in one plan, with the same German pension rules, year by year. To check the money you would draw, use the withdrawal calculator; for an early exit, the retirement bridge calculator.

Common questions

How is the German state pension calculated?

Monthly gross pension = pension points (Entgeltpunkte) × access factor (Zugangsfaktor) × pension type factor (1.0 for an old-age pension) × current pension value (aktueller Rentenwert, €42.52 since July 2026). A year at exactly average pay earns one point, so 45 years at average pay give 45 × €42.52 = €1,913.40 gross a month.

How much of my German pension is left after tax and health insurance?

Statutory health insurance takes 8.75 % (half of 14.6 % plus half of the 2.9 % average extra contribution) and care insurance 3.6 % (4.2 % without children). Income tax depends on the year you retire: a €1,913.40 pension starting in 2026 keeps about €1,619 a month if it is your only income; the same pension starting in 2058 or later, when it is fully taxable, keeps about €1,547.

Is my German pension taxed?

Yes, partly. The taxable share depends on the year your pension starts: 84 % for 2026, rising half a point a year to 100 % for pensions starting in 2058 or later. As the only income, a pension starting in 2026 stays free of income tax up to about €1,453 gross a month; one starting in 2058 or later up to about €1,187.

How much does retiring early cost?

Each month before your regular pension age cuts the pension by 0.3 %, for life. Retiring at 63 instead of 67 costs 14.4 %, and you also earn four fewer years of points. Each month you start after the regular age adds 0.5 %. An early start needs 35 insured years; with 45 years you can start at 65 without the deduction (if born 1964 or later).

Why are the results in today's money?

The calculator values your points with today's pension value and assumes your pay and the pension value both rise with average wages until you retire. The pension then buys what it would buy today if wages keep pace with prices. If pensions fall behind wages, it will buy less; the result is a planning estimate, not a promise.

Sources

• Deutsche Rentenversicherung: Wie hoch wird meine Rente?
• Deutsche Rentenversicherung: Rentenanpassung 2026 (pension value €42.52)
• § 77 SGB VI: access factor, deductions and supplements
• § 22 EStG: taxable share of pensions by start year
• § 249a SGB V: health contributions on pensions split in half
• Deutsche Rentenversicherung: Working and studying abroad
• Federal Ministry of Health: care insurance rates

By Constantin Metz, the maker of Zenarios · Reviewed 25 October 2026. Results are estimates from your inputs and simplified rules, not financial, tax or legal advice. How Zenarios calculates