German retirement age calculator
Enter your birth date and insured years: see your regular retirement age, the earliest start, the first age without a deduction, and what each option pays a month.
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Your regular retirement age: 67. The pension starts in May 2033.
Starting at 63 (from May 2029) as “Long-insured, 35 years (with deduction)” costs 14.4% for life: about €1,393 gross a month instead of €1,750 at 67. Waiting until 67 pays more in total only if you live beyond 82 years 7 months.
- Regular pension from
- May 2033
- Earliest start
- 63
- First start without deduction
- 65
- Your start at 63
- €1,393
At 67
May 2029 · −14.4%
May 2031
−14.4% · gross a month
- Pension
- At the regular age
What if… gross pension a month
See the figures
| Pension | Age | First payment | Deduction | Gross a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long-insured, 35 years (with deduction) | 63 | May 2029 | −14.4% | €1,393 |
| Especially long-insured, 45 years | 65 | May 2031 | none | €1,688 |
| Regular old-age pension | 67 | May 2033 | none | €1,750 |
Next step
How the calculator works
Germany has several old-age pensions. Which one you can take, and when, depends on your year of birth and on how many insured years you have. The calculator checks all of them for your dates.
- Regular old-age pension (Regelaltersrente). 67 if you were born in 1964 or later; 66 plus two months for each year from 1959 to 1963. Five insured years are enough.
- Long-insured (35 years). From 63, but 0.3 % less for every month before your regular age, for life. Born 1964 or later, retiring at 63 means 48 months early and 14.4 % less. This is what most people mean by “Rente mit 63”.
- Especially long-insured (45 years). No deduction, but not before 65 if you were born in 1964 or later (63 plus two months per year for 1953 to 1963). You can’t take it earlier with a deduction.
- Severely disabled (GdB 50 or more, 35 years). Full pension at 65, or from 62 with up to 10.8 % deduction.
- Later than the regular age. Each month adds 0.5 % for life (§ 77 SGB VI).
The insured years you enter are counted forward: one more year for each year until the pension starts. That tells the calculator when you reach 35 or 45 years.
The first payment month. Under German law you reach an age at the end of the day before your birthday. The pension is paid from the start of the next month in which all conditions are met (§ 99 SGB VI). So it usually starts in the month after your birthday. If you were born on the 1st, you reach the age on the last day of the previous month, and the pension starts in your birthday month.
The amount. Your annual Renteninformation shows two figures: the pension you have earned so far, and a projection to your regular age if you keep paying in as in the last five years. For an earlier start the calculator moves between the two in proportion to the time, because you pay in for fewer years, and then applies the deduction. After the regular age it adds 0.5 % a month to the projection. Each additional year of contributions adds pension points too; the calculator leaves those out after the regular age.
Example: born April 1966, 43 insured years
Someone born on 15 April 1966 started an apprenticeship at 17 and has 43 insured years today. Their regular retirement age is 67, so the first pension arrives in May 2033. The Renteninformation projects €1,750 gross a month at 67; €1,550 is earned so far.
- At 63 (May 2029), as a long-insured person: 14.4% deduction, about €1,393 a month.
- At 65 (May 2031): they will have 45 years by then, so there’s no deduction. About €1,688 a month, a little less than at 67 only because two years of contributions are missing.
- At 67 (May 2033): the full €1,750.
Is starting at 63 a bad deal? Starting at 63 pays four years earlier. Waiting until 67 pays more in total only if this person lives beyond 82 years 7 months. That’s undiscounted and before tax. Most of the monthly difference is the deduction; the rest comes from the missing contribution years.
Retire at 63, at 65 or at 70?
Rente mit 63 still exists for people with 35 insured years. It’s no longer deduction-free: born 1964 or later, you lose 14.4 % for life. Without a deduction, retiring at 63 was only possible for people born before 1953 with 45 years. For younger cohorts the age rises in steps of two months, to 65 for 1964 and later.
Which years count? For the 35 years, every month on your pension record counts, including credited periods such as child-raising (§ 51 Abs. 3 SGB VI). For the 45 years the rules are narrower (§ 51 SGB VI). Contributions from work and child-raising up to the child’s tenth birthday count. Unemployment benefit counts, except in the last two years before the pension, unless your employer went insolvent or closed. Your DRV record (Versicherungsverlauf) is the place to check.
Retiring later pays 0.5 % more for each month. Born 1964 or later, a start at 70 brings 18 % more for life. Since 1 January 2026, employees who keep working past their regular age can earn up to €2,000 a month tax-free (Aktivrente). This covers employment only, not self-employment or a minijob, and social contributions are still due.
You don’t have to stop work to draw an early old-age pension: since 2023 the law no longer sets an earnings limit for it. You can also take a partial pension of at least 10 % of the full one (§ 42 SGB VI), combining part-time work with a partial pension. The glossary has more on the Flexirente.
What it can’t see
It knows the legal ages and the deduction rules. It does not check your actual insurance record, credited periods or special protection for older cohorts. The amounts are gross, before health and care insurance and income tax. The pension gap calculator works out the net pension and what’s missing.
The bigger question is usually how to pay for the years before the pension. The retirement bridge calculator checks whether your savings cover them. FIRE in Germany explains how pensions, tax and health insurance fit an early exit. Zenarios puts it all in one plan: your pension ages, savings, tax and spending, year by year.
Common questions
What is the retirement age in Germany?
67 for everyone born in 1964 or later. For older cohorts it rises step by step: 66 for 1958, then two months more per year, so 66 and 2 months for 1959 up to 66 and 10 months for 1963 (§ 35 and § 235 SGB VI). You need at least five insured years.
Can I retire at 63 in Germany?
Yes, with 35 insured years, but with a deduction of 0.3 % for every month before your regular age. Born 1964 or later, that is 48 months and 14.4 % for life: a €1,500 pension becomes €1,284. With 45 insured years you can retire without a deduction at 65 (born 1964 or later), but not earlier.
When is the first pension paid?
From the month after the month in which you reach the age, if you apply within three months. Someone born on 1st of a month reaches the age at the end of the previous day, so the pension starts in the birthday month itself. Born 15 April 1966: first pension May 2033. Born 1 April 1966: April 2033.
Is it worth waiting until the regular age?
Counting only the 14.4 % deduction, a pension from 67 overtakes one from 63 in total at about 90 years and 9 months. If retiring early also means fewer contribution years, the gap per month is larger and waiting pays off sooner. The calculator shows the break-even age for your numbers, before tax and without interest.
What if I retire later, at 70?
Each month after your regular age adds 0.5 % for life. Born 1964 or later, starting at 70 instead of 67 means 36 months and 18 % more. Employees who keep working past the regular age can also earn up to €2,000 a month tax-free since 2026 (Aktivrente).
When can severely disabled people retire?
With a recognised disability of at least 50 (GdB) and 35 insured years: without a deduction at 65 and from 62 with a deduction of 0.3 % a month, at most 10.8 %, for those born 1964 or later (§ 37 SGB VI). Older cohorts have lower ages under § 236a.
Sources
- § 35 SGB VI: Regelaltersrente
- § 235 SGB VI: Regelaltersgrenze for cohorts before 1964
- § 36 SGB VI: pension for long-insured people
- § 38 SGB VI: pension for especially long-insured people (45 years)
- § 236b SGB VI: 45-year pension for cohorts before 1964
- § 37 SGB VI: pension for severely disabled people
- § 236a SGB VI: severely disabled, cohorts before 1964
- § 51 SGB VI: which periods count towards 35 and 45 years
- § 77 SGB VI: Zugangsfaktor, deductions and supplements
- § 99 SGB VI: when the pension starts
- § 187 BGB: counting age from the day of birth
- § 42 SGB VI: full or partial pension
- Federal Ministry of Finance: FAQ on the Aktivrente