Remboursement des cotisations retraite après avoir quitté l'Allemagne

Frequently Asked Questions

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Who can get a refund?​

 

You must meet all three conditions: (1) you do not hold German, EU/EEA, Swiss or UK citizenship; (2) you live outside the EU and the UK — living in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland is fine; (3) at least 24 full calendar months have passed since your last mandatory pension insurance in Germany, the EU, the UK, Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia or Serbia — new mandatory insurance in any of these countries restarts the 24 months. Our waiting-period calculator finds the exact date your waiting period ends, and our country pages cover citizenship-specific details.

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How much is the service fee?

 

Our service is success-based with no upfront payment and no minimum fee. The fee is 9.75% of your refund, capped at €2,500 including VAT — even for very large refunds. It covers the agreed managed administrative scope, including our partner law firm's support within that scope, escrow processing, and English explanations of ordinary German correspondence and the refund decision. Certified translations and separate objection, appeal or court representation are not included automatically. You only pay after your refund has been successfully received.

 

Can I apply for my pension refund myself, for free?

 

Yes. Applying to Deutsche Rentenversicherung is free, and you can do it yourself at any time — we say so openly. What clients pay us for is everything around the application: preparing the legal forms and certified documents, receiving and answering Deutsche Rentenversicherung's letters — which come by post, in German — following up from abroad, and a secure payout through our partner law firm's escrow account, with a fee that is only due after your refund has arrived. If you'd rather apply yourself, our guide walks through the full process. 
 

Will my refund arrive faster with your service?

 

Deutsche Rentenversicherung's processing time is its own — nobody can shortcut the authority, and we won't pretend otherwise. What eleven years of cases do change: your application arrives complete, at the DRV office actually responsible for your country, with the documentation officers expect to see — so it doesn't trigger rounds of follow-up letters, and each avoided round, sent by post across borders, saves weeks. More than three quarters of our 300 most recent completed refunds reached the client escrow account within three months — 229 of the 300 (76.3%) reached it within 90 days of complete submission. Individual processing times vary. See the full data and methodology →
 

Is the refund taxable?

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In Germany, no — the refund is paid out without German tax deduction; German law exempts pension contribution refunds. Treatment in your country of residence can differ, and we don't provide tax advice — check with a local adviser if in doubt.

 

What documents do I need?

 

Your passport, your German pension number (Versicherungsnummer), and — if you have it — your deregistration certificate (Abmeldung). Missing something? We can help recover your pension number.

 

How is the refund paid?

Into the escrow account operated by our German partner law firm. After the agreed fee is deducted, the remaining balance is transferred to the bank account you nominate. Account-holder checks, international sanctions and banking restrictions can limit where — and in which currency — the money can be sent.
 

What is the average German refund amount?

 

In our latest quarterly calculation, dated 24 August 2026, the average refund was €11,571.66, with a median of €10,327.10. Our retained records include completed refunds from under €200 to over €53,000; the largest recorded refund in the 2026 calculation was €47,000.12. You do not need a German bank account to receive your funds — but the exact amount depends entirely on how much was deducted from your salary during your time working in Germany.
 

The refund is calculated by the German pension office (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) and is based on:

• Your gross income for each year worked in Germany

• The official pension contribution rate for each year

• The annual contribution cap (“Beitragsbemessungsgrenze”) applied during your contribution periods​

 

👉 Example: If you worked in 2025 and earned above the monthly cap of €8,050, your annual pension contribution would be €8,983.80. That year alone would be fully refundable if you're eligible.​

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⚖️ Important: By law, only a full refund of all eligible contribution periods is possible. Partial refunds are not allowed, and no agency — including us — can increase or manipulate the refund amount.
This isn’t like a tax refund: there are no deductions, tricks, or adjustments. If you're eligible, the employee contributions withheld from your salary are refunded in full — directly based on your official records.

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You’ll receive a full official refund statement from the German pension authority before any money is transferred or any fees apply.