Last checked against the official sources: 29 August 2026
Search the German pension statute for the word “nationality” among the conditions for an old-age pension and you will not find it. The text says “insured persons”, not Germans. The condition is insurance, not a passport — and five years is enough. But three things do change if you leave Germany, and one of them can erase your entire entitlement with a single signature.
What applies and what changes
- A nationality condition
- There is none. Sections 35, 36 and 38 address “insured persons” with no nationality qualification.
- The minimum
- Five years of the general waiting period — Section 50.
- Temporarily abroad
- Section 110: benefits are paid as though you were resident in Germany.
- Ordinarily resident abroad
- Still paid, but under special rules in the following provisions.
- Agreements override all of it
- Section 110(3): these rules apply only insofar as supranational or inter-state law does not provide otherwise.
- Refund of contributions
- Possible on conditions — but it dissolves the insurance relationship and extinguishes every earlier claim. Section 210.
Five years is enough — the rest is arithmetic
The general waiting period in Section 50 is five years, and it conditions the standard old-age pension, the reduced-earning-capacity pension and the survivors’ pension. The text mentions neither nationality nor length of residence nor type of residence permit — only insurance.
In practice this means someone who worked in Germany for five insured years, then returned home and worked there for the rest of their life, still has a German old-age pension payable on reaching their standard age. The amount is naturally small — five years at average earnings yields five points — but it is an existing right, not a favour, and it does not lapse merely because years have passed.
The common mistake here runs both ways: some assume their right dies when they leave Germany and so never claim it; others assume the years worked at home are automatically added to the German calculation. The truth sits between the two: the German right rests on the German periods, while periods in your own country may be taken into account for fulfilling the waiting period where an agreement exists between the two states or your country is in the European Union.
If you leave: temporary against ordinary residence
Section 110 draws the distinction in precise terms:
Temporarily abroad — benefits for that period are paid as they are to beneficiaries ordinarily resident in Germany. Travelling for a visit, for treatment or for a long holiday changes nothing about your pension.
Ordinarily resident abroad — still paid, but “insofar as the following provisions on benefits to beneficiaries abroad do not provide otherwise”. Among those is Section 113, which sets out how personal points are determined for beneficiaries abroad, building them on the points for contribution periods in the federal territory together with the listed supplements.
Then comes the third paragraph of Section 110, the most important line for any migrant: these provisions apply only insofar as supranational or inter-state law does not provide otherwise. European Union regulations and bilateral social-security agreements therefore override these restrictions.
That reverses the order of your questions. Before asking “what happens to my pension if I go home?”, ask “is there a social-security agreement between Germany and my country?” — because the first answer depends entirely on the second.
Refunding contributions: the clause that erases everything
Section 210 allows contributions to be refunded on application, in cases including: insured persons not subject to compulsory insurance and without the right to insure voluntarily; those who have reached their standard age threshold without fulfilling the general waiting period; and widows, widowers and orphans where no survivors’ pension arises because the period was not met.
The timing condition is explicit: nothing is refunded until twenty-four calendar months have elapsed since leaving compulsory insurance, and provided compulsory insurance has not since begun again.
What is actually refunded is less than most people imagine: contributions are refunded in the amount you yourself bore — your share alone, not the employer’s. Contributions from self-employment and voluntary contributions are refunded at half. Supplementary-insurance contributions are refunded in full.
Then comes paragraph 6, which deserves reading twice: the application may not be limited to particular periods or to parts of the contributions; the refund dissolves the existing insurance relationship; and no claims remain from the pension-relevant periods completed up to the refund.
You recover roughly half of what was paid in your name in exchange for the complete erasure of your years — including everything they could later have been added to had you ever returned to Germany. The decision cannot be undone.
What to do now
- Check whether you have five insured yearsThat is the general waiting period and your gate to a German old-age pension, however small the amount and whatever your nationality.
- Ask about the agreement before you ask about your pensionA social-security agreement, or your country’s EU membership, changes all the rules, because inter-state law takes precedence over the provisions on payment abroad.
- Distinguish a temporary trip from a permanent moveA temporary stay abroad is treated exactly like residence in Germany; the change begins when your ordinary residence moves.
- Do not sign a refund application before reading paragraph 6The refund dissolves the insurance relationship and extinguishes every claim from your earlier periods, and it cannot be limited to part of them.
- Calculate what you would actually get back, not what was paid in your nameOnly what you yourself bore is refunded; the employer’s share is not, and voluntary contributions come back at half.
- Have your insurance record clarified before leaving GermanyCorrecting periods from abroad is far slower, and the documents you need are with you now.
⚠️ A refund cannot be undone: Section 210(6) provides that the insurance relationship is dissolved by the refund and that claims from the periods completed up to then no longer exist. Nor may the application be limited to part of the periods. Weigh that before weighing the sum.
Official sources
Section 50 SGB VI — waiting periods · Section 110 — beneficiaries abroad · Section 113 — personal points abroad · Section 210 — refund of contributions · Section 35 — standard old-age pension
Please note: this page is general guidance, not legal advice. Every decision follows an individual assessment of your case, and the amounts are set by regulations that change annually — read your own decision letter and consult a social advice centre or a lawyer specialising in social law before acting.
Frequently asked questions
Are foreigners entitled to a German pension?
Yes. The old-age pension provisions impose no nationality condition; they address “insured persons”. The condition is fulfilling the general waiting period of five years.
I worked five years in Germany and then left — do I have a pension?
In principle yes, payable on reaching your standard age threshold. The amount follows your points, and five years at average earnings yields five points.
Is the pension paid outside Germany?
A temporary stay abroad is treated like residence in Germany under Section 110. Ordinary residence abroad falls under special provisions — which do not apply insofar as supranational or inter-state law provides otherwise.
Do my years of work at home count?
They are not added automatically to the German calculation, but they may be taken into account for fulfilling the waiting period where an agreement exists between the two states or your country is in the European Union.
Can I get my contributions refunded?
In cases listed in Section 210, including reaching the age threshold without fulfilling the waiting period. Nothing is refunded until twenty-four months have passed since leaving compulsory insurance.
How much would I actually get back?
Only what you yourself bore — your share, not the employer’s. Contributions from self-employment and voluntary contributions come back at half, and supplementary-insurance contributions in full.
What happens to my rights after a refund?
The insurance relationship is dissolved and no claims remain from the periods completed up to the refund, and the application may not be limited to some periods or some contributions.