Early retirement reduction calculator
Enter your birth year, the age you want to stop and your unreduced pension: the tool shows the reduction, the loss in euros and the age at which waiting would have paid off.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Reduction
7.2 %
start 1 July 2029 at 65 years
| Months before the unreduced start | 24 |
|---|---|
| Pension after reduction | €1,485 |
| Less per month | €115 |
| Less over 20 years | €27,648 |
| Waiting pays off from | age 92 |
Step-by-step calculation
- No reduction from 1 July 2031 (67 years); earliest 1 July 2027 (63 years).
- 24 months × 0.3% = 7.2 % reduction, for life (section 77(2) no. 2a SGB VI).
- Head start from the earlier payments: 24 × €1,485 = €35,635. Monthly difference afterwards: €115.
- Ignores future pension increases and tax, in today’s euros.
Estimate under SGB VI and the Income Tax Act as of October 2026, not advice. Only your pension decision letter is binding. How we calculate
If you start a German old-age pension before its unreduced date, it is cut by 0.3 % for every month you go early (section 77 SGB VI). This reduction (Abschlag) applies for as long as the pension is paid, so it does not stop at the standard retirement age, and it carries over into any widow’s or widower’s pension derived from it. An example from the calculator: a woman born in June 1965 with an unreduced pension of €1,800 can leave at 63 after 35 insured years. That is 48 months early, a 14.4 % reduction and €1,541 instead of €1,800 a month. On paper the later, full pension only catches up with the head start of the earlier payments at age 90; if she kept working for those four years and earned one pension point a year, at 81. The only ways to retire with no reduction are the standard age, 45 insured years or a severe disability.
What the calculator shows
You enter your birth year and month, the age you want to start in years and months, the pension type (35 years or severe disability) and the unreduced pension from your annual statement (Renteninformation). The tool sets the start to the right first of the month, moves it to the earliest possible month if needed and counts the months to the unreduced date. It returns the reduction in percent, the reduced pension, the loss per month and over 20 years, and the age at which the later pension would have caught up. The rate of 0.3 % a month is in section 77(2) SGB VI; the pension types are in section 36 and section 37 SGB VI.
One case, four starting ages
Worked out for a woman born on 15 June 1965 with an unreduced pension of €1,800, allowed to leave at 63 after 35 years. Her unreduced date is 1 July 2032. The last column assumes she keeps working until then and gains one pension point (Entgeltpunkt) a year, roughly what average pay earns; since July 2026 one point is worth €42.52 of monthly pension.
| Start at | First month | Months early | Reduction | Pension | Waiting pays from | with points from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 1 July 2028 | 48 | 14.4 % | €1,541 | age 90 | age 81 |
| 64 | 1 July 2029 | 36 | 10.8 % | €1,606 | age 91 | age 82 |
| 65 | 1 July 2030 | 24 | 7.2 % | €1,670 | age 92 | age 82 |
| 66 | 1 July 2031 | 12 | 3.6 % | €1,735 | age 93 | age 83 |
Two patterns stand out. The shorter the early period, the later waiting pays off, because the head start stays small. And once new points are earned while waiting, the threshold moves forward by years: starting at 63 instead of 67, it is age 90 without further work and 81 with it. With a recognised severe disability the same woman could leave from 1 July 2027; the reduction there is capped at 10.8 % and her pension would be €1,606 (section 236a SGB VI).
Three routes with no reduction
Every standard pension starts uncut. After 45 years the pension for especially long-term insured people is paid in full, for people born in 1965 at 65 (section 38 SGB VI). With a disability rating of 50 or more there is the pension for severely disabled people, unreduced at 65. Without either, the only option is to pay for it through a buy-out payment under section 187a SGB VI. In the other direction, each month after the standard age adds 0.5 %; see retiring later. Moving abroad within the EU does not change any of this (Regulation 883/2004).
Limits
The tool assumes a birthday on the 15th; if you were born on the 1st, your start is a month earlier. It works in today’s euros, without pension increases, tax or health and care contributions, and it does not weigh what the cut means for a later survivor’s pension. Disability pensions follow their own reduction rules. The pension commission recommends reviewing reductions and supplements regularly (BMAS); that is a proposal, and the current rate still applies.