How we calculate

Every legal value sits in one parameter file, read on : Book VI of the Social Code (SGB VI) as last amended on 24 July 2026, the Income Tax Act with the 2026 schedule, SGB IV, SGB V and SGB XI on gesetze-im-internet.de, and the German Pension Insurance values for 1 July 2026. Calculators and pages read only from that file.

Start date

For each birth year the tables in sections 235, 236, 236a and 236b SGB VI apply, and sections 35 to 38 from 1964. Age is reached on the day before the birthday (section 187(2) Civil Code); the pension starts the following month (section 99(1)). The engine counts in months, not calendar dates, so leap years and month ends play no part. You enter the 35 or 45 years yourself; the calculator does not check them against your insurance record.

Reduction and increase

Access factor under section 77: 0.003 less per month before the unreduced start, 0.005 more per month after the standard age. When several pension types are open, the one with the smallest reduction is used. Disability pensions: at most 36 months, reference age 65, and 62 is used if the pension starts earlier.

Pension amount

Monthly pension = pension points × access factor × pension type factor × pension value (section 64), with €42.52 from 1 July 2026. Future points from pay: gross pay up to the contribution ceiling divided by the provisional 2026 average pay of €51,944 (section 70). Projections stay in today’s values.

Net and tax

Health insurance: half of 14.6% plus half of the fund’s extra rate (sections 241, 247, 249a SGB V), default 2.9%. Long-term care: 3.6%, 4.2% without children, paid by the pensioner alone (sections 55, 59 SGB XI); reductions for children under 25 are not included. Tax: the taxable share for the year the pension started (section 22 EStG) or your fixed tax-free amount, minus €102 expenses, €36 special expenses and the health and care contributions, then the 2026 schedule (section 32a) with a basic allowance of €12,348, solidarity surcharge and church tax. For older pensions without a known tax-free amount the tax comes out slightly low, because increases since the start are fully taxable.

Survivors and disability

Widow’s pension: 55% (old rules 60%, small pension 25%) of the deceased’s pension, 100% for three months with no income test. Income is reduced by the flat rates of section 18b(5) SGB IV; 40% of what exceeds €1,122.53 plus 5.6 pension values per orphan is deducted (section 97). Disability pension: a simplified overall assessment using your average points per month since your 17th birthday and the added period of section 253a; 2026 earnings limit for full disability €20,763.75 a year.

Buy-out payment

Price of one pension point in 2026: contribution rate 18.6% × provisional average pay = €9,661.58 (section 187(3)), divided by the access factor (section 187a(3)). The binding amount comes from the pension insurer’s statement.

The reform scenario

The scenario only applies what the Federal Government and the pension insurer describe as proposed: no 45-year pension, earliest 64 with 35 years, reduction still 0.3% a month. Transitional rules and the link to life expectancy from 2031 are left out because no draft bill sets them. The scenario is not current law.

Tests before every release

  • Every row of the tables in sections 235, 236a and 236b, the start for people born on the 1st and the 15th, the year change for December births.
  • Reductions of 7.2, 10.8, 12 and 14.4%, the reform scenario at 10.8%.
  • Basic allowance, continuity of the schedule at every zone boundary, joint assessment, surcharge threshold, taxable shares for 2005, 2026, 2040 and 2058.
  • Health and care contributions, widow’s allowance, 2026 earnings limits, the 2026 added period.

What the calculators cannot do

  • Check your insurance record: whether you have 35 or 45 years is for the pension insurer to decide.
  • Miners’ insurance, civil service pensions, professional schemes, company and private pensions in detail.
  • Basic pension supplement, pension splitting on divorce, foreign pensions and social security agreements.
  • Personal advice: the pension insurer runs free advice centres, and registered pension consultants (Rentenberater) advise for a fee.

Updates

Full review at least every 12 months, plus at the pension increase on 1 July, at the January reference values and after every change in the law. Report errors to kontakt@rentenfenster.de. See the editorial policy.

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Publisher of German pension calculators: start date by year of birth, reductions, net pension, survivor's pension

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Law as of 2026, read on