Reading your German pension statement: what the figures really say
The letter from the German pension insurer lists several pension amounts, all gross, all at the standard retirement age. Here is what each means, how to update it to today and what it leaves out.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Your pension statement in numbers
Pension points so far
26.97
| Value from July 2026 | €1,146.65 |
| Net of that (standard case) | €1,005 |
A letter from the first half of 2026 still uses €40.79.
The German pension statement (Renteninformation) gives three key figures: the standard old-age pension you have already earned from the periods on record, a projected standard pension assuming you keep contributing until the standard retirement age, and your total pension points (Entgeltpunkte). All amounts are gross, without any early-retirement reduction, and use the pension value (Rentenwert) on the date of the letter. A statement from the first half of 2026 uses €40.79 per point; since 1 July the value is €42.52. Divide the earned pension by the letter’s pension value and you have your points: €1,100 becomes 26.97 points, worth €1,146.65 today. Health and long-term care contributions later come off a gross pension, plus income tax on the taxable share for the year you start. Retiring before the standard age costs 0.3 % per month, 14.4 % at 63 for anyone born from 1964. Work done in other EU countries is not in the German figures at all.
Three figures, three different messages
The statement reads like a forecast, but its figures carry very different levels of certainty. The first is the pension already earned from the periods recorded today. It is an entitlement, not a growth promise: even if you never contribute again, this standard old-age pension (Regelaltersrente) is yours once the five-year qualifying period is met. The second is the projected pension, which assumes further contributions until the standard retirement age. The third, your pension points, is the real basis, since every amount follows from it (section 64 SGB VI).
| German term on the letter | In English | How far to rely on it |
|---|---|---|
| Regelaltersrente, bisher erreicht | Standard pension earned so far: points today × the letter’s pension value | Already earned |
| Regelaltersrente, hochgerechnet | Projected standard pension: adds assumed future contributions | Depends on your future career |
| Entgeltpunkte | Pension points: each year’s pay over average earnings, plus credited periods | State of your account |
| Aktueller Rentenwert | Pension value: what one point pays per month on the letter’s date | Changes every 1 July |
| Versicherungsverlauf | Insurance record: the list of all periods on file | Check it for gaps |
Working backwards: from amounts to points
Take a statement from the first half of 2026 sent to someone born in 1976: €1,100 earned so far, €1,650 projected, pension value €40.79. Dividing gives 26.97 points today and 40.45 at the standard age. At the value from July 2026, the two amounts are worth €1,146.65 and €1,719.98. The mini calculator above does this with your own figures.
The gap is revealing. The projection assumes 13.48 more points over 17 years, about 0.79 a year. Someone on exactly average earnings collects 1.00 point a year (section 70 SGB VI). If the assumption sits well above what you earn now, the projection is too optimistic; if it sits below, you can expect more. How pay converts into points is on pension points explained.
What the statement leaves out
The statement shows gross pensions. Health and long-term care contributions come off, and the taxable share depends on the year your pension starts (section 22 EStG). For the person in the example, the standard pension starts in 2043, when 92.5 % of it will be taxable.
| Amount on the letter, updated | Gross | Health and care | Tax, monthly average | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earned so far | €1,146.65 | €141.61 | €0.00 | €1,005 |
| Projected | €1,719.98 | €212.42 | €59.83 | €1,448 |
Future pension increases and inflation are not included either; both are left out on purpose, since nobody knows them. The net pension calculator works out net with your own details, and the pension gap calculator compares the result with what you will need.
All figures assume you retire at the standard age
Every amount on the statement assumes your pension starts at the standard retirement age. Starting earlier costs 0.3 % per month (section 77 SGB VI), so 14.4 % at 63 for anyone born from 1964. The €1,719.98 projection would shrink to €1,472.30, and that is still too high, because the last four years of contributions built into the projection would be missing. The reduction calculator shows the cost for your chosen date. To offset it, you can ask for a written estimate of the amount needed from age 50 (section 187a SGB VI); see buying out pension reductions.
Check your insurance record
The amounts are only as complete as your account. Typical gaps: child-raising periods never claimed, training years, short jobs, time abroad. Child-raising alone is worth 3.00 points for a child born from 1992, €127.51 of monthly pension (section 56 SGB VI). If something is missing, request the record and have the periods added with evidence. The German pension insurer’s advice centres (Auskunfts- und Beratungsstellen) help with this; this page cannot advise on individual cases.
For expats: one statement among several
If you have worked in another EU state, the EEA or Switzerland, those years are not in the German amounts. Under Regulation 883/2004 they count towards German qualifying periods, but the other country pays the pension for them. Your German statement therefore shows only the German slice of your retirement income; your other countries send their own. If you left Germany after a few years, the statement may also show an earned pension small enough that the question of a refund arises; that is covered on German pension abroad.
Your points from the letter are the best starting value for any calculation of your own. The German pension calculator takes them and adds your current pay year by year until retirement, in today’s values, so you can see what a pay change, a part-time spell or an earlier exit does to the projection. The current pension value is explained under pension increase 2026.