Retirement date: from your birthday to the first pension payment
Enter your date of birth, insured years and any severe disability: the calculator gives the first month and the reduction for every German old-age pension open to you.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Earliest pension start
1 July 2027
at 63 years, reduction 14.4 %
| Standard pension | 1 July 2031 |
|---|---|
| Long-term insured (35 yrs) | 1 July 2027 · −14.4 % |
| No reduction from | 1 July 2031 |
| Pension at earliest start | €1,370 |
If the commission proposal became law
Earliest 1 July 2028 (12 months later), reduction 10.8 %; no reduction from 1 July 2031.
Scenario without transitional rules. No draft bill published; current law applies.
Step-by-step calculation
- Standard retirement age for people born in 1964: 67 years (section 35 SGB VI). Start on 1 July 2031, the month after you reach that age (section 99 SGB VI).
- With 40 years the 35-year qualifying period is met: from 63 at the earliest, minus 0.3% for each month before the standard age (section 77 SGB VI).
- Commission proposal (not law): without the 45-year pension and with a minimum age of 64, the earliest start would be 1 July 2028 with a 10.8 % reduction.
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
Four dates decide when a German state pension (gesetzliche Rente) starts, and the calculator works them out in turn. First, the age your pension type requires. Second, the day you legally reach that age, which is the day before your birthday (section 187(2) of the Civil Code, BGB). Third, the first pension month, the month after that day (section 99 SGB VI). Fourth, the claim window: the pension insurer accepts an application about a year ahead, and if you apply later than the third calendar month after you qualify, payment only starts in the month you apply. For a woman born on 1 March 1966 with 38 insured years, that means the standard pension from 1 March 2033, claim by the end of May 2033 at the latest; from 63 she could start on 1 March 2029 with a 14.4 % reduction. Born one day later, every start date would move back a month.
What the calculator shows
From your year, month and day of birth, your insured years and whether you have a recognised severe disability, the tool lists each old-age pension open to you: the earliest month, the reduction (Abschlag) in that month and the first month without one. If you enter the standard pension from your annual statement (Renteninformation), it also shows the reduced amount at the earliest start. Age limits follow Social Code Book VI (SGB VI) as amended on 24 July 2026, the reduction follows section 77 SGB VI. The pension types themselves are set out in the table of retirement ages.
The calendar in four steps
Step 1, the age that applies. It depends on your birth year and pension type: for profile A the standard age of 67 years (section 35 SGB VI), for profile B the 45-year limit of 64 years 10 months (section 236b), for profile C the unreduced disability pension at 65 years.
Step 2, the day the age is reached. German law counts an age as completed at the end of the day before the birthday (section 187(2) BGB). Born on the first of a month, that day falls in the previous month: profile A, born on 1 March 1966, reaches 67 years on 28 February 2033.
Step 3, the first pension month. Payment starts in the month after that day (section 99 SGB VI). For A that is 1 March 2033; with a birthday on 2 March it would be 1 April 2033.
Step 4, the claim window. The insurer accepts a claim from about a year before (DRV). It must arrive by the end of the third calendar month after the month you qualify; otherwise payment begins only in the month of the claim. How to apply is covered under applying for your pension.
| Profile | No reduction at | Age reached on | First month | Claim from about | Claim by end of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A: 1 March 1966 | 67 years | 28 February 2033 | 1 March 2033 | 1 March 2032 | May 2033 |
| B: 20 September 1963 | 64 years 10 months | 19 July 2028 | 1 August 2028 | 1 August 2027 | October 2028 |
| C: 10 November 1965 | 65 years | 9 November 2030 | 1 December 2030 | 1 December 2029 | February 2031 |
Three profiles, every pension type
A has 38 insured years, B has 45, C has 36 and a disability rating (GdB) of 50. Each row is a pension the profile could choose, with its earliest month and what would remain of an assumed €1,500 standard pension.
| Profile | Pension type | Earliest | Reduction | Pension from €1,500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Standard pension | 1 March 2033 | 0.0 % | €1,500 |
| A | Long-term insured | 1 March 2029 | 14.4 % | €1,284 |
| B | Standard pension | 1 August 2030 | 0.0 % | €1,500 |
| B | Long-term insured | 1 October 2026 | 13.8 % | €1,293 |
| B | Especially long-term | 1 August 2028 | 0.0 % | €1,500 |
| C | Standard pension | 1 December 2032 | 0.0 % | €1,500 |
| C | Long-term insured | 1 December 2028 | 14.4 % | €1,284 |
| C | Severely disabled | 1 December 2027 | 10.8 % | €1,338 |
B has a choice: from 63 with a large reduction, or from 1 August 2028 without one. C gains a year over the 35-year pension thanks to the disability, with the reduction capped at 10.8 % (section 236a SGB VI). If the pension commission’s proposal became law with no transition, B would lose the 45-year pension: no reduction only from 1 August 2030, or from 64 with 10.2 %. No draft bill has been published; see pension reform.
Limits
The tool does not check whether your years count; it takes the number you enter. A severe disability must be recognised when the pension starts. The women’s pension and the unemployment pension only exist for people born before 1952 and are left out. Partial pensions, disability pensions and the pension paid by another country are not calculated. Your binding date comes from the German pension insurer’s advice centres (Auskunfts- und Beratungsstellen).