Retiring at 63 in Germany: what is left of it in 2026
The name has stuck, the rule has not: only people born before 1953 could stop at 63 with no reduction. The calculator shows what 63 means for your birth year today.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Retiring at 63 for your birth year
Reduction at 63 (35 years)
14.4 %
| Start at 63 (born in June) | 1 July 2027 |
| Months to standard age | 48 |
| Standard age | 67 years |
Retiring at 63 with no reduction was only possible for people born before 1953 with 45 years.
“Rente mit 63” (retiring at 63) refers to two different German pensions. One is the pension for especially long-term insured persons after 45 years, which really did start at 63 with no reduction in 2014; its age limit has risen by two months per birth year since the 1953 cohort and is 65 from the 1964 cohort (sections 236b and 38 SGB VI). So nobody retiring now can stop at 63 without a reduction. The other is the pension for long-term insured persons after 35 years: open to every cohort from 63, but reduced by 0.3% for each month before the standard retirement age (sections 36 and 77). For people born in 1964 that is 48 months and 14.4 %; for 1960 it is 40 months and 12%. The reduction is for life. On a €1,500 pension you lose €216 every month. The pension commission proposed in 2026 opening this route only from 64; that is not law.
Two pensions behind one phrase
When parliament lowered the age for the pension for especially long-term insured persons to 63 in 2014, the phrase “Rente mit 63” was born: after 45 years of contributions, no reduction at 63 (section 236b SGB VI). The same section raised the age again straight away, by two months per birth year from 1953. Today 63 applies to nobody who has not yet retired. If you have 45 years, your date is under pension after 45 years.
What actually works at 63 is the pension for long-term insured persons (section 36, for older cohorts section 236 SGB VI). It needs 35 years of pension periods and can start from the month after your 63rd birthday. It is only unreduced from the standard retirement age; each month before costs 0.3% under section 77 SGB VI.
Reduction at 63 by birth year
| Born | Pension at 63 from | Months to standard age | Reduction | €1,500 becomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | 1 July 2021 | 36 | 10.8 % | €1,338 |
| 1959 | 1 July 2022 | 38 | 11.4 % | €1,329 |
| 1960 | 1 July 2023 | 40 | 12.0 % | €1,320 |
| 1961 | 1 July 2024 | 42 | 12.6 % | €1,311 |
| 1962 | 1 July 2025 | 44 | 13.2 % | €1,302 |
| 1963 | 1 July 2026 | 46 | 13.8 % | €1,293 |
| 1964 | 1 July 2027 | 48 | 14.4 % | €1,284 |
From the 1964 cohort the row no longer changes: 48 months, 14.4 %. Born on the 1st of a month, you start one month earlier; the reduction stays the same because the standard age is also reached a month earlier.
What counts towards the 35 years
For retiring at 63 every pension period counts: employment, child-raising, caring, unemployment with or without benefit, sickness, school and university from 17 as credited periods, military or civilian service. That is far more generous than the 45 years, where only certain periods count (section 51(3a)). Someone with 40 years of work and two years of unemployment can miss 45 and still retire at 63, with a reduction. For expats, insurance years in other EU countries can be added to reach 35, but they do not add to the German amount. See what counts towards 45 years.
What the reduction costs over the years
A 14.4 % reduction sounds abstract. On €1,500 it is €216 a month, €51,840 over twenty years of retirement. Against that stand 48 extra monthly payments, €61,632 in total. The two even out after about 24 years in retirement. That still understates the cost, because the four years add no pension points. The reduction calculator uses your own figures, the retirement date calculator your date of birth.
Early pension: what the reduction costs
Reduction
7.2 %
| Less a month | €115 |
| Less over 20 years | €27,648 |
| Later start catches up after | 25.8 years |
Severe disability: the smaller reduction
With a recognised degree of disability of 50 there is a cheaper route. The pension for severely disabled persons is possible from 62 for the 1964 cohort and unreduced at 65, so at 63 it costs only 24 months, 7.2% instead of 14.4 %. If you hold the status or could apply for it, settle that before applying for the pension. Details under pension with a severe disability.
The reform: from 63 to 64
In its report of 23 June 2026 the pension commission recommends raising the age for the 35-year pension to 64 and then moving it with the standard age, so that the window always stays three years wide (Federal Government). The reduction per month would stay at 0.3%; from the 1964 cohort the maximum would be 10.8% instead of 14.4%. When this would start, and for which cohorts, is in no published draft. Until then 63 stays. Current state: pension reform.