Dienstleistungen

Apply for clarification of the pension insurance account for ethnic German repatriates

Late repatriates and displaced persons are treated as if they had spent their insurance life in Germany. They are recognised as ethnic German repatriates or ethnic German resettlers in accordance with the Federal Expellees Act. As they have no earnings subject to contributions in Germany, their contribution periods are allocated so-called table values. These correspond to the average earnings of comparable insured persons in Germany.

If you fulfil the relevant requirements, your contribution and employment periods will be taken into account. Your credited periods in your country of origin, for example due to incapacity for work, school and university attendance or illness, are also taken into account.

For contribution periods from 1950 onwards, the table values differentiate between qualification groups (e.g. master craftsmen) and economic sectors (e.g. construction industry) in order to determine your income as realistically as possible. The values are then generally reduced to 60 per cent of the full value. This is intended in particular to make adjustments for insured persons who have lived in structurally weak areas and earned significantly lower incomes.

Responsible department

the statutory pension insurance providers

The statutory pension insurance providers are

  • the German Federal Pension Insurance Scheme
  • german Pension Insurance Knappschaft-Bahn-See,
  • the regional organisations, for example Deutsche Rentenversicherung Baden-Württemberg

Details

Prerequisite

  • You belong to the group of displaced persons or are a late repatriate and
  • You would like to clarify your pension insurance account.

Procedure

You must apply in writing for recognition of the insurance periods completed in your country of origin.
In view of the complicated legal issues, it is advisable to submit the application for account clarification to the municipal administration, your local authority, the relevant insurance offices, voluntary insurance advisors or directly to the regional centres and branch offices of the pension insurance institutions.

You will receive a separate assessment notice on the recognition of pensionable periods.

The assessment notice determines recognised periods in accordance with the current legal situation. If the legislator changes the legal basis before the actual start of pension payments, this may mean that notifications have to be adapted to the new legal situation.

Deadlines

The application for account clarification is not subject to a deadline.

Tip: To avoid later delays, for example when applying for a pension, it is advisable to submit a corresponding application as soon as you receive the late repatriate certificate. This also makes it easier to obtain the necessary documents.

Required documents

For the recognition of contribution and credit periods, all documents that show the type and duration of employment or the corresponding interruption are helpful. These are primarily the original insurance documents such as

  • Labour books,
  • Insurance books,
  • Legitimisation books,
  • Employer's certificates,
  • Certificates, certificates of study.

In addition, for the recognition of

  • Child-raising periods and child allowance periods: the children's birth certificates, family record book
  • Pension entitlement period: the pension certificate or a pension certificate,
  • Periods of military service or alternative service: corresponding certificate (e.g. military service certificate).

The late repatriate certificate or the expellee identity card serves as proof of status as a late repatriate.

Important: Based on the documents submitted, the pension insurance institution will decide on a case-by-case basis whether a contribution period has been credibly established or proven. There must be no doubt as to the accuracy of the alleged fact for proof to be provided. If the contribution periods have only been made credible, only five-sixths of the values determined in accordance with the above can be taken into account.

Costs

There are no costs.

Processing time

Several weeks, depending on the scope of the account clarification.

Miscellaneous

The benefits may not exceed a certain maximum value. The limit applies to all persons who have moved to Germany since 7 May 1996.

The maximum permissible value is 25 earnings points per beneficiary and is therefore at the level of the integration assistance. 25 earnings points currently (June 2025) correspond to a monthly gross old-age pension of EUR 983.00 in the old and new federal states.

Spouses and beneficiaries living in a marriage-like relationship receive joint pensions totalling a maximum of 40 earnings points for their periods under the Foreign Pensions Act (FRG). 40 earnings points currently correspond to a gross old-age pension of EUR 1,572.80 per month in the old and new federal states. A distinction is no longer made between earnings points and earnings points (East). If you change your place of residence from the old to the new federal states, there are no changes to the pension amount.

Important: Those entitled to a pension are primarily displaced persons and ethnic German repatriates. A non-German spouse or children from this marriage therefore cannot be credited with insurance periods Insurance periods completed in the country of origin can be credited.

Legal basis

Sozialgesetzbuch Sechstes Buch (SGB VI)

Fremdrentengesetz (FRG)

Release note

machine generated, based on the German release by: Deutsche Rentenversicherung Baden-Württemberg, 16.06.2025