Eligibility for Pensions: Foreign employment also contributes
If you're contemplating working overseas for a specific duration, this is quite common among workers. Contrary to belief, your legal retirement benefits aren't affected; instead, they might even improve. Here's how to proceed:
If you've spent some time working abroad, it's essential to inform your retirement insurance provider. This could potentially boost your future retirement benefit claims. The German Pension Insurance (DRV) stresses this point.
To be eligible for a retirement pension from the statutory pension insurance in Germany, you must demonstrate a minimum insurance period. For long-term insured individuals in Germany, this is 35 years. This isn't limited to years spent in Germany but includes those spent abroad as well.
The duration of these periods is calculated based on European community law between EU states, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland. Germany also has social security agreements with numerous other countries like Tunisia, Turkey, the USA, and Australia. Therefore, the years you've worked in these countries also contribute to your retirement benefit claim.
Retirement benefits can be received from various nations
Generally, each country distributes the pension based on the requirements met and the years contributed there. As a result, it's possible to obtain retirement benefit payments from multiple countries simultaneously. If you meet the requirements in Germany and abroad, you can receive retirement benefits from multiple countries. If you fail to meet the minimum insurance period despite the combined periods, and thus don't receive a retirement benefit, you can usually reclaim the paid contributions.
For comprehensive details, check out the free brochures "Living and Working in Europe" and "Work and Pension in Germany and in Non-Contractual Countries". You can download them from the website www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de. The DRV also offers free telephone consultation at 0800-10004800.
After working abroad for a significant period, you might want to consider informing your retirement insurance provider to potentially enhance your future retirement benefit claims. Given that retirement benefits can be received from various nations, meeting the requirements in Germany and another country could allow you to receive retirement benefits from both countries simultaneously.
