The Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German Pension Insurance) is an important part of the social security system and is represented throughout Germany. We are your reliable partner in all questions about pensions and old-age provision. We pay you a pension in the event of reduced earning capacity or in old age and offer you many benefits during your working life.

When you start working, you are automatically a member of the German Pension Insurance. We also call our members insured. You are protected from the first day at work. For example, we will help you, if

• you are incapacitated after an accident at work, i.e. you are no longer able to work fully in your job, with a pension.
• despite medical efforts, your health does not allow you to return to work for the time being. Then we offer you a rehabilitation service.
• you also want to make provisions for old age. We explain to you the possibilities and how it works.

Your personal insurance number

All insured persons of the German Pension Insurance receive an insurance number. It is your very own identification mark and is only given once. Your date of birth and the first letter of your last name appear in the sequence of digits. The insurance number can look like this, for example:

16 111192 X 499Your personal account belongs to your insurance number. All data is stored there that counts for the later pension or, for example, justifies the right to a benefit for rehabilitation. Among other things, the following are stored here:

• earnings,
• times for training, unemployment, school, illness and pregnancy.

You must always provide your insurance number if you have any questions about your account or want to make an application.

Where do I get the insurance number from?

Health insurance companies, the Federal Employment Agency and your employer take care of your registration with the pension insurance and your insurance number. For example, your employer will register you when you start work. Let them know if you already have a German pension insurance number.

Your contribution to the pension system

Social security costs money. How much everyone has to pay depends on the amount of earnings. Basically: small earnings, small contribution – high earnings, high contribution. Together with your employer, you currently pay 18.6 percent of your gross earnings as a contribution to pension insurance. You pay half of it. Your company ensures that the contributions are paid on time. Your share will be retained and the total will be forwarded.

With your contributions, you acquire a right to pension insurance benefits, for example a retirement pension. You can find out how much pension you can expect every year from our pension information. We will send you this for the first time after you have been insured for five years and are at least 27 years old.

Our services – from rehab to retirement

A principle in pension insurance is: the more and the longer you pay in contributions, the higher your future pension will be. But our offers not only include old-age pensions.

We pay:

• prevention and rehabilitation services,
• pensions for reduced earning capacity,
• old-age pensions and
• survivors’ pensions.

Requirements for your entitlement to pension benefits:

• Insured persons must pay contributions for five years before they can expect pension benefits.
• Exception: In the event of accidents at work, you are covered from the first contribution.
• You must have reached a certain age for old-age pensions. Depending on the year of birth, it is currently between 63 and 67 years.

Periods in which children were brought up or relatives were cared for can increase the pension. During the first three years of your child’s life, for example, you will be treated as if you had earned as much as the average insured person. You don’t have to pay your own contributions for this.

Rehabilitation services

Have you been ill for a long time or had an accident and are temporarily unable to work? If your ability to work is at risk after an illness or an accident, medical rehabilitation – rehabilitation for short – is an option for you. Medical rehab takes place either as an inpatient in a rehabilitation clinic or on an outpatient basis near your place of residence. During the rehab we pay a transitional allowance to make up for any loss of earnings.

In addition, we offer so-called services for participation in working life. This includes, for example, special aids at the workplace, handicapped-accessible conversions or even complete retraining.

Disability pension

Are you ill and cannot work or can only work to a limited extent because of your state of health? In this case, the Deutsche Rentenversicherung pays you a disability pension under certain conditions. The pension serves as a replacement for your previous earnings and is intended to secure your livelihood.

Survivor’s pension

If your partner, your mother or your father dies, it can endanger your livelihood. That is why the Deutsche Rentenversicherung protects surviving dependents in the event of death. We pay pensions to widows, widowers and orphans of the deceased insured person.