Research
Fact check: Foreigners also have to pay into pension funds
Just as for German citizens, the same applies to foreigners in Germany: Only those who pay in receive benefits from the pension insurance in old age. photo
© Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
The German social system is complicated and often causes debate – especially when it comes to benefits for foreigners. It is wrong to say that Ukrainians are immediately entitled to a pension. A fact check.
Claim: All older foreigners are immediately entitled to a pension in Germany.
Rating: False.
Facts
Just as for German citizens, the same applies to foreigners in Germany: Only those who pay in receive benefits from the pension insurance in old age. In principle, German pension claims can only arise after five years of paying contributions (so-called minimum insurance period) and reaching the statutory retirement age.
“The statutory retirement age varies – depending on the type of old-age pension – between 63 and 67 years,” says the German Pension Insurance.
For example, there is a claim circulating on social media that Ukrainian refugees are allowed to receive pensions earlier in Germany than German citizens. But that’s not correct.
No social security agreement with Ukraine
The Federal Republic does not have a social security agreement with the non-EU country. This means that periods completed in Ukraine are not taken into account when calculating the minimum insurance period for a pension in Germany.
However, insurance periods acquired from other EU countries as well as from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland are definitely taken into account when calculating the pension entitlement. There are also different social security agreements with several countries. But Ukraine is not one of them.
An exception only applies to the very small group of late repatriates from Ukraine. The periods completed are recognized as German insurance periods. But the usual age limits apply here too.
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