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Pension at 63: Can you retire earlier?
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Many people would like to enjoy from the job and retirement earlier. For whom the “pension with 63” is suitable and what you need to know.
The bad news in advance: The original “pension with 63” no longer exists. Because at least without discounts, nobody can retire so early in Germany. But: There are still ways to retire earlier, if not as early. And even at the age of 63, you can actually say goodbye if you accept appropriate discounts (see below).
“Pension with 63” becomes a pension with 65
The “pension with 63” was originally referred to the free of discount for people who have 45 years of insurance. When the legislature introduced this in 2012, the regular retirement age was still 65 years old – and the early retirement for particularly long -standing insured persons was from the 63rd birthday.
With the gradual increase in the regular age limit to 67 years, the age for the “pension with 63”-first in monthly, then in two-month steps. People who were born in 1961 can retire at the earliest at the earliest at the age of 64 and six months. For the years from the year of 1964, this early age begins from the age of 65. The “pension with 63” then became a “pension with 65”.
With 45 years of insurance, retirement without discounts
The original “pension with 63” is currently a “pension with 64 plus X” and soon a “pension with 65”. Officially, the whole thing is called “retirement pension for particularly long -standing insured”. In order to be able to retire the said two years earlier, you have to have 45 years of insurance. For this, the German pension insurance summarizes the following times:
- Mandatory contributions for employment or self -employed activity
- Contributions for minijobs that were paid together with the employer (if only the employer has paid contributions, times apply proportionately).
- Mandatory contributions and times of consideration for child rearing (up to 10th birthday)
- Times of non-improping care, military and civilian duty
- Mandatory contributions or crediting times because of the purchase of social benefits such as sick pay (but not for unemployment benefit II and unemployment benefits).
- Replacement times (for example months of political persecution in the GDR)
- Pension insurance only includes voluntary contributions if at least 18 years of compulsory contributions come together.
Anyone who comes to 45 insurance years through the composition of these times can retire prematurely. The pension is somewhat lower than at 67, as two years were paid in shorter. Also important: This type of early retirement cannot be obtained earlier by accepting discounts. A pension with 63 is not possible in this way.
Retired with 35 years of insurance
There is another way that makes the pension possible with 63 – but it can cost you a lot of money. Because: Even those who do not get 45 years of insurance can retire prematurely, but then with discounts. From the age of 35, the “old -age pension for long -term insured persons” can be used. In this type of early retirement, 0.3 percent are deducted from the pension for every month that you retire – permanently until death (and even after death, the survivor’s pension is still shorter).
This means that if you retire two years earlier, you have to live with a discount of 7.2 percent. And if you release the maximum and retire at the age of 67 at the age of 63, you have a deduction of 14.4 percent. The deduction takes place to the pension reached up to that point, not to the pension that you would have reached up to 67 years. Due to the shorter deposit in the pension fund, you will in fact lost even more pension. On the other hand, you can also compensate for deductions in the premature pension by buying pension points.
The pension insurance takes into account for the 35 years of insurance required:
- Contributions from employment or self -employed activity
- Voluntary contributions
- Child education period for the first two and a half years of life (born before 1992) or three years of life (born from 1992)
- Months of the non-acquisition home care
- Months out of the pension compensation for divorce
- Contributions for minijobs that were paid together with the employer (if only the employer has paid contributions, times apply proportionately).
- Months from pension splitting among spouses or registered life partners
- Replacement times (for example months of political persecution in the GDR)
- Creation times in which nothing was paid for for personal reasons (illness, pregnancy, unemployment, school education and study).
- Deployment times such as times of the upbringing of a child who is not yet 10 years old.
What is still important for the early age
The pension information of the pension insurance can be taken from whether the prerequisites for premature pension are met. It is sent every three years from the age of 55 and is more detailed than the pension information that is previously sent annually. In addition, you can also actively report yourself to the pension insurance with an application for accounting.
In addition to the formal requirements, the question is important whether you can afford the premature pension. With the computer of the pension insurance, deductions and pension height can be calculated in advance. In order to get a real overview of the financial situation, you have to take further factors into account. Do you expect additional income from company or private retirement provision? How high are tax pollution and social security contributions? Should work further in addition to the pension (there has been no additional earnings limit since 2023)?
What you have to consider as is not so easy to keep in mind. If in doubt, a detailed consultation with an expert from German pension insurance helps. Incidentally, the pension application must be submitted no later than three months before the desired pension. Regardless of whether it should be the pension at 63, or a little later.
Source: Stern