What happens to my pension insurance when I leave Germany?

Statutory pension entitlements (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) don't disappear when you move. Once you have reached the minimum contribution period (currently five years in most cases), you keep a future pension claim that can be paid abroad when you reach the German retirement age. EU citizens benefit from EU-wide coordination of contribution years across member states; some non-EU citizens may, under specific conditions, apply for a refund of their own contributions after a waiting period.

A refund is rarely the better option once you've built up several years of contributions — keeping the entitlement and drawing a small German pension later usually pays more over a lifetime, especially with currency and tax effects considered.

Private pension contracts (private Rentenversicherung, fund-linked or classic) typically keep running unless you actively do something. Three options exist:

• Continue paying as before — practical if you still have the cash flow set up.
• Pause contributions while the existing capital stays invested — usually the cleanest middle path.
• Surrender the contract for its current cash value — often the worst option in the early years, because contract costs are concentrated upfront.

Rürup contracts are a special case because they're highly tax-advantaged but extremely inflexible — what looks like a simple decision elsewhere becomes more complicated for these.

Anyone with meaningful pension assets in Germany should review them before leaving rather than trying to figure it all out later from abroad. Even if the answer turns out to be "do nothing right now", knowing that with confidence is better than wondering about it after the move.