Inge Blum
1301 West Long Lake Road
Troy, MI 48098
1-800-41RENTE (417-3583)
German Retirement Consulting Agency
1835 Linson Court S. E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Tel.: (616) 942 8541
Fax: (616) 949 9377
1-800-999-6040
cwroland@comcast.net
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Health Insurance
As long as you reside in the US, there is no possibility to become member of a German State insurance. You have to rely on private companies offering such insurances according to their company policies. Should you move to Germany, you can only become a member of a German State insurance under certain conditions (i.e. if you have paid membership fees for a certain minimum of time beforehand). In order to learn more, please contact the AOK (Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse): They have are present in every major town in Germany.
Relevant life periods for your pension
In order to establish how much pension you can get your full curriculum vitae starting with your school education is relevant. In addition to the time period during which you paid your contributions it is relevant which education you received, for how long and with which result. Furthermore, it is important if you served in the military or did the substituting social service, if during WWII you were soldier, prisoner of war or refuge. Also, times of pregnancy, unemployment, disability and periods of raising a child are relevant, under the condition that you lived in Germany during these periods of your life and that you had paid contributions before. Therefore, please give as many details as you can and support your application with documentation (i.e. certificates, diplomas, birth certificates of your children).
Reimbursement and voluntary contributions
German citizens have the option to pay voluntary contributions before they reach the age of 65. This could be sensible in order to close gaps for the obligatory 5 year period of contribution payments or in order to increase the future pension. Foreign citizens do not have the option to fill gaps for the 5 year requirement, but if this requirement is fulfilled they may increase their future pension with voluntary contributions. Persons who have paid contribution for less than 5 years and accordingly are not entitled to receive a pension, may claim for reimbursement of their contributions. While foreign citizens can do this at any time, a German citizen can apply for reimbursement only at the age of 65.
Application for German pension
In order to receive a pension it is mandatory to file an application. You should start the necessary procedures about 3 months latest before you reach the age of 65, but not earlier than 6 months before reaching this age. The application forms can be ordered from the authority that received your contributions, that is either the Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund or the Deutsche Rentenversicherung Nord. Correspondence is only possible in German language and most forms are available in German only. The Consulate General of Germany has no resources to function as translation service.
Pension for minor orphans and minor children who lost one parent
In order to obtain such a pension the deceased spouse must have been entitled to an old age pension (must have paid contributions for a period of at least 5 years).
In principle pension payments are only possible to a person under the age of eighteen. Exemptions are possible if the child's education is still ongoing. Payments will definitely stop when the child gets twenty-seven, regardless of the level of education reached. Payments to children over eighteen are subject to yearly adjustments.
Entitlement to a pension
1. General Info
In order to be entitled to a US pension, you in general are obligated to pay your contributions for a period of at least ten years. In order to obtain an entitlement to a German pension contributions over a period of five years are sufficient. How much pension you will receive depends on the number of monthly payments as well as on the amount you paid. In order to obtain any pension, you have to file an application.
2. Pension for old age
This type of pension in principle is paid to people over 65 years of age. Earlier payments may be possible for severely disabled people or applicants who have paid contributions to the German pension fond for a period of at least 35 years. Women born before 01/01/1952 may apply for a pension at the age of 60. As this is a regulation based on old law and principle that these women could rely on this regulation as long as it was in force, there may be deductions depending on the year in which pension payments will be taken up (the later, the more deduction).
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