Pension Calculator

The annual pension statement from the German Pension Insurance is notoriously hard to interpret, and the figure on it often sounds higher than it later feels. The pension calculator makes the mechanics behind it transparent. It uses the official pension formula, in which your gross pension arises from pension points, access factor, pension type factor and the current pension value.

The pension points are the core. Whoever earns exactly the average income of all insured people - provisionally 51,944 euros gross for 2026 - gets exactly one pension point that year. If you earn more it is more, if you earn less correspondingly fewer, capped at the contribution assessment ceiling. The calculator works out your points per year, adds your previous contribution years and projects the future ones up to your planned retirement age.

Your standard retirement age depends on your birth year. For everyone born in 1964 or later it is 67; for earlier cohorts it rises stepwise from 65. Retiring earlier costs a 0.3 percent deduction per month, up to a maximum of 14.4 percent for 48 months of bringing it forward. Working longer earns a 0.5 percent bonus per month. The calculator factors in this access factor correctly and shows you what earlier or later concretely means.

The current pension value is the price of one pension point as a monthly pension. For 2026 that is 40.79 euros until 30 June and 42.52 euros from 1 July after the planned pension adjustment. The calculator automatically takes the value valid at the given time. From points times access factor times pension value comes your estimated gross pension, and from that a rough net pension after deducting health and long-term care insurance.

The really important part is the pension gap. You enter your desired net income in old age and the calculator contrasts it with your expected pension. The difference is the gap you have to close through private or occupational provision. You can add Riester and Rürup contributions to see how strongly they narrow the gap. Riester brings a basic subsidy of 175 euros a year; with Rürup the contributions are fully deductible as special expenses up to 28,094 euros (2026).

Ready-made profiles from average earner to high earner set realistic values, and everything runs in the browser without signup. Important: the calculator is an estimate based on your current assumptions. The real pension depends on future pension adjustments, your actual work history and political decisions. It replaces neither the official pension statement nor pension counselling but helps you take your provision gap seriously early enough.