Applying for a German old-age pension (Rentenantrag, form R0100)

A German old-age pension does not start by itself: statutory pension benefits are provided on application (§ 19 sentence 1 SGB IV), and the procedure begins with the application (§ 115(1) sentence 1 SGB VI). The deadline that costs money is in § 99(1) SGB VI: if you apply by the end of the THIRD calendar month after the month in which you meet the conditions, the pension is paid from the calendar month at whose start the conditions were met. If you apply later, it is paid only from the calendar month in which you apply — nothing is paid for the months before. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung recommends applying about three months before the intended start, online through eAntrag or on form R0100 (Rentenantrag).

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 23, 2026Official formGuide: about 60 min

This content is part of the path: Retiring· Step 9 of 11· Next step: Pensioners' health insurance notification (KVdR, form R0810)

Deadlines

Apply by the end of the third calendar month after the month in which you meet the conditions: § 99(1) sentence 1 SGB VI — the pension is then paid from the calendar month at whose start the conditions were met
Later application: pension only from the month you apply: § 99(1) sentence 2 SGB VI — a pension from your own insurance is then paid from the calendar month in which you apply. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung counts months as full calendar months
Recommended: about three months before the intended start: Recommendation of the Deutsche Rentenversicherung for a seamless transition from work to pension
Employer's report: no earlier than three months before the pension starts: § 194(1) sentence 1 SGB VI — on request, the employer reports contributory earnings separately; for the time up to the start, the pension fund projects up to three months (sentence 6)

Documents to prepare

Pension insurance number (Rentenversicherungsnummer)
Identity document (ID card, passport, birth certificate or family register) as a copy, if requested
Tax identification number (Steuer-ID)
IBAN and BIC of the account the pension is to be paid into
Details of your health and long-term care insurance, including the name and address of your statutory health insurance fund
Evidence for periods missing from your insurance record: training, unemployment, sickness
Your children's birth certificates, fathers included, for the pensioners' long-term care contributions
For the old-age pension for severely disabled people: disability card and recognition decision
For periods as a civil servant: the service record sheet (Festsetzungsblatt) from the pension office
If someone applies for you: a written power of attorney

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All fields are required unless marked “optional”.

Insurance number and reference

Pension insurance number (Versicherungsnummer)(optional)

Reference code (Kennzeichen, if known)(optional)

1 Old-age pension applied for, 1.1 full or partial pension, 1.2 start

1 Old-age pension applied for(optional)

1.1 The old-age pension is to be paid as(optional)

Partial pension of … % (at least 10 %)(optional)

Up to 2 decimals, separated by a comma

1.2 The pension is to start on the 1st of (month and year)(optional)

MM.YYYY

2 Personal details

Surname(optional)

First name(optional)

Name suffix (for example Freifrau, Graf)(optional)

Name prefix (for example von, van, de)(optional)

Title (for example Prof. Dr. med.)(optional)

Birth name(optional)

Previous names(optional)

Suffix of the birth name(optional)

Prefix of the birth name(optional)

Date of birth(optional)

DD.MM.YYYY

Sex(optional)

Place of birth(optional)

Country of birth(optional)

Nationality (and any former nationality, until when)(optional)

Street and number(optional)

Address line 2(optional)

Postcode(optional)

5 digits

Town(optional)

Country(optional)

Telephone(optional)

6 to 20 characters: digits, spaces, + and .

Fax(optional)

6 to 20 characters: digits, spaces, + and .

2 continued: residence, arrival from abroad, marital status, tax ID

Residence on 18 May 1990 (town, federal state, country)(optional)

Last residence in Germany, if living abroad (town, federal state)(optional)

Moved to Germany from abroad?(optional)

Date of the move(optional)

DD.MM.YYYY

Moved from (town, region, country)(optional)

Moved to (town, federal state)(optional)

Marital status(optional)

Tax identification number (Steuer-ID)(optional)

4 Payment

4 The pension is to be paid into(optional)

IBAN of the German account (starts with DE)(optional)

15 to 34 characters: uppercase letters and digits

Name of the bank(optional)

Account holder, if not the pensioner: surname, first name(optional)

Account holder: street and number(optional)

Account holder: address line 2(optional)

Account holder: postcode(optional)

5 digits

Account holder: town(optional)

5 to 8 Insurance periods missing from the insurance record

5.1 Contribution or employment periods missing from the insurance record?(optional)

5.2 Periods in the GDR or the new federal states up to 31 Dec 1991 missing from the record?(optional)

5.3 Before 1 Jan 2012, transitional, maintenance or integration allowance from the employment agency during unemployment?(optional)

5.4 Periods of vocational training (even without a qualification)?(optional)

6.1 Periods abroad missing from the insurance record?(optional)

6.2 Periods in a foreign insurance or special scheme?(optional)

6.3 Habitual residence in one of the countries listed on the form?(optional)

6.4 Expellee or late repatriate under the Federal Expellees Act?(optional)

6.5 Contribution and employment periods in Poland?(optional)

6.5.1 Are these periods in the insurance record?(optional)

6.5.2 Habitually resident in Germany on 31 Dec 1990 and continuously since?(optional)

6.6 Member of a special pension scheme of an international organisation?(optional)

7.1 Credited periods (Anrechnungszeiten) missing from the insurance record?(optional)

8.1 Child-raising in a child's first 10 years not (fully) credited to you so far?(optional)

8.2 Unpaid care of a child in need of care missing from the insurance record?(optional)

9.1 to 9.6 Other information

9.1 Entitlement or expectancy to a civil-service-type pension of your own?(optional)

9.1.1 Is such a pension being paid?(optional)

9.2 Another pension from your own insurance received, previously received or applied for (also abroad)?(optional)

9.3 Pension rights adjustment (Versorgungsausgleich) carried out on divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership?(optional)

9.4 Periods under the Foreign Pensions Act (Fremdrentengesetz)?(optional)

9.5 Is the reduced earning capacity or severe disability behind the application the result of an accident or caused by other persons?(optional)

9.6 Periods of incapacity for work after 30 June 1983 caused by an accident or by other persons?(optional)

9.7 and 9.8 Contributory income until the pension starts

9.7.1 Earnings (including from marginal employment) or early-retirement pay until the pension starts?(optional)

Earnings: duration(optional)

Earnings expected only until(optional)

DD.MM.YYYY

9.7.2 Have earnings for up to three months before the pension starts projected?(optional)

9.7.3 Social benefits (for example sickness or unemployment benefit) until the pension starts?(optional)

Social benefit: duration(optional)

Social benefit expected only until(optional)

DD.MM.YYYY

Type of benefit(optional)

Paying body(optional)

Address of the paying body(optional)

Reference number(optional)

9.7.4 Unpaid care with benefits from a care fund or private insurer until the pension starts?(optional)

Care: duration(optional)

Care expected only until(optional)

DD.MM.YYYY

Person cared for (surname, first name)(optional)

Date of birth of the person cared for(optional)

DD.MM.YYYY

9.7.5 Transitional allowances from the Bundeswehr until the pension starts?(optional)

Transitional allowances: duration(optional)

Transitional allowances expected only until(optional)

DD.MM.YYYY

Paying body(optional)

Address of the paying body(optional)

Reference number(optional)

9.8 Members' allowances (Diäten) from the start of the pension?(optional)

9.9 Severe disability

9.9 Severe disability applied for or already recognised?(optional)

Severe disability(optional)

Recognition applied for on(optional)

DD.MM.YYYY

With which authority(optional)

Reference number(optional)

10 Other benefits

10.1 Survivor's pension from the statutory pension scheme (also abroad)?(optional)

10.2 Benefits from the statutory accident insurance or a foreign accident insurer?(optional)

10.3 Sickness benefit from a health insurance fund?(optional)

10.3.1 Is the application made at the request of the health insurance fund?(optional)

10.4 Transitional allowance, injury benefit, sickness benefit under social or soldiers' compensation, bridging allowance?(optional)

10.5 Unemployment benefit, basic income support / Bürgergeld, start-up grant, short-time or qualification allowance?(optional)

10.5.1 Is the application made at the request of the employment agency or a job centre?(optional)

10.6 Compensation pension from a pension office, regional association or foreign body?(optional)

10.7 Social assistance or basic income support from the social assistance office?(optional)

10.8 Child supplement (Kinderzuschlag) from the family benefits office?(optional)

10.9 Parental allowance (Elterngeld)?(optional)

10.10 Benefits from the social insurance for agriculture, forestry and horticulture?(optional)

10.11 Student support under the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG)?(optional)

10.12 Youth welfare from the youth office?(optional)

10.13 Other benefits (as listed on the form)?(optional)

11 Pensioners' health insurance (KVdR)

11.1 Statutory health insurance fund for the KVdR notification: name of the fund / branch(optional)

Address of the health insurance fund(optional)

The KVdR notification (form R0810)(optional)

11.2 Beyond the start of the pension, main-occupation self-employment or employment exempt because earnings exceed the annual earnings limit?(optional)

11.3 Applying for a subsidy towards voluntary statutory or private health insurance?(optional)

12 Long-term care insurance

12.1 Do or did you have a child, stepchild or foster child?(optional)

Child's surname and first name(optional)

Child's date of birth(optional)

DD.MM.YYYY

Relationship to the child(optional)

13 Documents for people with visual impairments

13 Documents additionally in an accessible format(optional)

14 Declaration

14 Place, date(optional)

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Who this applies to

Insured people who have reached the standard retirement age (Regelaltersgrenze) and completed the general qualifying period (§ 35 sentence 1 SGB VI), which is five years (§ 50(1) SGB VI). The standard retirement age is reached on completing age 67 (§ 35 sentence 2); for people born before 1 January 1964 it follows the table in § 235(2) SGB VI — 66 for those born in 1958, 66 and 10 months for those born in 1963
The long-term insured, with a 35-year qualifying period: entitled on completing age 67, early claim possible after completing age 63 (§ 36 SGB VI; § 236 SGB VI for people born before 1964)
The very long-term insured, with a 45-year qualifying period: entitled on completing age 65 (§ 38 SGB VI); for people born before 1964 the threshold rises step by step from 63, to 64 and 10 months for those born in 1963 (§ 236b(2) SGB VI)
Severely disabled people recognised as such when the pension starts, with 35 years' qualifying period: entitled on completing age 65, early claim after completing age 62 (§ 37 SGB VI); for people born before 1964 the table in § 236a SGB VI applies
Long-term underground miners: entitled on completing age 62 with a 25-year qualifying period (§ 40 and § 50(3) SGB VI)
NOT someone who drew a reduced-earning-capacity pension or a child-raising pension (Erziehungsrente) up to the standard retirement age: a standard old-age pension then follows unless they decide otherwise (§ 115(3) sentence 1 SGB VI)
NOT survivors' pensions: § 99(2) SGB VI has its own rule — they are not paid for more than twelve calendar months before the month of application
NOT someone already drawing a pension who wants to switch to another one: the Deutsche Rentenversicherung has a shortened application for that (Umwandlungsantrag, form R0110)

Worked example

Monika Adler applies for her standard old-age pension in time

Monika Adler, born in 1961, is a bookkeeper in a small craft business. For her year of birth the standard retirement age is 66 years and 6 months (§ 235(2) SGB VI), and she completed the five-year general qualifying period long ago (§ 50(1) SGB VI). She meets the conditions in September 2027, so the pension can be paid from 1 October 2027, the first calendar month at whose start the conditions are met (§ 99(1) sentence 1 SGB VI). Her deadline runs to the end of the third calendar month after September, i.e. 31 December 2027. As the Deutsche Rentenversicherung recommends, she applies about three months ahead, in July 2027: standard old-age pension, full pension, start 1 October 2027. She works until 30 September 2027 and agrees to the projection, so the pension fund projects her last months' earnings from those reported for the twelve months before (§ 194(1) sentence 6 SGB VI). Had she applied only in February 2028, the pension would have started in February 2028 (§ 99(1) sentence 2 SGB VI): with a monthly pension of EUR 1,450 gross assumed from her pension statement, four monthly payments, EUR 5,800 in total, would have been lost. The pension taxation calculator works out the taxable share of her pension.

How to fill it in, step by step

Check your pension information or pension statement to see which old-age pension applies to you and which qualifying period it requires: five, 25, 35 or 45 years (§ 50 SGB VI).
Fix the start date and work out the § 99(1) SGB VI deadline: the end of the third calendar month after the month in which you meet the conditions.
Choose between a full and a partial pension; a partial pension is at least 10 per cent of the full pension (§ 42(1) SGB VI).
Weigh an early start: the access factor (Zugangsfaktor) falls by 0.003 for each calendar month claimed early (§ 77(2) sentence 1 no. 2(a) SGB VI).
Gather evidence for periods still missing from your insurance record — training, unemployment, sickness — and your children's birth certificates.
Apply about three months before the intended start: online through eAntrag, on form R0100, or at an information and advice centre, with a voluntary insurance adviser, the local insurance office (Versicherungsamt) or the municipal administration.
Answer every question on the form, and where you answer yes, add the periods and bodies asked for by hand.
Decide whether your earnings up to the start of the pension should be projected (§ 194(1) sentence 6 SGB VI).
Sign and send the application with its enclosures to your pension fund — according to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, the one whose letterhead appears on your pension information.

Good to know

Pension funds should, in suitable cases, point out that a benefit can be applied for (§ 115(6) sentence 1 SGB VI) — such a notice does not replace the application.
If you do not claim an old-age pension after reaching the standard retirement age although you meet the qualifying period, the access factor rises by 0.005 above 1.0 for each calendar month (§ 77(2) sentence 1 no. 2(b) SGB VI).
The choice of pension type is final: once an old-age pension has been granted with binding effect, switching to another old-age pension is excluded (§ 34(2) sentence 1 no. 3 SGB VI).
The old-age pension for severely disabled people requires recognition as a severely disabled person at the start of the pension (§ 37 sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI).
The projection uses the contributory earnings reported for the last twelve calendar months and covers up to three months (§ 194(1) sentence 6 SGB VI).
When applying online, according to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung you usually do not need to give your tax ID, and very often no identity document is needed.
According to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, children's birth certificates matter for fathers too, because of pensioners' long-term care contributions; how the number of children changes the contribution rate is shown by the long-term care contribution calculator.
For people born before 1 January 1955 who agreed partial retirement (Altersteilzeit) before 1 January 2007, and for recipients of adjustment allowance for dismissed mining workers, the standard retirement age is not raised (§ 235(2) sentence 3 SGB VI).

Common mistakes

Waiting for the pension to arrive by itself. It is provided only on application (§ 19 sentence 1 SGB IV).
Applying after the three-month window. The pension then starts only in the month of application (§ 99(1) sentence 2 SGB VI).
Mixing up the qualifying periods: five years for the standard old-age pension, 35 for the long-term insured and severely disabled people, 45 for the very long-term insured (§ 50(1), (4) and (5) SGB VI).
Applying the ages in §§ 35 to 38 SGB VI to someone born before 1964. For them, the tables in §§ 235, 236, 236a and 236b SGB VI apply.
Wanting to swap a hastily chosen old-age pension later. Once granted with binding effect, switching to another old-age pension is excluded (§ 34(2) SGB VI).
Applying for a partial pension below 10 per cent. § 42(1) SGB VI sets the floor at 10 per cent of the full pension.
Applying for a standard old-age pension as a precaution after a reduced-earning-capacity pension. It follows anyway unless you decide otherwise (§ 115(3) sentence 1 SGB VI).

Frequently asked questions

From when is my old-age pension paid?

From the calendar month at whose start the conditions are met — if you apply by the end of the third calendar month after the month in which you met them. If you apply later, only from the calendar month in which you apply (§ 99(1) SGB VI).

When should I apply?

The Deutsche Rentenversicherung recommends about three months before the intended start. The statutory rule under which the pension starts only in the month of application is § 99(1) sentence 2 SGB VI.

Can I retire before the standard retirement age?

Yes, with the old-age pension for the long-term insured (early after completing age 63, § 36 SGB VI) or for severely disabled people (early after completing age 62, § 37 SGB VI), and for people born before 1964 under the tables in §§ 236 and 236a. The access factor then falls by 0.003 for each month claimed early (§ 77(2) sentence 1 no. 2(a) SGB VI). Entitlement to the old-age pension for the very long-term insured arises on completing age 65 (§ 38 SGB VI), earlier for people born before 1964 under the table in § 236b.

Do I have to take the full pension?

No. You can draw an old-age pension in full or as a partial pension of at least 10 per cent of the full pension (§ 42(1) SGB VI).

What does the projection do?

It can speed up the pension decision: when the employer reports earnings separately, the pension fund works out the expected earnings up to the start of the pension for up to three months from the earnings reported over the last twelve calendar months (§ 194(1) sentence 6 SGB VI).

I draw a reduced-earning-capacity pension. Do I need to apply for the old-age pension?

If you drew it up to the standard retirement age, a standard old-age pension follows unless you decide otherwise (§ 115(3) sentence 1 SGB VI), and the general qualifying period is then deemed met (§ 50(1) sentence 2 no. 1 SGB VI).

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Related forms

Official sources

§ 99 SGB VI — Start of the pension — September 23, 2026
§ 115 SGB VI — Start of the procedure — September 23, 2026
§ 19 SGB IV — Benefits on application or ex officio — September 23, 2026
§ 35 SGB VI — Standard old-age pension — September 23, 2026
§ 235 SGB VI — Standard old-age pension (raising of the standard retirement age) — September 23, 2026
§ 36 SGB VI — Old-age pension for the long-term insured — September 23, 2026
§ 236 SGB VI — Old-age pension for the long-term insured (born before 1964) — September 23, 2026
§ 37 SGB VI — Old-age pension for severely disabled people — September 23, 2026
§ 236a SGB VI — Old-age pension for severely disabled people (born before 1964) — September 23, 2026
§ 38 SGB VI — Old-age pension for the very long-term insured — September 23, 2026
§ 236b SGB VI — Old-age pension for the very long-term insured (born before 1964) — September 23, 2026
§ 40 SGB VI — Old-age pension for long-term underground miners — September 23, 2026
§ 50 SGB VI — Qualifying periods — September 23, 2026
§ 42 SGB VI — Full and partial pension — September 23, 2026
§ 77 SGB VI — Access factor — September 23, 2026
§ 34 SGB VI — Conditions for a pension entitlement (no switching) — September 23, 2026
§ 194 SGB VI — Separate report and projection — September 23, 2026
Deutsche Rentenversicherung — How do I apply for my pension? (Wie beantrage ich meine Rente?) — September 23, 2026
Deutsche Rentenversicherung — R0100 Antrag auf Versichertenrente (Rentenantrag), version 35, as of 1 July 2026 — September 23, 2026

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Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.