Finding lost money in Germany.
German pensions are split between the statutory scheme and employer promises. Tracing the second kind usually starts with the old employer.
Last read: 1 November 2026
Pensions
State pension: Deutsche Rentenversicherung (Kontenklärung). Your statutory pension insurance record. A Kontenklärung checks it and lets you add missing periods.
Workplace and private pensions: Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin). Ask your former employer whether it made a pension promise. BaFin runs a company database of insurers and pension funds (Pensionsfonds) that need its authorisation.
Key facts and sources
- Earnings equal to the average earnings for the year give exactly one earnings point (Entgeltpunkt) in the statutory pension insurance. Source: Deutsche Rentenversicherung, glossary: Entgeltpunkte, read 1 November 2026.
- An employer pension entitlement is kept if the job ends after the 21st birthday and the pension promise had lasted at least three years. Source: Betriebsrentengesetz section 1b, gesetze-im-internet.de, read 1 November 2026.
- You can ask Deutsche Rentenversicherung to check your account (Kontenklärung) with form V0100 or online, and missing periods such as time abroad can be added during the check. Source: Deutsche Rentenversicherung, press release on online Kontenklärung, read 1 November 2026.
Questions
How do I find a lost pension in Germany?
Ask your former employers whether they made a pension promise. The BaFin company database lists insurers and pension funds that need its authorisation. Your statutory record sits with Deutsche Rentenversicherung.
Can I check my German state pension from abroad?
The official pages do not say. You can ask Deutsche Rentenversicherung to check your account with form V0100 or online, so contact them directly about your case.
Do I keep an employer pension if I leave a German job early?
You keep the entitlement if the job ends after your 21st birthday and the pension promise had lasted at least three years. Other cases may follow different rules, so ask the employer.
Worked in more than one country?
No national tool looks across borders. PensionHunter traces pensions left behind across borders. It is run by Battersea Park Capital. Capital Find Money's founder has an interest in it, and we feature it because no national tool looks across countries. Try the free lost pension checker. Our own count of pensions left behind and the guides are free.
We always point people to the free government tracing route first, and we take nothing from financial advisers.