The German Basic Pension Act (Gesetz zur Grundrente) will become effective as of January 1, 2021. Please note: The basic pension is not a separate payment. It is paid out as a supplement to your statutory pension. 

Deutsche Rentenversicherung examines whether the conditions for the basic pension supplement have been met for each pension recipient on a case-by-case basis. You do not need to do anything. There is no need to submit an application.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION! Deutsche Rentenversicherung warns against con artists. Further information here.

If you meet the conditions, Deutsche Rentenversicherung will send you a notification informing you of the amount of your supplement. The first notifications will begin going out in July 2021 at the earliest. It may take until the end of 2022 for some notifications to be sent.

In any event, the basic pension will be paid out retroactively. This means that if you do not receive your notification until December 2022, you will receive all of your basic pension supplement payments for the period from January 2021 to December 2022 in a single payment.

Information regarding the basic pension is provided by Deutsche Rentenversicherung, for example through its toll-free number 0800 1000 4800 from Monday through Thursday between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. or on Fridays between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Further information is available here:

• Deutsche Rentenversicherung Grundrente
• Deutsche Rentenversicherung Grundrente in leichter Sprache
• Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales Grundrente

• Your pension payment on the last bank working day of a month is guaranteed.
  
• Due to a change in personnel deployment, there may temporarily be longer waiting times on the telephone. Please send us your change requests and/or concerns in written form. Click here for further information.
  
• Our Pension Service information centers in Berlin, Cologne, Leipzig and Stuttgart will remain closed until further notice.
  
• There are currently restrictions on the freedom of movement in some countries. There may therefore be delays in delivering checks. You can convert your pension payment to a bank transfer using the Zahlungserklärung (payment declaration)/Zahlungsermächtigung (payment authorization) form. You can find more details here.
  

Current information regarding the life certificate for 2021 is available in your language of choice here.

Everything you need to know about the life certificate can be found in our FAQs.