The German state of Rhineland-Palatinate made over 50,000 pension payments to people living in France last year, according to new data from Deutsche Rentenversicherung (DRV).

The country’s nationalised pension scheme said that by the end of 2023, it had paid around 53,700 pensions abroad, nearly twice what it did so 10 years before.

Of these, 50,529 were to France and 1,256 were to Luxembourg. In proper geographical context, the state capital of Rhineland-Palatinate is Mainz, around two hours drive away from both the French city of Strasbourg and Luxembourg.

The DRV said in a statement: “There is a simple reason why most pensions go to neighbouring France: the German Pension Insurance Rhineland-Palatinate is the liaison office to France and Luxembourg within the statutory pension insurance. Insured persons, pensioners who live and work in Germany, France or Luxembourg are cared for here. And the exchange between Rhineland-Palatinate and France as immediate neighbours is particularly diverse.”

Outside of France and Luxembourg, the DRV said it paid pensions to 111 other countries.

It added: “When pensioners move within Europe, the German pension is usually paid in full abroad. This is because European law has been in place for 65 years, coordinating the national security systems in Europe. This means that all residents of the European Union are treated equally.

"When moving to another EU country, there are basically no disadvantages in terms of pensions.”

According to Deutsche im Ausland, which educates German nationals on their rights outside of the country, there are around 1.8 million Germans working in a European country outside their home state, with a further 1.6 million further afield.

This equates to roughly 4 per cent of the population. However, 40 per cent of those saying they want to go abroad also state that they would like to return to Germany.

Another source from the DRV, Ihre Vorsorge, stated that the nation currently has treaties and agreements with 50 countries around the world so that statutory pension entitlements acquired abroad can be transferred to a German state pension.

Ihre Vorsorge said that the contracting states include the 26 nations of the EU, three in the European Economic Area (Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein – plus Switzerland, albeit minus a treaty), and 20 others.

The nation also has an agreement, signed 22 years ago with China, that employees of both countries who are temporarily employed by their company in the other only have to pay contributions to pension and unemployment insurance once. The agreement does not contain any other provisions, for example on the acquisition of pension rights or the payment of pensions.

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