We've had a couple inquiries lately from people looking to retire in Germany. There may be a few "issues" - mainly concerned with health insurance, due to age limits on entry to the national system. But I'll let our German members fill you in on that.

On your other questions:
2. The easiest solution on transferring your pension check may be something like Wise (formerly Transferwise). They can set you up with a US based account so that you can transfer your monthly pension money via an ACH transfer (I think it's called) from your US bank (or it may be possible to have your pension sent directly to the Wise US account) - and from there, you transfer it yourself each month to your German bank account. There is a fee - but it's way less than the usual bank transfer and exchange fees. And when it goes into your German account, it arrives there as a local SEPA transfer (i.e. from a European bank, so no fees for "receiving" a foreign wire transfer). I did my IRA withdrawals this way for several years.

3. The tax treaty provides that it's Germany that taxes your US SS benefits (as regular income). That's not the case in all European countries - should you wind up retiring to France or Spain, it's the US that gets first dibs and then you claim a tax credit on your French or Spanish tax declaration. Though you generally declare your US SS payments on both your US and German (or other) returns. For US purposes, SS benefits are often fully or partially free of US income tax, depending on whatever other sources of income you may have.

 

If you are going to the embassy, you are applying for a visa, not a residence permit. As an American you don't need a visa to enter Germany, you can simply show up then within 90 days of arrival make an appointment with your local Ausländerbehörde to apply for a residence permit (various requirements for this, including having health insurance and your Anmeldung).

That being said, on what basis would you be applying for a residence permit? Germany has no provision for retirement or living off passive income - you need to either be working (for a German employer or as a freelancer with German clients) or a student.

A further issue for potential retirement in Germany - for those with EU nationality or otherwise entitled to live in the country - is that if you never worked and paid into the public health care system, you cannot obtain public health insurance after age 55. This leaves the private system, which is expensive when you get old. For this reason even German citizens sometimes cannot afford to return in retirement, if they left as children and spent their working lives abroad.

You are putting the cart before the horse by asking about money transfers, banking and taxes when it's not clear that you would have any ability to live in Germany.

 

...if you never worked and paid into the public health care system, you cannot obtain public health insurance after age 55.

Revised version:

...if you never worked and paid into the public health care system in Germany or any other EU country, you cannot obtain public health insurance after age 55.

 

Isn't it amusing when you suggest to someone that their idea might not work and they go dead silent?

 

Dear Mr. Moles,

I did reply to your original message. I must not have saved it to share. I am not the best with technology. I did share that I learned of the Ausländerbehörde Office in Solingen. I googled it, called them and explained what I wanted to do. The person with whom I spoke provided me with an e-mail address at that office in Solingen. I e-mailed but I have not gotten a response.

I also located an old passport which contained my VISA and Work Permit in Germany when I was a Fulbright in 2002-2003 confirming my being a teacher in Chemnitz. I will present this at my meeting at the German Embassy when doing my application. I do hope this will help in the application process as I have been granted a visa in the past.

I know that German health insurance is cost prohibitive for me. However, I do have a Global Section of my Care First Blue Cross/Blue Shield allowing me to see doctors in Germany. This coverage will lapse on August 31, 2024 as I move to enroll in the retiree health plan. As I am not 65, I can enroll on the City of Baltimore's Care First Blue Cross/Blue Shield which has a global section of coverage. I will be looking into Cigna,Bupa and HTH as recommended in the book I have been reading my Kathleen Peddicord entitled, How to Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well (for Less) Abroad (2018). I also came across some literature about Americans who retire to Germany.

I don't plan to work there. However, I can work there if I need as there is a teacher shortage.

Social Security will deposit my pension into a German bank account. However, it is my state pension which requires me to have a US bank account. I know there will be fees for the transfer. I am looking at finding the most economical way to get it there.

Again, I appreciate your response and I don't know why my original reply didn't post.

 

I also located an old passport which contained my VISA and Work Permit in Germany when I was a Fulbright in 2002-2003 confirming my being a teacher in Chemnitz. I will present this at my meeting at the German Embassy when doing my application. I do hope this will help in the application process as I have been granted a visa in the past.

I don't plan to work there. However, I can work there if I need as there is a teacher shortage.

I don´t know how Fulbright works - were you enrolled in the German health system? Did you pay tax and social contributions?

The German Embassy will not have the last word regarding a residence permit. Embassies issue Visas = entry clearance, the local immigration authorities decide about residence permits with quite a bit of leeway given to individual case workers, especially regarding permits outside of immigration rules, which retirement would be.

So, even if the Embassy says maybe, or no, the local Ausländerbehörde could say yes or no or give you a year´s permit with specific requirements to meet during that year and a maybe for a renewal.

There is a lot of movement in German immigration law right now but I think most paths could be a non-starter due to age.

Bev´s idea of living close to the German border could be a great one and give you the best of both worlds.

Edit: Or look into the rules for Belgium and the Netherlands if you want to be closer to Solingen.

 

So again, you don't need a visa as a US citizen, you can if you wish simply appear at your local Ausländerbehörde. There is no need to go to the embassy, though doing so will potentially save you time and money if you receive a firm no before booking your travel.

You were granted a work permit in 2002 because you were a teacher on an exchange program. There is currently no permit for retirement supported by passive income, nor would you qualify for teaching outside of an exchange program. Your only guaranteed option is 90 days as a tourist. That being said, the Ausländerbehörde has a fair amount of discretion and they might decide to issue a residence permit to extend your stay as a visitor, for a year or two but certainly not permanently.

What specific suggestions have you seen for retirement in Germany?

 

Dear Mr. Moles,

I thank you for your detailed reply. I was using the following website:

https://www.germany-visa.org/retirement-in-germany/

It is true that there is no specific visa for retiring to Germany. However, I did see from the German embassy website the information concerning shortage of teachers.

Search

www.make-it-in-germany.com

I am not looking to teach. However, I could teach if it grants me a permit and I'll take it from there. I do have a terminal degree and state certifications.

I do plan to fly to Germany about late September and spend time with friends through Christmas/New Year if that will be possible.

Again, I appreciate you sharing insight to the process.

Tyrone

 

I will be blunt and direct, like a German: did you read the page you linked to? Yes you can retire to Germany if you have a valid residence permit. How can you obtain such a residence permit? There's a bulleted list of four categories, and receiving passive income is not one of them.

Furthermore it's a private web site. You need to consult something official, published by the German government.

Your US teaching credential would not allow you to teach in Germany (unless possibly you found a position at a private international school). I have Canadian friends teaching in Gymnasium. The qualification process was long and arduous.

If you want to see friends over New Years you should travel in early October so you don't exceed 90 days as a visitor. After that you need to stay out of the Schengen area for at least another 90 days, under the 90 in 180 rule.

 

Hi,
I thank you for your reply. I'll just have to see what they say. I'll place my cards on the table and cross my fingers. If they admit me, great! If not, I'll go to France. It will be their loss and mine. Being in Maryland allows me to gather everything while I'm here and present it. Since I am not connected with the US Military in any way, I do believe that many American GIs remain there as well.

Thanks again

 

I do believe that many American GIs remain there as well.

Yes, but - many of them have married German nationals and it's a big reason why they want to stay in Germany. (I used to be the HR person for a US company with a manufacturing plant in Germany - we got lots of resumés saying "I'll take any job" from GIs looking to stay in Germany with their German wives.)

Actually, looking to France might not be a bad idea - if you were living in Alsace, you could pop over the border pretty much whenever you pleased to visit friends in Germany. You're still subject to the 90 days in a rolling 180 day restriction - but that's lots easier if you're making day trips or only "visiting in Schengen" for a long weekend at a time. France will pretty much give you a visitor visa as long as you're receiving a pension. There are regulations and aggravations (kind of the same thing) to retiring in France and getting yourself set up there. But you only need to be able to get a one-year private health insurance for the visa - and after 3 months of residence, you can register with the French national health care program. You'll need (or at least want) a "top up health insurance" to go with that, but those are available once you have the national cover arranged.

 

The Solingen Ausländerbehörde giving you an e-mail address over the phone then not answering your e-mail is the most Beamter thing ever. This should give you an idea of how it will go.