The pension landscape in Germany is based on a three-pillar-system:?

• State Pension (see ‘Other Social Insurances Schemes’)
• Occupational Pension
• Private Pension

Employees in the public sector are automatically insured with the VBL (Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der L?nder) for their occupational pension.
Academic employees with a fixed-term contract of less than 5 years can choose between two types of insurance: VBLklassik and VBLextra.

Under the VBLklassik scheme, you must have been actively insured for 5 years to be entitled to a pension. This means that if you have worked in the public sector in Germany (or first in Germany and then in another EU country) for less than 5 years during your working life, you will not be entitled to an occupational pension.

There is no minimum contribution period for the VBLextra scheme; you acquire pension rights from the first contribution. Conditions for insurance under the VBLextra plan:?

• Temporary employment with an employment contract of less than 5 years
• No previous employment under the VBLklassik scheme
• The employer must be informed within the first two months that insurance under the VBLextra plan is desired, otherwise the VBLklassik scheme will be selected automatically

If you are initially insured under the VBLextra scheme and your employment is later extended beyond the 5-year limit, you will automatically switch to the VBLklassik plan.
More information on the VBL can be found here.
The FindYourPension?website also provides an overview of pension entitlements and pension systems in various European countries.