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Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German pension insurance)

Kontenklärung (clarification of your pension account): what you need to do

What this letter means

The Rentenversicherung keeps an insurance account for you. With the Aufforderung zur Kontenklärung (request to clarify your account), it asks you to check your Versicherungsverlauf (insurance record), add missing periods and send proof. You are obliged to do this (§ 149 Abs. 4 SGB VI).

Often school and university periods from the age of 17, periods of raising children or periods abroad are missing. To clarify your account, use the application form V0100, online or on paper.

Once the account is clarified, the Rentenversicherung confirms the data that are more than six calendar years in the past with a Feststellungsbescheid (decision confirming the data) (§ 149 Abs. 5 SGB VI). You can file a Widerspruch (objection) against this decision.

What to do now

  1. 1Read the attached Versicherungsverlauf and mark the gaps.
  2. 2Collect proof: certificates, university enrolment certificates, employment contracts, birth certificates of your children.
  3. 3Fill in the application for Kontenklärung (V0100). Doing it online is the easiest way.
  4. 4Send copies, not originals, and keep a copy for yourself.
  5. 5Check the later Feststellungsbescheid and, if there are mistakes, file a Widerspruch within one month.
  6. 6Write your reply in German. German authorities work in German, so a letter in German is the safest way to make sure your reply is understood and processed. The templates (Vorlagen) on this site are in German.

How you can reply

Apply for Kontenklärung

With form V0100 and proof. Online you can upload documents and save a draft.

Widerspruch (objection) against the Feststellungsbescheid

If periods are missing or entered wrongly.

Template: Widerspruch gegen einen Bescheid (Jobcenter, Krankenkasse)

Common questions

I no longer have any proof. What now?

The Rentenversicherung offers forms for statements by witnesses and for statutory declarations (eidesstattliche Versicherungen) (V0120, V0125). Ask at an advice centre what is possible in your case.

Is the application for Kontenklärung a pension application?

No. It only serves to make your insurance account complete.

Can I apply for Kontenklärung without being asked?

Yes, at any time. The Rentenversicherung recommends closing gaps early.

Sources (German law and official pages)

  1. § 149 SGB VI: Versicherungskonto
  2. Deutsche Rentenversicherung: Antrag auf Kontenklärung (V0100)
  3. Deutsche Rentenversicherung: Rentenkonto online klären (2026)
  4. § 84 SGG: Frist und Form des Widerspruchs

Research as of: 10 November 2026