Why are you happy today?

[Alberto]

Because she was a stay-at-home mum (politically incorrect) her pension is not massive but still welcome.

How can she has a pension at all if she didn't work?
My wife too is a stay-at-home mum, and therefore we don't expect any German pension for her

[PandaMunich]

How can she has a pension at all if she didn't work?
My wife too is a stay-at-home mum, and therefore we don't expect any German pension for her

For children whose first 2.5 years (for children born up to 1991) or whose first 3 years (for children who were born starting with 1992) were spent in Germany, the mother gets pension points at a "worth" of the average German pension at that time.
So if a mother has two children raised in Germany, she will for sure get at least 5 years worth of pension points, i.e. will have reached the minimum necessary contribution time of 5 years to draw a German social security pension.
Even with only one child, if she then paid voluntary social security pension contributions to reach the minimum 5 contribution years (anywhere in the EU, for this, the UK still counts as EU), she will get a German social security pension.
For details, please read: https://www-finanztip-de.translate.goog ... r_pto=wapp

If the mother raised the children in another EU country (and the UK "counts" as EU for up to 2020) and then worked in Germany, then she will also get these extra pension years, please see here: https://www-eu--gleichbehandlungsstelle ... r_pto=wapp

--> your wife should now get employment in Germany, at least a mini job, and then her child raising years that happened pre-2020 in the UK will get her 3 years of German pension points.

[Alberto]

Thanks Panda

[bethannbitt]

I am happy for all the posts about "spunk" in the laughing thread. I've a good reason to be posting in the Unhappy thread today, but the "spunk" posts are a good diversion. Long live spunk. It's admirable to have spunk.

[HEM]

Because she was a stay-at-home mum (politically incorrect) her pension is not massive but still welcome.

How can she has a pension at all if she didn't work?
My wife too is a stay-at-home mum, and therefore we don't expect any German pension for her

My wife was working (DESY Rechenzentrum) when we met and then for a further 4+ years until Mutterschutz.
She had also had some Summer jobs whilst studying.

But her salary was not particularly high ...

[bethannbitt]

Mixed feelings, but I'm a glass-half-full kinda gal. A dear, dear friend of mine in Kansas who is the same age as my mother passed away yesterday. As good fortune would have it I was in the US in September and was with her to celebrate her bellybutton birthday. So my last memories of being with her are positive and loving, for which I can be most grateful. Timing is sometimes good to us.