How am I insured when I retire abroad from Germany?

In short

How am I insured when I retire abroad from Germany? In the EU, the EEA and Switzerland you usually stay with your German health fund on a German pension, keep paying contributions in Germany and get treatment locally with form S1. If you retire to Thailand or the USA, statutory cover ends; international health insurance from age 60 often costs EUR 400 to 700 a month.

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What it costs

Published premiums for cover when you retire abroad, German market.

Example	Typical range
International health insurance from age 60, without USA	often EUR 400 to 700 a month
Long term travel policy up to 65, German address kept	about EUR 29 a month
Long term travel policy, age 66 to 75	about EUR 75 a month
Long term travel policy from age 76	about EUR 210 a month
Statutory fund with S1 in another EU country	EUR 0 extra locally, pension contributions continue

Figures from published tariff examples, October 2026.

Your premium depends on age, health and country; we obtain the exact quote.

Worked example

Couple aged 67 and 65, statutory insured, moving to Spain or to Thailand

Both receive only a German pension. This is how health cover differs when they retire abroad.

Spain: German fund via S1	no extra premium, contributions from the pension as before
Spain: liability and contents locally	new policies in the new country
Thailand: two international health policies	about EUR 800 to 1,400 a month
Thailand: long term care	suspended while living there

Retiring within the EU barely changes health costs; outside Europe the couple pays roughly EUR 9,600 to 16,800 a year extra.

When you retire abroad, the country decides

When you retire abroad from Germany, three groups of countries matter. In the EU, the EEA and Switzerland European social security rules apply and your German fund stays in charge. Germany has agreements with a few other states. Everywhere else your German statutory cover ends once you live there.

Long term care, contributions and whether you can still use your German health card on visits all follow from this. Check it first, before you deal with liability, contents and car insurance.

Where you retire	Health insurance	Long term care
EU, EEA, Switzerland	German fund stays, form S1	care allowance from Germany, services locally
Agreement country	depends on the agreement, ask your fund	depends on the agreement
Other countries, e.g. Thailand or USA	ends, private full cover needed	suspended

Retiring within the EU: form S1

If you draw a German state pension and no pension in your new country, you stay insured with your German fund (Krankenkasse). Contributions continue as before and nothing extra is due in your new country. With form S1 you register with the local health insurer and receive treatment like local residents.

That means you get the local level of care, not the German one. In countries with a national health service, such as Portugal or Italy, waiting times and co-payments can apply. When you visit Germany you can still use your German health card in full.

Family members who move with you fall under the rules of the new country from the moving date. If your partner does not qualify for family cover there, the German fund checks how they can stay insured.

Retiring outside Europe

If you retire to Thailand, the USA or another country without an agreement, German statutory health insurance ends. You then need international health insurance. A travel policy is not enough, because it requires a home address in Germany and only pays emergency treatment.

Premiums for international health insurance depend heavily on your age at entry. From 60, EUR 400 to 700 a month is common, more with US cover. Some plans accept no new customers from 65, and pre-existing conditions can be excluded. Arrange it before you retire abroad, not after.

Long term care when you retire abroad

Outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, German long term care benefits are suspended while you live abroad. Only during a temporary stay of up to eight weeks a year is care allowance (Pflegegeld) still paid.

Inside the EU, care insurance follows health insurance. The German care fund pays the care allowance, while services such as a care home follow local law. Many countries have no care insurance like Germany's, so the level can be far lower. People who move to the UK as new cases no longer receive German care benefits there.

Liability, contents and car when you move

Under the German model terms for personal liability (Privathaftpflicht), claims abroad are covered only during a temporary stay up to the length set in your policy. If you retire abroad for good, you usually need a policy in the new country. Snowbirds who keep a home in Germany often stay covered.

Contents insurance (Hausrat) covers the home named in the policy. Once you give up your German flat, the need ends and you insure the new home locally. A car registered in the new country needs local liability cover. Ask your German motor insurer for a confirmation of your no claims years before you cancel, as some foreign insurers recognise it.

When little needs to change

If you only spend the winter months in the south and keep your German address, you stay insured as before. You then need travel health insurance that runs long enough: annual policies usually end after 42 or 56 days per trip, longer stays need a long term travel policy.

Norman Nammert works as an insurance broker (Versicherungsmakler) and checks before you retire abroad which German contracts stay, which end and where a gap opens. The insurer pays the commission, so the review is free for you.

Step by step

Check whether the country is EU, EEA, Switzerland, an agreement country or elsewhere.
Ask your fund for form S1 or a confirmation that your cover ends.
Outside Europe, take out international health insurance before you move.
Ask your care fund which benefits are possible in the new country.
Cancel liability and contents insurance as of moving day and insure locally.
Request a no claims confirmation from your motor insurer.

Checklist

Health cover settled from moving day without a gap
Form S1 handed in locally
Long term care in the new country checked
Liability cover for the new home in place
German contents policy cancelled, new home insured
Pension insurance and health fund told your new address

Common mistakes

Living abroad permanently on a travel policy
Looking for international health insurance only after 65
Assuming German levels of care apply in another EU country
Keeping German liability cover although you live abroad for good

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Do I pay health contributions in another EU country?

With only a German pension you keep paying your German fund; nothing is due in the new country.

Can I see a doctor on visits to Germany?

Yes.

If you are covered via S1 in another EU country,

you keep using your German health card during temporary stays.

What about health cover in Thailand?

There is no agreement with Thailand.

German statutory cover ends and you need private international insurance.

Do I get care allowance abroad?

In the EU the German care fund keeps paying it.

Elsewhere it is suspended, except during up to eight weeks of temporary stay a year.

Is my German liability insurance enough when I retire abroad?

Only for temporary stays up to the length in your policy.

If you live abroad for good, you usually need a local policy.

What if I only spend the winter abroad?

With a German address all contracts continue.

Watch the maximum trip length in your travel health policy.

Sources

NAMMERT insurance broker

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