Whether you can take early retirement or not depends on the severity of your illness. Severely disabled people (that means people whose degree of disability (GdB) has been assessed as 50 or over) can retire before reaching normal retirement age.

You are entitled to receive your old-age pension earlier if you are recognized as a severely disabled person at the time when you apply and can prove that you have completed 35 qualifying years for pension insurance.

Old-age pension for severely disabled people will also continue to be paid if, later on, you cease to be severely disabled.

Information about early retirement for severely disabled people is available from the pension authority Deutsche Rentenversicherung.

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