Foreign pensions: what changes after a move

List each pension separately

Make a separate row for every pension: payer, country, legal scheme, annual amount and payment form. Distinguish statutory social security, occupational pensions, private insurance or annuities, government-service pensions and lump sums. A bank transfer description saying pension does not settle its legal classification.

Keep the award letter, scheme rules, contribution history and any statement of tax already withheld. Tell the payer your actual move date and address, and ask whether proof of life, residence certification or a new bank mandate is needed. Tax treatment, continued payment and S1 healthcare responsibility are separate questions.

Sources: NRA — pensions and qualifying voluntary insurance · Your Europe — health insurance when living abroad

Which pensions Bulgaria exempts

NRA confirms exemption for compulsory-insurance income from Bulgaria and abroad. For supplementary voluntary pensions, the statutory definition includes qualifying schemes under Bulgarian, EU/EEA or OECD-country law operated by relevant pension institutions; NRA also identifies the pension-entitlement condition. A foreign savings withdrawal or surrender payment does not automatically qualify.

Ask for the exact domestic provision applied to your contract and payment. Exemption in Bulgaria does not determine taxation abroad.

Sources: NRA — pensions and qualifying voluntary insurance

Germany: three important treaty routes

For a treaty resident of Bulgaria receiving German payments, Article 17(1) generally assigns pensions and annuities to the residence state. Article 17(2) overrides this for statutory social-security payments: Germany alone has the taxing right. Article 18(2) generally assigns qualifying government-service pensions to Germany, with an exception for a recipient resident in Bulgaria who is also a Bulgarian national.

Occupational and private contracts need classification; the payer’s name alone is insufficient. These are taxing-right allocations, not a calculation of tax payable.

Sources: German Bundestag 17/2253 — Germany–Bulgaria treaty text, Articles 17–18

Use the amended treaty

The protocol signed on 21 July 2022 is applicable from 1 January 2024 according to the German Finance Ministry’s treaty-status table. It does not rewrite Articles 17 and 18. It does change Bulgaria’s double-tax relief method and introduce a principal-purpose anti-abuse rule.

Ask your adviser to use the current treaty, actual residence and complete payment details. A promotional claim that moving makes all German pensions tax-free omits the statutory-pension exception and the individual domestic analysis.

Sources: German Bundestag 20/6818 — 2022 amending protocol · German Finance Ministry — treaty status January 2025

Before choosing a lump sum or changing a contract

Before a large withdrawal, obtain a written assessment covering both countries, the specific scheme, whether pension entitlement has arisen, and the proposed payment date. Periodic pension payments, early surrender and capital withdrawals need not receive identical treatment. Do not choose a move date or surrender a contract solely from a general country tax rate.

If the pension comes from another country, use that country’s treaty with Bulgaria. The German example cannot be transferred to Austrian, Swiss, British or other schemes. Request separate confirmation for survivor and disability benefits too.

Sources: NRA — pensions and qualifying voluntary insurance · German Bundestag 17/2253 — Germany–Bulgaria treaty text, Articles 17–18

What will reach your account?

Ask the payer and adviser what arrives after tax, insurance deductions and transfer costs, and which returns or certificates remain due. Keep foreign tax assessments even where the Bulgarian receipt is exempt. Allow for administrative delays and any currency exposure.

Enter the confirmed annual net figure into your year-round budget. This is general orientation; personal cross-border advice is especially valuable before a lump sum, a sale or a change in residence.

Sources: NRA — resident and non-resident individuals · NRA — pensions and qualifying voluntary insurance

Useful contacts

Contact details from the linked sources. Arrange appointments, language and fees with the provider.