Social Court Denies Claim for Early Retirement Based on Altered Age

A woman who immigrated to Germany from Lebanon or Turkey has failed in her bid to have her age officially altered to qualify for an earlier retirement. The Berlin Social Court dismissed her request for a new social security number reflecting a birth year of 1946, a stark contrast to the previously stated 1960.

The woman, who entered Germany with her husband in the early 1980s, initially claimed to be born in 1960 in Beirut and was issued a social security number based on this information. However, she later presented new documentation claiming her real name was different and that she was born in 1946 in Turkey. This included a Turkish passport issued in 2014 and an extract from the Turkish civil registry.

The pension insurance agency rejected her request to recognize the new birth year, prompting her to file a lawsuit. Initially, the Social Court ruled in her favor, but the pension agency appealed the decision.

During the appeal process, the Landessozialgericht conducted fingerprint analysis, comparing the plaintiff's prints with those of the woman who immigrated in 1981. The fingerprints matched, reinforcing the original claim regarding her birth year of 1960.

The court emphasized that the age first disclosed to the pension authority is the one that carries weight. While the Turkish civil registry is a legitimate document, it was deemed no more valid than the Lebanese passport originally submitted.

Additional factors also cast doubt on the credibility of her new claims. If her alleged birth year of 1946 were accurate, she would have been 31 years old at the time of her marriage in 1977, raising questions about the age of her husband, whom she would have married when he was just 14. Furthermore, her subsequent children, born between the ages of 35 and 45, presented a scenario the court deemed unlikely based on realistic life circumstances.

The ruling is not yet final, and the woman has the option to apply for a review at the Federal Social Court.