I lived and worked full time in Cologne from 3rd November 2008 to 28th February 2013 and was on Arbeitslosengeld from March 2013 and deregistered with the Arbeitsagentur on 14th Jan 2014. I left Cologne, done some travelling, then moved back to the UK and have been working here since.
I understand that I cannot claim back my contributions since I was there pre-Brexit but I just found out that you only need a minimum of 5 years contributions to qualify for the pension. I believe Arbeitslosengeld makes contributions, which would put my around the 5 year mark if I remember the dates correctly. If my memory is wrong, I might be a month or two short. Is it possible to check and make a voluntary contribution to top it up?
I technically have dual nationality but do not have the passport (I'm checking to see what it would take to get it). Is this a better route than going for the minimum pension?
Thanks in advance!