Voluntary contributions to the statutory pension fund can increase the pension and compensate for reductions. Or secure a claim at all. But payments for 2022 should be made quickly. You can read here who is allowed to do this and to what extent.
Also this year, until March 31, there is still the possibility to pay voluntary contributions to the statutory pension insurance retrospectively for the year 2022, as reported by the German Pension Insurance Association.
Voluntary contributions make sense, especially for those who are not insured under the statutory pension scheme or who would like to use the additional contributions to cover the five-year waiting period required for pension entitlement. Especially mothers and fathers who never paid into the pension fund and instead devoted themselves to raising children benefit. For each child born after 1992, you are credited with three years of parenting time. Since 2014, mothers and fathers whose children were born before 1992 have been credited with two years of fictitious contribution payments - previously it was only one year. But that is not enough, at least for one child, to be able to enjoy a statutory pension. Here, the payment of voluntary contributions can secure the pension entitlement.
Freelancers and civil servants can also secure their statutory pension in this way and also freely choose the amount of their monthly contribution within the limits mentioned. In the case of civil servants, the statutory pension thus acquired does not reduce the amount of the pension. However, employees who are compulsorily insured, have reached the age of 50 and would like to retire early can also compensate for a pension reduction by paying voluntary contributions. Payment can also be used to maintain insurance cover for a pension due to partial or full disability. The contributions are also tax deductible.
Voluntary contributions increase the pension entitlement. The higher the contributions paid, the higher the pension increase. Paying the voluntary minimum contribution of EUR 96.72 for one year currently results in a gross monthly pension increase of around EUR 5.78; at the maximum contribution of 1320.60 euros it is around 78 euros gross. If voluntary contributions are transferred, the insurance number and the period for which the contributions are to apply must be given. There is no distinction between the old and new federal states.
The old-age pension is paid for life, no matter how old you are. In the event of death, pension payments can be made to the surviving dependents. However, those who save for retirement have to keep in mind that taxes are usually due on the pension in retirement, albeit usually much less. In addition, there are many contributions for the statutory health and long-term care insurance of around 11 percent.
By how many euros the voluntary payments increase the statutory pension can be calculated using the calculator on the information portal www.ihre-pension.de. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung is also available for information, advice and forecasts. All information on voluntary insurance is also available in the free brochure "Voluntary pension insurance: your advantages" - it is available for download here.
