As an employee you are in principle compulsorily insured in the statutory pension insurance. Pension insurance includes various benefits:

The pension provides financial security in old age if you no longer receive income from work. To receive an old-age pension, a certain age must be reached and a certain number of legal pension periods must have been completed.

The decisive age for drawing the regular old-age pension is 65 up to the year of birth 1946. For the following years of birth, the standard age limit is gradually increased up to 67 years old. From 2029, this age limit will apply to everyone born in 1964 or later. However, the statutory pension insurance includes other old-age pensions, which allow earlier retirement under special personal conditions, for example if there is a severe disability and/or long-term contributions to the statutory pension insurance.

A principle in pension insurance is: The more and the longer you pay in contributions and the higher these are, the higher your future pension will be. In addition to the contribution periods from earned income, periods in which children were raised or relatives were cared for can also be taken into account. In addition, “non-contributory periods” are taken into account for various issues (e.g. school attendance).

If you were employed in other EU countries, in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, the insurance periods that you have completed in these Member States are taken into account to meet waiting periods. However, each of these States pays a separate pension once you reach retirement age.

Please note: Note that the statutory pension is less than your income while working. In order to maintain your standard of living in old age, you should supplement the statutory pension insurance with a company and/or private pension.

Pension insurance also supports you if you become incapacitated in the course of your working life, that is, if you can no longer or only partially work due to illness or a disability. You will then receive rehabilitation benefits to restore your ability to work or a pension for reduced ability to work if your state of health means that you will no longer be able to work or will only be able to work to a limited extent for the foreseeable future.

In addition, the pension insurance offers comprehensive survivor protection. It pays pensions to widows, widowers and orphans of the deceased insured persons.