Hartmut Ern (left) and Lutz Reinefeld are just two of a total of seven voluntary insurance advisors.
© Tim Oelbermann
Home visits are currently not possible – in Corona times, the volunteers rely on telephone advice.
From Moritz Jonas
Solingen. Terms such as account clarification or insurance history probably have a deterrent effect on many people because they cannot really do anything with them. There are very important things when it comes to that Clarification of your own pension goes. That is why in Solingen there are the voluntary insurance advisors of the German Pension Insurance Association and the insured elders of the German Pension Insurance Rhineland, who answer questions about pensions free advice to offer.
“We act as a link between the insured and the insurance company.”
Voluntary insurance advisors and insured elders
The volunteer advisor are insured or pensioners themselves. These are available for election through institutions such as health insurance companies, trade unions or other social associations. They are then elected to their honorary office every six years by the self-administrations of the respective pension insurances in the course of the social security elections.
Solingen consultant
Ursula Bach
Tel. (02 12) 59 35 86
Emine Kaya
Tel. 01 78 44 10 71 0
Hartmut Ern
Tel. (02 12)31 77 48
Hans Helmut Dinger
Tel. (02 12)81 06 52
Lutz Reinefeld
Tel. (02 12)88 16 28 8
Rainer Lange
Tel. 01 73 71 37 52 1
Wolfgang Weber
Tel. (02 12)85 13 33
The advisors can be reached by phone for questions.
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Three of the selected Solingen consultants are Lutz Reinefeld, Emine Kaya and Hartmut Ern. Reinefeld and Ern have both been volunteering for the Rentenversicherungsbund for almost 40 years, and Kaya has been with the RV-Bund for three years.
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Even under the currently difficult conditions, she and her colleagues are available for advice. At the moment, however, the consultations are exclusively by phone possible. Usually the volunteer counselors do the same home visits. But that will not be possible in the near future either. That doesn’t necessarily make the work of the consultants easier, says Reinefeld. “The consultations, which are carried out exclusively over the telephone, make things more time-consuming than if you are sitting directly across from the person to be advised.” It is already an advantage to get an insight into the papers that are necessary for good advice.
It is a time-consuming voluntary work anyway. Because on average, the Solingen consultants perform well over a year 200 consultations. The most important question that arises for them before any consultation is the clarification of the so-called pension account, they explain. In the pension account managed individually for each insured person by the respective insurance company, all contribution periods are listed, i.e. all phases of life in which the pension insurance was paid. In this way, the entire insurance history can be checked. This is the basis for advice. Because only the insured has access to the insurance history, explain the volunteers. The account inspection can be easily requested from the insurance company.
Consultants pay attention to a personal discussion atmosphere
Then individual advice can be given. But it is also important that the volunteer advisorsno concrete calculations should employ, such as calculating the exact pension amount. This is the sole responsibility of the insurance company, emphasizes the team, which is “Link between the insured and the insurance company“Considered. “We make sure that our discussions take place in a personal setting.”
The volunteers are there to unite people To explain the facts, which they do not understand exactly in order to better deal with the matter. “We look forward to every call and every trust that is placed in us.”
The youth café is also run on a voluntary basis – it is currently taking place online
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