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Anyone who does not pay into pension insurance over a longer period of time will receive a lower pension. However, there is a solution. It has a connection to school education.
Berlin – Pensions have been causing controversy for years. The topic of pension increases comes up again and again; Various economists have already brought up raising the retirement age. The traffic light coalition is currently trying to bring a new pension package to the Bundestag Among other things, the pension level should be stipulated. Meanwhile, the German Pension Insurance (DRV) provides tips on how employees can top up their pension – and what school time has to do with it.
Top up your pension with school education – insured people can close the gap
One of the fundamental problems that are to blame for a pension that is too low is: Gaps in insurance life. This refers to times in which an employee did not pay any contributions into the statutory pension insurance and was not credited with any other periods under pension law. Credits can be given for periods of raising children – but also for the period in which Germans have continued their education at school.
Pension notice with money. (Symbolic photo). Anyone who does not pay into pension insurance for years will receive less pension. There is a solution for this. It has to do with school education. © IMAGO / Lobeca Ralf Homburg
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The time in which those affected attended a school, technical college or university can be worth a credit. The same applies to pre-vocational training measures. If the pension insurance company has proof of a period of school education, it can cover the time from the age of 17 for a maximum of eight years for the waiting period of 35 years as the “credit period”..
The whole thing has a simple background: Anyone who completes school training or studies for more than eight years after their 17th birthday without working part-time cannot pay contributions into the statutory pension insurance. In such cases, voluntary contributions can close this gap. However, there are some prerequisites for this.
More money in your pension through school education – these are the conditions
Anyone who is still insured in the statutory pension insurance and has not yet reached the age of 45 can pay these contributions for the school years completed after the age of 16. This is only possible if the relevant years have not yet been allocated contributions or have already been taken into account as credit periods. “In particular” such additional payments come into consideration for school training periods between the ages of 16 and 17, as well as for school periods that exceed the maximum allowable duration of eight years. This was announced by the German pension insurance company.
The question arises: How high can these additional payments be? The DRV specifies a window between 100.07 euros and 1,404.30 euros per month. The insured person can deduct these for tax purposes as retirement provision expenses. Through the additional payment, insured people acquire additional pension points – those who pay the maximum amount (16,851.60 euros, as of 2024) can top up their future pension by around 79 euros per month. On the other hand, anyone who pays the minimum contribution will receive around 5.60 euros per month on top of their pension.
Another advantage of these additional payments is that they can fulfill the minimum insurance periods in order to receive benefits from the statutory pension insurance. For example, this can mean that insured people can claim their pension or participation benefits more quickly – these often depend on time constraints.
Chaos in pensions – Lindner wants reform in pension provision and blocks pension package
There are currently various plans circulating in and around the traffic light coalition that are intended to lead to an increase in pensions. Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), for example, wants to enable several subsidized models of new private pension provision from 2026. This also includes a retirement portfolio that is intended to make investing in ETFs and stocks possible. This would mean higher pensions for pensioners.
However, there are still problems with the pension package mentioned above. The FDP is blocking the project; Finance Minister Lindner was present at the negotiations. The package was passed by the federal cabinet months ago and would now have to pass the Bundestag.
