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As of January 1, 2024, a number of things will change in pension insurance, including the age limit, the deduction for those with long-term insurance and additional income. The contribution rate for statutory pension insurance, however, remains the same – at 18.6 percent.
Retirement at 66
The standard retirement age will rise to 66 in 2024, at least for those born before 1958. For younger people, the retirement age increases gradually by two months – in 2031 the age limit will be 67.
Early pension from age 64
Anyone who has been insured for a particularly long period of time can retire in 2023 from the age of 63. Such an earlier pension occurs without any deductions if someone has paid into the statutory pension insurance for at least 45 years.
For contributors to the pension fund who were born before 1960, this entry age will increase to 64 years and four months in 2024. The final age limit for those with particularly long-term insurance should then be 65 in 2029.
Anyone who has paid in for at least 35 years can claim this early retirement pension for long-term insured people at a discount. The deduction is 0.3 percent for each month before the regular retirement age.
With the higher retirement age until 2031, the deduction for the earliest possible start of early retirement will also increase. While it was 12.0 percent for the 1960 vintage, it is 12.6 percent for the 1961 vintage.
People with disabilities are allowed to earn more
From 2024, people with reduced earning capacity will be allowed to earn more than before. Starting next year, if you receive a pension due to partial incapacity, you will earn up to 31,117.50 euros in additional income, and if you receive a full incapacity, half that amount will be 18,558.75 euros.
Adjustment of the disability pension
The so-called attribution period treats people with reduced earning capacity as if they had worked with their average income and paid contributions during the period of reduced earning capacity. The accrual period will be adjusted to the regular retirement age and ends in 2024 at 66 years and one month instead of exactly 66 years.
Contribution assessment limit increases
In 2024, the contribution assessment limit will rise from 7,300 euros per month to 7,550 euros per month in western Germany and from 7,100 to 7,450 euros in the east. Up to this maximum amount, earned income is calculated in pension insurance contributions – beyond that no additional amount is included.
Contributions to voluntary insurance are increasing
The minimum and maximum contributions for voluntary insurance in the statutory pension insurance will increase from January 1, 2024 – the minimum rate from 96.72 euros to 100.07 euros per month, the maximum amount from 1,357.80 euros to 1,404.30 euros .
All those who are not compulsorily insured, are at least 16 years old and live in Germany, or as German citizens abroad can insure themselves voluntarily. People above the standard retirement age with a full old-age pension are excluded.
Also read:
– Pension: Strong pension increase from January 2024 in Austria
Mini jobs, midi jobs and new pensions
The earnings limit for mini-jobs will be 538 euros in 2024, no longer 520. Midi jobs in the transition area will range between 538.01 euros and 2000.00 euros in 2024. Midi-jobbers pay a staggered reduced social security contribution – but their pension entitlements are calculated as if they were full earnings.
If you retire in 2024, your taxable portion of your pension will be 84 percent, and no longer 83 percent as with a new pension this year.
Midijob: New frontiers for jobs in the transitional sector
Starting next year, the lower limit for earnings in jobs in the transitional range will increase from 520.01 euros to 538.01 euros per month.
Within this range of 538 euros to 2,000 euros per month, employees are considered midi-jobbers. This enables a reduced social security contribution, which gradually increases up to the upper limit of 2,000 euros. However, it should be emphasized that despite these reduced contributions, pension entitlements are calculated on the basis of full earnings, without being affected by the reduced contribution rate.
Adjustments to pension taxation for new pensioners
From January 2024, the taxable portion of their pension will increase from 83 to 84 percent for new pensioners. This means that only 16 percent of the first full gross annual pension remains tax-free.
Important: This change only affects new pensioners, while existing pensions remain unaffected.
It is currently planned to gradually increase the taxable pension share by half a percentage point retroactively from 2023. However, it should be noted that the relevant legislative process has not yet been completed.
Heating renovation by Wohn-Riester possible from 2024
The “Heating Act” (Building Energy Act) will come into force on January 1, 2024, offering owners of owner-occupied residential properties the option of using credits from Riester contracts (“Residential Riester”) to install a heat pump. Applications for the use of a Riester credit can be submitted to the Central Allowance Office for Retirement Assets (ZfA) of the German Pension Insurance Federation from the date mentioned.
Dr. Utz Anhalt is an author, journalist and historian. In 2000 he completed a Magister Artium (MA) in history and politics at the University of Hanover. His focus is on social law, social policy and natural sciences. He was a research assistant on documentaries for ZDF, History Channel, Pro7, NTV, MTV, Sat1.
2023-12-08 00:55:01
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