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The retirement age in Germany has been gradually raised to 67, making it one of the highest in the world. When insured people can retire depends on the year of birth.
What happens when chronic illnesses limit your ability to work? In this article, pension expert and lawyer Peter Knöppel explains how people can retire earlier due to chronic illnesses.
The retirement age in Germany
The statutory retirement age in Germany is gradually being raised to 67 and varies depending on the birth cohort. For those born between 1947 and 1963, the retirement age is between 65 and 66 years. From those born in 1964, the standard retirement age is already 67 years.
However, statutory pension law allows employees to retire earlier after paying contributions for many years.
The old-age pension for those who have been insured for a particularly long time enables those born between 1953 and 1963 to retire before their 67th birthday without any deductions.
For those born after 1964, full retirement is only possible at the age of 65, even after 45 years of contributions.
Retirement with chronic illnesses
People with chronic illnesses have the opportunity to retire earlier if certain requirements are met.
If the illness limits the ability to work, you can apply for a disability pension. This form of early retirement is intended to compensate for the lack of earned income due to total or partial disability.
Important: The disability pension can only be claimed if the standard retirement age has not yet been reached.
However, the requirements for receiving a disability pension are high. This includes medical reports, evidence of rehabilitation measures and a waiting period of five years in the German pension insurance.
Disability pension
Disabled people can also apply for the old-age pension for severely disabled people.
Three requirements must be met for this: the standard retirement age must be reached, the degree of disability must be at least 50 and the minimum insurance period of 35 years must be fulfilled.
In cases where both types of pension are possible, insured persons should carefully consider which pension is more advantageous for them.
Due to the financial increase in disability pensions from 2019, it may make sense to consider this option. Individual advice from an independent pension advisor can be helpful, says Knöppel.
Retired early because of these chronic illnesses
Chronic diseases, as defined by the Robert Koch Institute, are long-term illnesses that cannot be completely cured and require continuous or recurring use of the healthcare system.
These include, for example:
- Diabetes,
- Rheumatism,
- neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s,
- mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety disorders,
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),
- chronic kidney disease
- and recently also Long-Covid or Post-Covid as well as chronic fatigue.
Anyone who can no longer work due to a chronic illness has the option of choosing to retire early, either through the old-age pension for severely disabled people or the disability pension.
Get independent advice from a pension expert
However, both options are associated with high barriers to access, so careful advice and, if necessary, representation is essential.
Overall, it is clear that people with chronic illnesses that affect their ability to work have opportunities to retire earlier, but that these decisions are complex and require careful consideration of individual circumstances and options.
Carolin-Jana Klose has been an author at Gegen-Hartz.de since 2023. Carolin studied education and works full-time in health prevention. Her expertise lies in social law, health prevention and socio-political issues. She is active in counseling for the unemployed and is politically committed to helping those affected by poverty.
2023-11-19 19:03:53
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