So far, retirees who work have not benefited from the pension contributions that employers pay in for them.
(Photo: imago images/Future Image)
Berlin The federal government wants to make working after retirement more attractive. In view of the increasing shortage of workers, she wants to examine “making the employer’s contributions to the pension insurance of employees who have exceeded the standard retirement age as a payout component of the wages or to increase the pension”. This is what it says in the draft of the annual economic report, which is available to the Handelsblatt.
This regulation is aimed at retirees who have reached retirement age, are already drawing their full pension and are earning some extra money on the side. You do not have to pay any pension insurance contributions. The employer pays half the contribution rate of 9.3 percent, but this does not increase the pensioner’s pension.
>> Read here: Retirement provision 2023: This is how the statutory pension is calculated
The federal government now wants to examine whether the employer’s contributions can be paid out to retirees as additional wages or whether their pension payments can be increased, which would be at the expense of the pension fund.
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Pensioners who have passed the standard age and continue to work can already apply today to continue paying pension insurance contributions themselves, on which there is also a surcharge. These contributions then increase your own pension.
The traffic light coalition has already set incentives to ensure that older employees stay in the job longer. Since the beginning of the year, employees who retire early have been able to earn unlimited additional wages without their pension being reduced. Beyond the standard retirement age, there was previously no upper limit for additional earnings.
>> Read here: Study: Deductions for early retirees are calculated too low – at the expense of the contributors
According to the draft of the annual economic report, employment among 60 to 64-year-olds has recently increased more than in any other age group. Accordingly, it has increased from 44 percent in 2011 to 61 percent in 2021. In the 65 to 69 age group, the proportion of working people in 2021 was 17 percent. In 2010 it was only ten percent.
In order to further increase flexibility when entering retirement, the federal government also wants to redefine the term standard retirement age so that it is not seen as a rigid retirement age.
More: Pension Policy is a Burden on the Younger Generations – A Commentary