Pension as self-employed: Craftsmen, artists and midwives are legally compulsorily insured
Created: 12/06/2022, 12:00 p.m
By: Jasmine Farah
What applies to me as a self-employed person?
This is a question that also affects pensions.
After all, it is important for this group to make provisions for old age at an early stage.
Long working hours, weekends in the office, a lot of investments and hardly any reserves: If you want to be self-employed, you should think twice about it.
There are some risks and a lot of responsibility that not everyone can or wants to take on.
However, being self-employed also has advantages: You are your own boss, you can decide for yourself which jobs you accept and which ones fit into your own schedule.
Depending on the order situation, however, income can also fluctuate greatly.
Pension experts therefore advise the self-employed not only to think about the now, but also to make provisions for old age.
Pension as self-employed: Compulsory insurance for certain professional groups
In most cases they are finally on their own.
Because: Most self-employed people are not compulsorily insured in the statutory pension insurance or a professional pension scheme.
However, you can voluntarily take out statutory insurance or private provision, for example with a tax-privileged form of private old-age provision: the basic or Rürup pension.
Anyone who works independently can also voluntarily pay into the statutory pension insurance.
© Joseffson/Imago
But there are some who are compulsorily insured in the statutory pension insurance.
So if you belong to this group, you have to register with the responsible pension insurance agency.
Compulsory insurance applies to the following professional groups:
Teachers, tutors, educators, childminders,
trainers in sports and rehabilitation
Independent coaches, moderators, supervisors,
nurses, therapists
(Attendant) midwives and obstetric nurses
Sea pilots, except inland pilots, travelotsen and pilots of the Flensburg Firth Coastal boatmen and
coastal fishermen
Self-employed with an employer
artist and publicist
home trades
Craftsmen with a trade requiring a license
And: If you carry out several self-employed activities at the same time, you can also have multiple compulsory insurance.
Incidentally, this also applies if you are employed and also work independently.
This means that you also have to pay into the statutory pension insurance for every activity.
However, this is only possible up to the contribution assessment limit.
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In addition, there are also so-called professional pension schemes, in which insurance is also compulsory for the self-employed and employees in some professional groups.
This includes:
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doctors
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Compulsory insurance for the self-employed: pension advantages and disadvantages
It is also interesting that the self-employed who are not subject to compulsory insurance can also voluntarily pay contributions into the pension fund, the amount of which they determine themselves.
However, you must first submit an application for this.
You can do this within the first five years of starting your own business.
You have the option of doing this monthly or annually, the latter must be paid for the past year by March 31 of the following year.
However, the minimum monthly contribution is just under 84 euros, the maximum amount is around 1,320 euros.
How much you ultimately pay in also affects your future pension payments.
Other important points: As a self-employed person, you can deduct contributions to the statutory pension insurance from your taxes.
However, you are not entitled to a disability pension.
In the event of death, family members also receive a survivor’s or orphan’s pension.
But: Voluntary contributions can be seized, compulsory contributions cannot.
Compulsorily insured self-employed people can also apply for citizenship benefits.
The job center may then indirectly take over the pension contributions.