Financial help for pensioners: Who gets a subsidy for health insurance
Created: 01/11/2023 08:38
By: Robin Dittrich
Retirees and those who want to retire can get some grants.
There may also be a health insurance subsidy.
Hamburg – Some recipients can already receive the regular old-age pension at the age of 65.
Under certain circumstances, consumers in Germany can even retire at the age of 63.
For all retirees there are various grants that can increase the pension.
In some cases, pensioners can also apply for a health insurance subsidy.
For this, however, certain conditions must be met.
Pensioner: | A person who is no longer or mostly no longer employed and earns his living from a pension |
Pension: | Statutory or private insurance benefit |
Demarcation of private individuals: | Living off their savings |
Delimitation pensioner: | Receive a pension instead of a pension, i.e. a mostly state pension benefit that is not based on previously paid contributions, but on service-related pension entitlements |
Health insurance subsidy for pensioners – possible under certain circumstances
Pensioners could look forward to an increase in pension at the start of 2023.
Nevertheless, there can be no question of additional income.
Because in addition to high inflation and increased prices for food and energy, many other costs have increased.
Health insurance companies also increased their contributions in 2023: the regular contribution and the additional contribution increased there.
Statutory pensioners have to give up part of their pension in order to have health insurance.
7.3 percent of the pension is spent on health insurance, plus an additional contribution of mostly 0.8 percent for those with statutory health insurance.
Retirees may be able to apply for a health insurance subsidy.
© Michael Gstettenbauer/Karina Hessland/Imago (montage)
Statutory, privately and voluntarily insured persons have to pay a nursing care insurance contribution, which is 3.05 to 3.4 percent.
Pensioners who are privately or voluntarily insured may, under certain circumstances, receive a contribution subsidy from the statutory pension insurance.
How high the subsidy is for voluntarily insured persons “depends on the individual pension amount, the general contribution rate of statutory health insurance and the additional contribution of your own health insurance company”, writes the German pension insurance.
Pensioners with private and voluntary health insurance can receive a subsidy
In the case of statutory pensioners, half of the health insurance contribution rate is simply deducted from the pension.
Pensioners who are privately or voluntarily insured must pay the full health insurance contribution rate of currently 14.6 percent.
If pensioners apply for the subsidy for health insurance, the 14.6 percent is added to the contribution rate of the additional contribution of their own health insurance.
The result is halved and gives the basis for calculating the subsidy.
The contribution spent on health insurance is therefore the same as that for people with statutory health insurance.
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In principle, privately insured persons receive the same subsidy as voluntarily insured persons.
"The additional contribution is based on the average additional contribution of the statutory health insurance." However, there is a maximum limit: the subsidy cannot be higher than half of the insurance premium.
It is important to remember: The health insurance subsidy for voluntarily and privately insured persons must be applied for.
In the meantime, the pension can be increased in a number of ways.
Among other things, there are eight subsidies for pensions.
For example, long-term care can increase the pension.