As of: January 30, 2024, 9:18 a.m
By: Sophia Lother
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The pension can be increased by taking into account the time spent raising children.
(Symbolic photo) © Pond5 Images/Imago
Guardians can give themselves a gift by applying to the pension insurance company.
Because a plus on your pension is possible.
Frankfurt – More and more people in Germany are struggling with a small pension.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, over 40 percent of pensioners have less than 1,250 euros net per month.
A study by the German Institute for Economic Research also found that low earners are at a double disadvantage in retirement.
Because not only is their pension lower, statistically speaking, their life expectancy and therefore the length of time they receive their pension are also significantly lower.
But there are ways to get a little more out of your pension.
If you have raised children, you can significantly increase your pension by applying to the German Pension Insurance.
Here you will find an overview of how to proceed and what you need to pay attention to.
Significantly improve your pension: Application to the German pension insurance results in a significant increase
The German Pension Insurance (DRV) counts the raising of children for a certain period of time as if the person raising them had paid their own contributions during this period.
These contributions are calculated based on the average earnings of all insured persons.
According to the DRV, one year of raising children brings almost one pay point, which means around 37.60 euros more in pension per month.
How long the child-rearing period is taken into account depends, among other things, on the year the child was born:
Born before 1992
: 2 years and 6 months per child
Born from 1992
: 3 years per child
Example calculation
If you allow three years to be credited for a child born after 1992, this corresponds to an increase of 112.80 euros on your monthly pension.
Improve your pension with child-rearing time: who can benefit from it
An important point, however, is that parents or those raising children do not simply receive credit for child-rearing time.
An application must first be submitted for this.
If the mother has taken on most of the child-rearing, it is sufficient, according to the DRV, “to submit an application to determine the times of child-rearing when your child has reached the age of ten”.
But it's not just the birth mother who can improve her pension by taking time to raise children.
Fathers, adoptive parents, step parents or foster parents can also apply.
The same goes for grandparents or relatives, but only if the child lives there permanently as a foster child.
In addition, a custody and upbringing relationship between the biological parents and the child may no longer exist in this case.
Important to know: Only one person can have their parenting periods counted towards their pension.
You should therefore think carefully about who should most likely benefit from the pension bonus.
Improve your pension with an application during child-rearing time: What parents should consider
If it is not the mother but, for example, the father who is to receive the child-rearing time, a further application must be submitted for this.
The DRV emphasizes: “The declaration is only valid for the future and retroactively for a maximum of two months.” The German Pension Insurance has listed again on its website which other regulations apply and all relevant applications.
How can the transition from working life to retirement be made flexibly and possibly even increase the pension?
This is possible with a few tricks.