As of: February 26, 2024, 6:01 p.m
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
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Pensioners will also have to prepare for changes in March.
An overview shows what's in store for retirees this month.
Berlin - Not only at the beginning of 2024, there were new regulations for pensioners in many areas - such as additional income limits and taxes.
March also brings with it some changes for retirees - but not all positive ones.
An overview.
From March there will be a higher health insurance contribution for pensioners
Let's start with the bad news: In March, many pensioners have to be content with a slightly smaller pension - usually it's a few euros less per month.
The reason is the increasing additional contributions from many health insurance companies.
Employed people were already affected by this at the beginning of the year, but pensioners are legally required to pay the new additional contribution two months later than all other insured people.
The German pension insurance then transfers less pension than usual and sends the required contributions to the respective fund.
The additional contribution is in addition to the general contribution rate set by law and can vary greatly from fund to fund.
The Federal Ministry of Health sets the average additional contribution for the coming year every autumn based on an expert estimate - for 2024 it is 1.7 percent.
But each health insurance company can decide for itself on the actual amount.
Some health insurance companies, such as technicians, for example, have not increased their contributions.
Two pensioners play chess on a park bench.
Pensioners will also have to prepare for changes in March.
(Symbolic photo) © Konstantin Kokoshkin / Imago Images
Don't know if you're affected by the increases?
No problem, we have put together a list of health insurance companies with increasing additional contributions in another article.
Note: In the event of an increase, you have a special right of termination.
This allows you to change your health insurance company within one month of the increase being announced.
The pension will be paid out earlier in March
March brings with it another change, this time a more positive one: the pension will be paid out a little earlier this month - as usual - on Maundy Thursday, March 28th.
This is the earliest it has been in ten years.
The reason for this is the Easter holidays this year.
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The pensions are always transferred on the last banking day of the month.
Now Easter Sunday 2024 falls on March 31st, Easter Saturday is on March 30th and Good Friday is on March 29th - all holidays on which the banks are closed.
Accordingly, the pension is transferred on Maundy Thursday, a working day.
An exception are pensions, which are paid out in advance.
All pensioners who retired by March 2004 will receive this.
You will receive your pension for March on February 29, 2024. But everyone who has retired or will retire since April 2004 will always receive their pension at the end of the month.
Finally certainty: Announcement of the pension increase planned
In addition, in March it will finally become clear how high the pension increase will be this year.
Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) wants to announce this this month, because so far there are only estimates.
Pensions are adjusted annually in the summer, taking into account wage developments in the country.
According to an official forecast, pensions are to be increased by 3.5 percent in 2024.
This emerges from the federal government's draft pension insurance report.
But there are also experts, such as the economist and pension expert Peter Knöppel, who assume more.
He expects a “mega pension increase” due to the current wage increases.