Anyone who is unable to work due to raising children or works less than before does not have to forego pension points. Upon request, parents can receive a pension bonus.
Berlin – The statutory pension in Germany is essentially based on how many years you have paid into the pension fund as a contributor. For many people who have children and (have to) take a break from work, it is not uncommon for them to lose years in which they can hardly or not make any contributions. But there is a way to still get pension points for these non-contributory periods. However, an application to the pension insurance company is necessary for this.
One pension point is worth 39.32 euros
The statutory pension insurance credits mothers and fathers with up to three years of child-rearing time, which increases the later pension, says the German Pension Insurance Federation (DRV). So-called periods of consideration can also be recognized up to the child's tenth birthday.
For a certain period of time, the DRV recognizes the time spent raising children 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 child-rearing time brings almost one pay point, which in 2024 means exactly 39.32 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
Mothers and fathers must apply for these child-rearing and consideration periods - for example as part of an account clarification. Adoptive, step 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, in this case there may no longer be a custody and upbringing relationship between the biological parents and the child.
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.
German pension insurance answers questions about pensions
Once the times have been recorded in the insurance account, they are automatically taken into account when calculating the pension. According to the DRV, a new application - for example from pensioners - is not necessary and must therefore be rejected. The application is only necessary if the child-rearing and consideration periods have not yet been recorded in the insurance account or have only been partially recorded.
If you want to check whether this is the case for him or her, you can check the respective insurance history. Insured persons can request this via the DRV online services. Since the times are not lost, the application can only be submitted with the pension application. The DRV answers questions on the topic on the free service telephone on 0800 10 00 48 00.
With material from dpa