Applying for a reduced earning capacity pension

The reduced earning capacity pension supports you if you are no longer able to work for health reasons and have not yet reached the regular retirement age. It replaces your income to a certain extent.

Before you can receive the reduced earning capacity pension, German Pension Insurance will check whether rehabilitation can help you to support yourself again. This includes medical and occupational rehabilitation, for example further training for professional reorientation or work aids.

German Pension Insurance will determine the extent to which you are still able to work on the general labor market. Depending on the remaining capacity determined, you will receive either

• a pension due to full reduction in earning capacity or
• a pension due to partial reduction in earning capacity.

If you are partially incapacitated for work from a medical point of view and you are unemployed because there is no suitable part-time job available, you can also receive a pension for full reduction in earning capacity.

You can also receive a reduced earning capacity pension as a disabled person. This applies, for example, if you work in a special facility for the disabled and are unable to work in the general labor market due to your disability.

The amount of your reduced earning capacity pension depends on your pension account with Deutsche Rentenversicherung. Your annual pension information will tell you what you can expect if you have a full reduction in earning capacity. If you are only partially incapacitated for work, half of this is taken as a basis.

For young people, it is not only the few previous years of employment that count. Rather, there is what is known as the additional qualifying period. This is the time between the onset of reduced earning capacity and a certain statutory age. The additional qualifying period puts you in the same position as if you had paid contributions up to this age.

If your pension starts before the relevant age limit, you will have to accept deductions. For each month that you retire earlier, the deduction is 0.3 percent, up to a maximum of 10.8 percent.

If you receive a reduced earning capacity pension, you can earn additional income to a certain extent with a part-time job. An application for a reduced earning capacity pension does not mean that you will never be allowed to work again. It is often possible to recover from serious health setbacks through targeted treatment and support. Your reduced earning capacity pension is usually granted for a limited period, for a maximum of 3 years. You will only receive an unlimited pension in some exceptional cases.

Note:

• If you were born before January 2, 1961, you may be able to receive a "partial reduced earning capacity pension for occupational disability".
• This pension takes into account whether you can continue to work in your previous profession.

Requirements

• Due to illness or disability, you cannot work in the general labor market.
  
  • work less than 3 hours a day (full reduction in earning capacity) or
  • work at least 3 hours but less than 6 hours a day (partial reduction in earning capacity)
  • Exception:
    If you have a partial reduction in earning capacity from a medical point of view and are unemployed because there is no suitable part-time job, you may also be entitled to a pension due to full reduction in earning capacity.
• You cannot improve your earning capacity again by
  
  • medical rehabilitation or
  • vocational rehabilitation, for example retraining or work aids.
• You have not yet reached the standard retirement age. This is the date from which you can draw the regular old-age pension.
• You have been insured for at least 5 years (general waiting period)
• You have paid into the pension insurance scheme for at least 3 years in the last 5 years before your reduction in earning capacity. Please note
  
  • If you have already fulfilled the qualifying period of 5 years before 01.01.1984, you may be entitled to a pension even without the 3 years of compulsory contributions within the five-year period.
  • The prerequisite is that every calendar month in the period from 01.01.1984 until the start of your reduced earning capacity is covered by so-called qualifying periods (e.g. voluntary contributions, under certain conditions also periods of unemployment).
• The general waiting period of 5 years includes
  
  • Contribution periods (compulsory and voluntary contributions),
  • substitute periods,
  • child-raising periods,
  • periods from pension equalization and pension splitting between spouses,
  • periods of marginal employment with contributions paid by the employer and
  • additional earnings points for earnings from marginal employment exempt from compulsory insurance.
• Under certain conditions, you can also complete the general waiting period of 5 years early, for example if you have become less able to work due to an accident at work.

Note for people with disabilities:

• If you have not fulfilled the general waiting period of 5 years before the onset of reduced earning capacity, there is still the possibility of receiving a pension due to full reduction in earning capacity:
• You must then have fulfilled the waiting period of 20 years - for example, have worked for 20 years in a workshop for disabled people - and have remained fully disabled without interruption.
• You are also fully disabled if you
  
  • work in a recognized workshop for disabled people or are employed in another sheltered facility and
  • cannot work in the general labor market due to the nature and severity of your disability.

What documents do I need?

• Required documents
  
  • Application for reduced earning capacity pension
  • Personal document (such as identity card, passport, birth certificate or family register)
  • List of your health disorders
  • Names and addresses of the doctors treating you
  • All details of medical examinations by public bodies such as health insurance companies, employment agencies or employers' liability insurance associations
  • Details of your hospital and rehabilitation stays in recent years
  • Chronological list of your professional activities