Every week, t-online answers questions about pensions with experts. Today: Can I use the early retirement pension as a disability pensioner?
If you are too ill to earn your living independently, you can receive a disability pension. But what does that mean for the regular pension? Are you also entitled to early retirement as a disability pensioner? And will there be additional deductions? A reader whose disability pension was reduced by 10.8 percent would like to know.
In principle, the following applies: Yes, people who are pensioners of reduced earning capacity can also draw their old-age pension earlier than the normal retirement age. In addition, there is an inventory protection. Your old-age pension cannot be lower than your disability pension, provided the pensions merge seamlessly. But: “The pension reduction of 10.8 percent that you already had in your pension due to reduced earning capacity will also be transferred to a subsequent old-age pension,” says Gundula Sennewald from the German pension insurance association t-online. “That means your old-age pension is regularly paid at the same rate as the disability pension.”
This does not change if you retire earlier than your normal retirement age. This is possible if you have at least 35 years of contributions. Periods of reduced earning capacity pension are also included in this so-called pension for long-term insured persons. Normally you would have to accept deductions here as well. In the case of a seamless transition from disability pension to old-age pension, however, the said grandfathering applies – further deductions do not apply.
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However, it could be that your regular pension is higher than your disability pension. “If you had additional income in addition to your disability pension and contributions were paid into the pension insurance scheme, these contributions can increase your old-age pension,” explains Sennewald. And this is where the deductions for early retirement come into play.
Exception for the severely disabled
The part of the pension that goes back to your additional earnings will not be reduced by the 10.8 percent deduction from the disability pension, but will receive the deduction that would result from your early retirement. The following applies: Every month that you retire before your standard retirement age, 0.3 percent of your pension will be deducted. Here you can read more about it.
There is an exception for severely disabled people with a degree of disability (GdB) of at least 50. If you have reached 35 years of insurance, the part of the pension that goes back to your additional earnings during the reduction in earning capacity can also be paid without deductions before the regular retirement age, so Sennewald. “Let your pension insurance provider or a local information and advice center of the German pension insurance advise you on this.”
