FAQ – Social Insurance

Germany is a welfare state. This is stated in the Basic Law. This means that the state ensures social justice and social security for its citizens. Social insurance is a central element of the welfare state and protects the majority of the population against existential risks: This means that if you fall ill, become unemployed, retire or can no longer work (= become unable to work), you will receive financial support.

The system depends on working people paying into the social security system and people who need benefits receiving money. The system is financed by social security contributions and taxes.

The social insurance system is based on five pillars: Statutory health insurance,
social long-term care insurance, statutory pension insurance, statutory accident insurance and statutory unemployment insurance.

These insurances are required by law, which means that, with a few exceptions, all employees pay into health, pension, long-term care and unemployment insurance. Employers (your company) pay the contributions to the statutory accident insurance.

Your employer must register you with social security when you start work. You share the social security contributions with your employer: you pay half of the contributions, and your employer pays the other half.

To register you, your employer needs:

• your  social security number
• your tax number
• your health insurance certificate and
• your address

If your employer has registered you, you will receive a copy of your social security registration. Then you can be sure that you have been registered for insurance. You can also see the deductions on your payslip.

Important! If you are unsure whether you are registered, be sure to seek advice at a Fair Integration advice centre! In Germany, illegal work (without registration) is prohibited and can have negative consequences for you.

When your employment relationship ends, you will be deregistered for social insurance. Then you can ask your health insurance company how you can continue to insure yourself.

Every person who lives and works in Germany must have health insurance. This is required by law.

If you are new to Germany and have not yet done so, you must take out health insurance. You must insure yourself with a statutory health insurance company. To do this, you must submit an application to a health insurance company. You will need a passport photo and your health insurance number - or your social security number if you do not yet have health insurance. You can submit your application by post, online or in person. You can choose which statutory health insurance company you want to insure yourself with. Depending on your health insurance company, you may be offered additional services free of charge (e.g. certain preventive check-ups).

Once your application has been checked, you will receive confirmation from your health insurance company that you are a member. You must provide this information to your employer.

You pay a monthly contribution to the health insurance fund. The amount will be automatically deducted from your gross salary.

You can calculate your health insurance contribution: https://www.gesetzlichekrankenkassen.de/beitragsrechner

If you have further questions about statutory health insurance, you can call the citizens' hotline of the Federal Ministry of Health:

Citizens' hotline for statutory health insurance
Telephone number: 030 / 340 60 66 - 01
The counsellors will inform you about the contribution and benefit law of statutory health insurance. They will provide you with information on insurance cover, sickness benefit or outpatient treatments at other health resorts.

Functions of health insurance
Your health insurance will cover the costs if you fall ill. For example, it pays for visits to the doctor, medicine and treatments/healthcare. You can choose your own doctor. If you are unsure, you can also consult another doctor for a second opinion.

Health insurance for mini jobs
If you have a mini job and are not subject to social security contributions, you are not covered by health insurance through your job. This means that your employer does not pay for you. Then you have to pay the contributions yourself. There are various options:

• If you have a main job in addition to your mini job, you are insured through your main job. If your mini job is your only job, you must insure yourself.
• If you have a mini job, you may also be covered by family insurance.  The insurance is then paid for by spouses, parents, etc.
• As a student (up to the age of 25), you are covered by your parents' insurance free of charge.
• If you have a mini job but also receive citizen's allowance (or unemployment benefit), the employment agency/job centre will pay your health insurance contributions.

You are automatically covered by social long-term care insurance through your statutory health insurance. All employees pay into the social long-term care insurance scheme. How much you pay depends on your age, whether you have children and which federal state you live in. The amount is deducted from your salary and can be found on your payslip.

If you are old or become ill and need care, long-term care insurance will support you. How much financial support you receive depends on how much care you need (= level of care).

Unlike health insurance, however, social long-term care insurance does not pay for everything. This is why many people take out private supplementary long-term care insurance. It is not compulsory, but it can cover the gaps if the social long-term care insurance does not cover all the costs.

Please note! If you have private health insurance (instead of statutory health insurance), you must take out private long-term care insurance.

If you have further questions about social long-term care insurance, you can call the citizens' hotline of the Federal Ministry of Health: 

Citizens' hotline for social long-term care insurance
Telephone number: 030 / 340 60 66 - 02

There is a statutory pension insurance scheme in Germany. It is compulsory for most people: As long as you are working, you automatically pay part of your salary into the pension insurance scheme. You pay 9.3% and your employer also pays 9.3% of your gross monthly salary.  

If you retire or become incapacitated for work (i.e. can no longer work for health reasons), you will receive a monthly payment. The more money you pay in, the more money you get back later.

Only a few people do not have to pay into the statutory pension insurance scheme. The following persons are exempt from the obligation:

• If you have a mini job , your employer pays 15% of your gross monthly salary into your pension insurance. You only pay a small share. Or you can submit a request so that you don't have to pay any money.

Please note: This also means that you will receive less money later on.

• Some groups of workers, such as civil servants or judges and frequently the self-employed do not have to pay into the statutory pension insurance.

Basically, the following applies to you: If you are subject to social insurance contributions and your profession does not fall under the exceptions, you pay into the insurance scheme.

Which time periods count for pension insurance purposes: 
In addition to the time you work, other periods will also count towards your pension. For example, you can get money for:

• bringing up your children (up to the age of 10)
• caring for relatives (which you provide unpaid)
• so-called credit periods (periods during which you were unable to pay into a pension. For example: due to illness, pregnancy, unemployment, school education and studies)

Midi-job contributions
If you have a midi job, i.e. you earn between 556 euros and 2,000 euros gross per month, you pay lower contributions. Your employer will also pay less. The more you earn, the more you pay in. From a gross income of 2000 euros, the normal contribution is paid again.

There is a statutory accident insurance scheme in Germany, which means: Every company must have accident insurance for its employees. This is required by law. All employees, trainees, students and pupils in Germany are covered by statutory accident insurance.

Employers pay the insurance contributions. You do not have to pay any contributions.

The German Social Accident Insurance drafts regulations for occupational health and safety and tells you what risks there are. For example, statutory accident insurance will help you:

• if you have had an accident at your workplace (an occupational accident)
• if something happens to you on the way to work or on the way home from work (occupational accident).
• or if you have become ill as a result of your job (occupational illness).

If you have an accident on the way to work, at work or on the way home, this is an occupational accident. You must inform your boss immediately.

Accident insurance can only pay for treatment by a doctor if your accident is classified as an occupational accident.

If you are injured, you will be sent to specialised doctors. They are called medical referees.  When you see these doctors, you must describe exactly how your accident happened. They then write a report for the accident insurance (employers' liability insurance association). The statutory accident insurance will then pay for the medial treatment. It also helps you to recover after an accident at work or an occupational illness. If you are no longer able to work properly after an accident at work or an occupational illness, the statutory accident insurance will pay you a pension.

Please note: The statutory accident insurance does not pay for accidents that happen in your free time. You can take out private accident insurance for this.

Please note: Occupational health and safety (i.e. measures and information so that you can carry out your work safely without injuring yourself or becoming ill) is the responsibility of the employer (your company/business). You must receive instructions (=information on occupational safety and instructions) and, depending on the job, protective clothing or special tools/equipment.

If you work and are subject to social insurance contributions, you automatically pay into the unemployment insurance scheme: You share the social security contributions with your employer: you pay half of the contributions and your employer pays the other half. You can see the amount on your payslip.

The insurance covers you if you become unemployed. If you become unemployed and have previously worked for at least twelve months subject to compulsory insurance, you will receive unemployment benefit. Unemployment benefit is calculated from the salary of your last job: As a rule, you will receive 60% of your net salary. This figure may vary: if you have children, for example, it is 67% of your net salary. The Employment Agency also pays your contributions to your statutory health, pension, long-term care and accident insurance.

How long you receive unemployment benefit depends on how long you worked before and on your age: If you are under 50 years old, you will receive unemployment benefit for a maximum of 12 months.

Please note! You may not receive unemployment benefit, for example:

• if you have given notice yourself
• or you have been dismissed due to bad behaviour
• or you have signed a cancellation agreement (=contract that terminates your employment without giving notice)
• or you have not registered as unemployed in time 

Important deadlines:

• If your fixed-term employment contract ends, you must register as unemployed 3 months in advance.
• If you are dismissed, you must register with the Employment Agency within the next 3 working days.

You can find out more in the FAQ Termination