Why mini-jobbers shouldn't forego pension insurance

Why mini-jobbers shouldn't forego pension insurance

Mini-jobbers are often tempted to exempt themselves from pension insurance in order to have more money in the short term. But this step can have a negative impact on your pension as you get older. With a mini-job, the employer pays 15 percent into the pension fund, which is more than with a regular employment relationship. The mini-job holder only pays 3.6 percent, but can also be exempt from this contribution.

If the earnings limit of 538 euros per month is reached, waiving the employee contribution may seem attractive. However, this means that the hours without employee contributions count less towards the minimum insurance period. This means that important insurance years for the pension at 63 or the pension due to reduced earning capacity may be missing. Without sufficient contribution periods, there is no entitlement to these types of pensions.

Furthermore, if you are exempt from compulsory pension insurance, you no longer have the option of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation services are also financed from the pension fund, so that rehabilitation is not possible if there are no compulsory contributions. Despite these risks, more than half of mini-jobbers opt for exemption from pension insurance. Of the 7.6 million marginally employed, 4.05 million were exempted from this.

Social associations such as the VdK even advocate a ban on mini-jobs, as the lack of social security contributions subsidizes the low-wage sector and can lead to old-age poverty in the long term. VdK President Verena Bentele emphasizes the low pension entitlements that arise from mini-jobs and calls on the state to ban mini-jobs in order to strengthen employees' pension provision.