Home » Business » Health insurance contributions for pensioners: low-cost insurance in old age

Health insurance contributions for pensioners: low-cost insurance in old age

  1. 24vita
  2. Health

Created: 7/6/2022 7:41 am

Von: Laura Knops

Split

Depending on the insurance status, different health insurance contributions are due in old age. Statutory compulsory insurance is the cheapest for pensioners.

Munich – Retirement changes a lot in the lives of many employees. There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to health insurance. How you protect yourself when you retire and how much you pay for health insurance also depends on how and for how long you were insured in your professional life. Anyone who wants to insure themselves cheaply in retirement should therefore start thinking about it at an early stage. You can find out what you need to consider here.

Health insurance contributions for pensioners: Statutory compulsory insurance is the cheapest

How much pensioners have to pay monthly for their health insurance depends on their insurance status (icon image). © PhotoAlto/Imago

Those who were mostly legally insured during their working life are usually also insured when they retire. In the health insurance for pensioners (KVdR), insured persons do not have to pay any contributions on many incomes. Because with statutory health insurance, you only have to pay health insurance contributions for statutory pensions, company pensions and earned income. Other income such as rent or dividends are not included. In addition, the pension fund pays half of the contribution rate to the statutory pension.

Statutory compulsory insurance is therefore the cheapest for most people in old age. In order to become a member of the statutory health insurance fund for pensioners (KVdR), however, employees must have been legally insured for at least 90 percent of the time in the second half of their working life. Anyone who does not meet this requirement can only take out statutory insurance under certain circumstances. In this way, pensioners with statutory insurance without the corresponding previous insurance period can usually only voluntary statutory insurance. In this case, however, contributions on private income are also required. In this case, income such as the Riester pension, capital and rental income is charged at 14 percent plus an additional contribution from the fund.

Cash contributions for pensioners: These alternatives are available

Under certain circumstances, voluntarily insured pensioners can secure a subsidy for the contributions to their statutory insurance. Insured persons only have to request a corresponding application at the beginning of their pension. However, even pensioners who are neither legally nor voluntarily legally insured have the option of taking out voluntary family insurance or joining a private health insurance company.

Spouses who do not fulfill the required pre-insurance period can take out statutory family insurance. However, free family insurance is only possible if the total monthly income of the partner to be insured is less than 455 euros. Retirees who were predominantly privately insured during their working life usually have to remain so when they retire.

You can find even more exciting health topics in the free 24vita newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.

Health insurance contributions for pensioners: You have to reckon with these contributions

Depending on the choice of insurance cover, different health insurance contributions are due at retirement age. Especially those with private health insurance have to calculate differently in old age than pensioners with statutory insurance. With private insurance, the contribution is independent of income. The health insurance contributions remain, however, even if the insured have lower incomes of retirement age. There are only a few reliefs.

Privately insured pensioners can count on these grants:

  • From the age of 60, privately insured persons no longer have to pay the statutory surcharge of 10 percent.
  • In most cases, the daily sickness allowance insurance, which compensates for the loss of earnings in the event of a long illness, no longer applies when the pension begins.
  • Anyone who submits an application to the pension insurance agency in good time can expect a subsidy of up to 7.85 percent.

Although the grants mean a small relief for privately insured retirees, private health insurance remains the most expensive alternative. Even insured persons with an above-average pension only receive a small subsidy.

This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.