47th General Report
on the implementation of the European Code of Social Security as amended by its Additional Protocol (Article 74)
General Report
by the Federal Government of Germany
for the period 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018
Germany has ratified all parts of the European Code
as amended by its Protocol.
Content
On Part I 3
On Part II Medical Care 3 - 5
On Part III Sickness benefit 5
On Part IV Unemployment Benefit 6
On Part V Old-age Benefit 6 - 8
On Part VI Employment Injury Benefit 8
On Part VII Family Benefit 9
On Part VIII Maternity Benefit 9
On Part IX Invalidity Benefit 9 - 10
On Part X Survivor`s Benefit 10 - 11
On Part XII Common provisions 11
On Part I
The stipulations of the Convention are mainly implemented through the provisions of the Social Code, notably through
· Book III (SGB III) – Employment Promotion (Arbeitsförderung), dated 24 March 1997
· Book Five (SGB V) – Statutory Health Insurance, dated 20 December 1988
· Book VI (SGB VI) – Statutory Pension Insurance (Gesetzliche Rentenversicherung), dated 19 February 2002
· Book Seven (SGB VII) – Statutory Occupational Accident Insurance, dated 7 August 1996; and
· Part X of the Income Tax Law – Child Benefit.
The provisions equally apply to seamen and sea fishermen.
On Part II
Medical Care
On Article 9 (or Articles 10 and 12 of Convention 130)
A. The provision of subparagraph (a) is applied.
B. With regard to the group of persons protected in accordance with Article 9 of ILO Convention No. 102 and Articles 10, 12 of ILO Convention No. 130, reference is made to the previous reports (last detailed report no. 40 and general reports nos. 41 to 46). Compared to the last report, the following changes in legislation have occurred during the reporting period:
1. Income thresholds
The general annual earnings threshold up to which workers and salaried employees are subject to compulsory coverage in the statutory health insurance is 57,600 euros in 2017 (section 6 (6) of SGB V). The special annual earnings threshold for employees who were privately insured on 31 December 2002 is 52,200 euros in 2017 (section 6 (7) of SGB V).
|
General annual |
special annual earnings threshold |
|
|
for calendar year 2012 |
€50,850 |
€45,900 |
|
for calendar year 2013 |
€52,200 |
€47,250 |
|
for calendar year 2014 |
€53,550 |
€48,600 |
|
for calendar year 2015 |
€54,900 |
€49,500 |
|
for calendar year 2016 |
€56,250 |
€50,850 |
|
for calendar year 2017 |
€57,600 |
€52,200 |
|
for calendar year 2018 |
€59,400 |
€53,100 |
|
Total income threshold |
Income threshold Marginal employment |
|
|
for calendar year 2012 |
€375 |
€400 |
|
for calendar year 2013 |
€385 |
€450 |
|
for calendar year 2014 |
€395 |
€450 |
|
for calendar year 2015 |
€405 |
€450 |
|
for calendar year 2016 |
€415 |
€450 |
|
for calendar year 2017 |
€425 |
€450 |
|
for calendar year 2018 |
€435 |
€450 |
The earnings threshold up to which spouses and children of insured persons are covered as family members under section 10 of SGB V provided they do not have their own insurance coverage, are not exempt from insurance or self-employed on a full-time basis is 425 euros in 2017. For marginal employment, the earnings threshold amounted to 450 euros in the period under review (400 euros until 2012).
2. Legislation to update regulations concerning blood and tissue preparation and to amend other regulations
With regard to the statutory regulation on compulsory follow-up insurance (voluntary insurance), section 188 (4) of SGB V was amended to include a special arrangement for seasonal workers. In the future, they will only be compulsorily insured if they declare their membership as a voluntary member to their previous insurer within 3 months after they cease to fall under the insurance obligation. The health insurance provider must inform the affected seasonal workers about this right of membership. They must prove that they reside or have their permanent residence in Germany.
The health insurance providers can thus determine that German regulations on health insurance are applicable.
Under normal circumstances, seasonal workers return to their previous place of residence in another country after completing their activities. In this case no obligatory follow-up insurance has had to be implemented, because they no longer were living within the area of application of German social legislation (section 30 SGB I, section 3 of SGB IV). Despite these contradictory legal regulations, existing insurance cover was therefore continued on a regular basis. The consequence of this was that health insurance providers were able to report insurance periods for the risk structure adjustment scheme and to receive allocations from the health fund, without there being possible expenditure on the allocations.
The amendment is intended to reverse the statutory rule-exception ratio for the group of seasonal workers and to link follow-up insurance to the explicit declaration of membership of the member as well as proof of residence or permanent residence in Germany.
On Part III
Sickness benefit
The monthly benefit assessment ceiling (maximum limit) for the assessment of sickness benefit amounted to 4,237.50 euros in 2016. In 2017, it amounts to 4,350 euros.
(Changes are in the year and in the euro amounts).
On Part IV
Unemployment Benefit
For the year 2018, the contribution assessment ceiling, which is adjusted according to gross wage developments, was fixed at 6,500 euros per month for western Germany and at 5,800 euros per month for eastern Germany.
On Part V
Old-age Benefit
a) Changes in the period under review
In the period under review the relevant values in the statutory pension insurance have changed as follows:
In the old Länder (West) the current pension value is
30,45 EUR for the period from 01/07/2016 to 30/06/2017
31,03 EUR for the period from 01/07/2017 to 30/06/2018
and in the new Länder (East) it is
28,66 EUR for the period from 01/07/2016 to 30/06/2017
29,69 EUR for the period from 01/07/2017 to 30/06/2018
In the old Länder (West), the contribution assessment ceiling is
General miners’
pension insurance pension insurance
for calendar year 2016 €74,400 €91,800
for calendar year 2017 €76,200 €94,200
for calendar year 2018 €78,000 €96,000
and in the new Länder (East) it is
general miners’
pension insurance pension insurance
for calendar year 2016 €64,800 €79,800
for calendar year 2017 €68,400 €84,000
for calendar year 2018 €69,600 €85,800
The total number of Riester contracts for supplementary pension plans amounted to around 16.6 million at the end of 2017, and the number of occupational pension entitlements of active employees (second pillar) at the end of 2015 was around 20.4 million.
On pension adjustments:
Pension adjustments are based on the development of wages. The wage increase, which was relevant to the pension adjustment on 01 July 2017, was 2.18 percent in the old Länder and 3.28 percent in the new Länder. It is a result of the wage development reported by the Federal Statistical Office as calculated by national accounts which, however, did not take account of the impact of work opportunities providing reimbursement of additional expenditure (so-called "one-euro jobs"). In addition, account is taken of the development of earned income liable to pension insurance contributions of insured persons.
In addition to wage development, the sustainability factor, which transfers the change of the ratio of pensioners to contributors to the pension adjustment, is also an important factor in the pension adjustment formula. In 2017, the sustainability factor was responsible for a decrease of -0.14 percentage points in the pension adjustment. In addition to this, the factor of old-age provision expenses is used to transfer the changes in the expenses of employees in setting up their old-age provision to the adjustment of pensions. As the general pension insurance contribution rate has not changed in 2016 compared with the year 2015 and the "Riester reform scale" was last applied in 2013, old-age provision expenses had no effect on pension adjustments in 2017.
On the basis of this data, there was an increase in the current pension value as of 1 July 2017 from 30.45 euros to 31.03 euros and/or an increase in the current pension value (in East Germany) from 28.66 euros to 29.69 euros. This corresponds to a pension adjustment of +1.90 per cent in the old Länder and of +3.59 per cent in the new Länder.
 |
In the 2016/2017 period, the figures reflecting developments in the cost of living in Germany on the one hand and developments of wages and pensions on the other changed as follows:
The developments shown in the table indicate that pension adjustments in 2017, at 1.90 percent in the old Länder, were higher than developments in prices and lower than developments in wages.
With the Act concluding the extension of pension legislation to the East German Länder (Conclusion of Pension Alignment Act) of 17 July 2017, East German pension values will be gradually adjusted to West German pension values by 2024. To this end, the current pension value (in East Germany), the contribution assessment ceilings (in East Germany) and the reference value (in East Germany) are increased to the respective West German values and the upvaluation of earned income from work in the acceding territory is decreased accordingly. Should the actual wage developments exceed the statutory pension adjustment steps, a comparative calculation hast to be carried out to determine whether the pension adjustments in East Germany are higher if the basis for calculation are actual wage adjustments in East Germany or the statutory adjustment steps; priority shall be given to the more favourable adjustment path. From 2025, the pension will then be calculated uniformly throughout Germany.
On Part VI
Employment Injury Benefit
The following changes occurred during the period under review:
Recognition of new occupational diseases:
With effect from 1 August 2017, the list of diseases to be recognised as occupational diseases pursuant to German legislation, was extended by five diseases through the 4th Ordinance amending the Occupational Diseases Ordinance:
· Leukaemia by 1,3 Butadiene,
· Bladder cancer by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,
· Focal dystonia in classical instrumentalists,
· Ovarian cancer by asbestos, and
· Larynx cancer by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Adjustment of the nursing care allowance:
As from 01 July 2017, nursing care allowances range from 351 euros to 1,400 euros per month in western Germany and from 330 euros to 1,324 euros per month in eastern Germany.
Pension adjustment:
As from 01 July 2017, injury pensions from the statutory accident insurance were adjusted by a factor of 1.0190 in western Germany and 1.0359 in eastern Germany, which is an increase of 1.90 per cent and 3.59 per cent respectively.
On Part VII
Family Benefit
Since 01 January 2017, the monthly child benefit has been 192 euros for first and second children (as of 01 January 2018: 194 euros), for third children 198 euros (200 euros) and for the fourth and every additional child 223 euros (225 euros).
On Part VIII
Maternity Benefit
The following changes occurred in the period under review.
Maternity benefit and maternity benefit supplement are paid during the last 6 weeks before the expected day of delivery, for the day of delivery and for the first 8 weeks after delivery (12 weeks in the event of multiple births and preterm births and in cases where a disability within the meaning of section 2 (1), sentence 1 of Book IX (SGB) is medically diagnosed in the child and an application in accordance with section 3 (2), sentence 4 of the Maternity Protection Act is submitted before the 8 week period after delivery has expired).
The regulations remain otherwise unchanged.
On Part IX
Invalidity Benefit
On the Act to improve pension benefits in cases of reduced earning capacity
The Act to improve pension benefits in cases of reduced earning capacity of 17 July 2017 further improves protection of persons with reduced earning capacity in the statutory pension insurance. As from 2018, the added period for disability pensioners will be gradually extended by three years to 65 years by 2024. In the long term, persons with reduced earning capacity will be treated as if they had worked three years longer - in line with the valuation of their added period. This means a targeted and clear increase in entitlements for new pensioners.
On Part X
Survivors' Benefit
In its Conclusions concerning the 46th annual report the Committee of Experts asks the Federal Government, in the framework of this year’s reporting obligation, “to indicate with reference to the legislation, whether the right to the widow’s benefit is conditional on her being presumed to be incapable of self-support or having a minimum duration of marriage.”
Eligibility for a widow's or widower’s pension is generally not dependent on whether a widow/er can provide for her/his subsistence herself/himself. However, in accordance with section 97 of Book VI (SGB) own income of widows and widowers is taken into account for the calculation of widow's or widower’s pension entitlements. The decisive systematic reason why survivor’s own income is taken into account in connection with widow's and widower’s pensions is the mutual maintenance obligation of spouses, which is enshrined in the Civil Code. After the death of one spouse the survivor's pension paid by the statutory pension insurance replaces the maintenance payment which the deceased spouse can no longer provide. Just as spouses’ own earned income and income replacement benefits are taken into account for the calculation of the maintenance amount during lifetime, this provision also applies to the maintenance of widows/widowers.
According to section 46 (2) (a) of Book VI (SGB) widows or widowers are not entitled to a widow's or widow's pension if the marriage has not lasted for at least one year. This regulation aims to exclude eligibility for benefits in connection with marriages that have primarily been concluded in order to establish a claim to a survivor’s pension for the partner. In cases where marriages have lasted less than one year, the entitlement to a widow's or widower's pension is not excluded if, according to the special circumstances of the case, the assumption that the sole or predominant purpose of the marriage was to establish a claim to a survivor's pension does not appear justified. Such an exception would e.g. apply if the deceased spouse was killed in an unforeseeable event, such as an accident.”
On Part XII
Common provisions
No changes in the period under review.