Working End > Pension > Occupational Disability

Occupation Disability: Caused by Illness or an Accident

Definition, Explanation

Occupational disability is occupation-specific working-inability. The bad luck of becoming unable to work in their specific occupations hits almost ¼ of all employees. The most frequent causes, today, are psychic illnesses (30 per cent of the cases) like depressions, and back problems (around 20 per cent). Only a low percentage is caused by accidents. For the occupational disability to be approved, it has to be requested via the doctor, and to be certified by a medical expert. With an approved occupational disability, the disabled person will be dismissed from the job automatically.

Employees are insured in the statutory pension insurance and are entitled to reduced earning capacity pension in respective cases. However, prerequisites are that the employee has been insured for at least 5 years, and, within that time, has paid contributions for at least 3 years or has been on parental leaves for a respective part of the time. Insured events are those of an occupational inability of 50 per cent and above according to the medical certificate.

The statutory reduced earning capacity pension amount depends on the amount of the previous income. The rough average of all such pensions currently paid is 700 Euros a month, for complete loss of earning capacity. The full amount, for completely lost earning capacity, is paid if earning capacity is below 3 hours a day. In the range from 3 to 6 hours a day, up to 50 per cent of the pension are granted. If there exists any ability to work in another job, no pension is paid. In that case, the respective person is forced to look for another job or report unemployed.

Since 2001, occupational disability in statutory pension insurance no longer applies to insured born later than on January 1st 1961. For those who it still applies to, it does so only in the form of partially reduced earning capacity for occupational disability, according to § 240 SGB VI.

Ways to contract a private occupational-disability insurance are:

• a standalone insurance protecting occupational disability without any other benefits like pension
• a risk insurance including an additional occupation disability insurance
• an endowment insurance or pension insurance incl. occupational disability insurance
• Base pension incl. occupational disability insurance
• Combination with an equity and debt security fund

Tips, Checklist

• Insure yourself early. The younger you are, the easier it is to find a suitable protection. Also, younger people rarely pay risk loadings
• Calculate your pension shortfall: your net income minus all received benefits and assets and pensions
• To secure your standard of living, you need to compensate for that shortfall by some extra insurance
• Compare different occupation disability insurances concerning contributions and conditions. Contributions depend generally on your age, state of health, gender and occupation
• Insurances should be contracted lasting until you are 67 years of age
• If you are rated “risky” because of your occupation or diseases, be pertinacious and find an eligible offer

Information Sources

• Calculate and compare occupational disability insurance online (occupational disability insurance only possible for persons with main residence in Germany and with a German bank account. Foreign citizens require a certficate of their permanent residence authorization, in addition)

Last update: 06/08/2010