Pension fund statement. Your insurance certificate in simple terms.

You can see your personal details at the top of the statement. Among other things you can see when you joined the pension fund and when your regular retirement is due. For the calculation of your premiums and the granting of benefits it is in particular your age, marital status and gender that are important.

You can find the salary data in this section. The insured salary is a central element of the occupational benefit scheme. It serves to determine the contributions and pension benefits. The insured salary is based on the pension fund regulations and benefit plan of your pension fund.

As of age 25, you and your employee each pay a monthly savings contribution to your pension fund. The amount of the old-age credit depends on your age and insured salary.

In addition to the monthly savings contribution, the risk contribution for disability and death is also stated. This is mandatory as of the 1 January after the person turns 17.

The employee contributions are offset against the monthly salary and the employer contributions are transferred with the latter’s share to the pension fund. The employer must pay at least 50% of the total contributions.

In your insurance certificate you can see your current old-age savings and the performance in the past year. As your old-age savings earn annual interest, the interest can greatly increase your savings over the years.

The key figures “expected retirement savings” and “estimated retirement pension” show how much money you can expect to receive from your pension fund when and after you retire. The “expected benefits in the event of early retirement” are also visible. If you are considering early retirement, you can see here what impact this would have on your retirement benefits.

The insurance certificate is always a snapshot and refers to the date on which it was updated. In addition to a different rate of interest, changes to your salary or degree of employment or a change to a different pension fund can result in changes to your benefits.

In this section you can see how you and your family are protected by the pension fund in case something happens to you.

If you become unable to earn, whether due to illness or an accident, your pension fund will support you with a disability pension and – if you have children – with disabled’s children’s pensions. The benefits will be provided in addition to the disability insurance.

In the event of your death, your spouse will be paid an annual pension. Most pension funds also pay benefits for life partners. However, most pension funds require life partners to be registered with them. If you live in a domestic partnership it is also important to check your order of beneficiaries and amend it if necessary. Your children receive an orphan's pension. This is paid out until they turn 18 – or until they complete their training or education (max. until age 25).

In order to increase your pension fund assets you can make voluntary purchases into the pension fund. In this way, you can increase your retirement savings as well as your retirement pension and risk benefits. Additional purchases are usually tax deductible. The maximum purchase sum under the insurance provisions is the maximum additional amount you can pay into the pension fund.

One of the few options for withdrawing money early from the pension fund is to finance owner-occupied housing. The amount withdrawn for this purpose is noted on the insurance certificate. The advance withdrawal is subject to framework conditions, and additional restrictions apply as of age 50. If you are interested, we recommend arranging an individual consultation, because an advance withdrawal can affect the pension fund benefits. In addition, there are also various ways to organize amortization of your mortgage. This all has an impact on your tax burden.