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Photo: Daniel Karmann/dpa
The additional health insurance contribution increased at the beginning of the year, but the pension payment in January was the same as last year? This is because this increase only takes effect two months later for pensioners with statutory insurance. The German Pension Insurance Federation points this out.
For seniors, the additional contribution only increases in March, which means that the monthly pension payment only decreases from then on. This is required by law. If the health insurance contribution changes, this will only be reflected in the pension two months later, both in the case of reductions and increases.
Those affected can see that the pension payment changes due to the health insurance contribution on their bank statement. The pension insurance only sends written notifications in exceptional cases, for example if the pension is transferred to another person's account.
The additional contribution is in addition to the general contribution rate set by law and can vary greatly from fund to fund. The Federal Ministry of Health sets the average additional contribution for the coming year every autumn based on an expert estimate - for 2024 it is 1.7 percent. But each health insurance company can decide for itself on the amount.
mik/dpa