Taxes and health insurance for pensioners

When people retire, many things change, including their financial situation. Most people have no real idea what this means for them. What will happen to health insurance? Do pensioners even have to pay taxes? And can they earn money on top of their pension? We have put together some helpful articles to help you understand these things:

Most pensioners do not have to pay taxes, at least not if they have no other income. A (decreasing) part of the pension is tax-free anyway, and the rest usually does not exceed the tax-free basic amount. However, if you have other income (for example, from a job or self-employment, interest, rentals or private pensions), then you may get into the range where you have to pay tax. In our article on pension taxation (see menu on the right) we explain, among other things,

• what the pension allowance is and how much it is,
• what the basic allowance means and how to calculate it,
• how much tax pensioners have to pay,
• whether and how you have to pay tax on additional income,
• whether you still have to pay church tax and the solidarity surcharge as a pensioner.

Just have a look there and you will certainly see things more clearly when it comes to taxes.

If you are not liable for tax as a pensioner, you do not have to file an income tax return. However, you will have to file a tax return if your taxable income exceeds the pension allowance. You may also have to file an income tax return if you are taxed together with a partner. Finally, the tax office may ask you to file a tax return for other reasons. In this case, you should know which costs you can deduct. There can be quite a few, for example:

• Income-related expenses,
• donations,
• medical expenses as an extraordinary burden,
• the disability allowance and travel expenses for people with disabilities,
• insurance premiums,
• costs for household help or nursing services,
• costs for a health cure or
• costs for a nursing home.

We explain exactly what these things are in our article on income tax for pensioners (link). We also take a closer look at the circumstances under which you have to file an income tax return as a pensioner and where you can get help.

You're far from being old-fashioned and don't want to retire from working life quite yet? Or your pension is so low that you have to look for a job to earn extra money? Then you are probably wondering what the financial consequences are for you. The question of how much money you can earn on top of your pension has two parts:

1. How much can you earn without having your pension reduced?
2. How much can you earn tax-free?

The first question is very easy to answer if you have already reached the standard retirement age (between 65 and 67, depending on your year of birth). In this case, your pension will not be reduced at all, even if you earn a lot in addition. In this case, there is no limit that you have to observe. In the case of a widow's pension, a pension for reduced earning capacity or an early pension, the situation is different. In these cases, there are clear limits on additional income. If your income exceeds these limits, your pension will be reduced or, in extreme cases, even cancelled altogether.

In our article "Hinzuverdienst zur Rente" (link), we explain exactly how much you are allowed to earn and what happens if you earn more.

If you are dealing with your changed finances, the question of health insurance is sure to come up quickly. Of course, you still need health insurance as a pensioner. If you have been compulsorily insured up to now, you will now automatically be covered by the health insurance for pensioners (KVdR). You will pay only very low contributions, but little else will change for you: you will remain with your usual health insurance company, which will now only bill you differently internally.

However, KVdR is only open to people who have been almost exclusively covered by statutory health insurance for the last few decades (more precisely, for the second half of their working life). If this is not the case for you, you can apply for voluntary KVdR insurance under certain circumstances. This still brings you advantages, but is no longer as favourable.

If you have been privately insured in recent years, you will most likely remain so. It is no longer possible to switch back to the statutory health insurance fund at retirement age.

In our article "Health insurance for pensioners" (Sirhr Mernü, right) we explain these differences in more detail. We also answer the question about the amount of health insurance contributions and deal with the topic of long-term care insurance. We also explain under which circumstances family insurance is still possible.