What you should know:
During your term of gainful employment as a nursing professional in Germany, you are obliged to pay social insurance contributions. This means that you are automatically a member of various insurance institutions. Accordingly, a fixed percentage of your salary is directly retained as statutory social insurance contributions. These contributions are paid into the social insurance companies. In return, thanks to these insurances, you will receive financial support should you become ill or lose your job.
The contributions to social insurance encompass all compulsory insurances. These are:
Pension Insurance, Health Insurance, Nursing Care Insurance, Unemployment Insurance
Solidarity Insurance:
The health and nursing care insurances are organised according to the principle of solidarity. This means that the contributions paid by you are not paid out directly and in the same
amounts in all cases to recipients. Instead, these supportive benefits are paid out according to need and thus also in varying amounts to the contribution-paying members of the insurances
Contribution-based Benefits:
The pension insurance scheme is a contributions-based benefit. The amount of the insurance payments is thus made up of the sum of the contributions paid by you. Put succinctly, this means: you receive what you previously paid into your pension insurance scheme. Unemployment benefit will also be paid to you directly, should you lose your job. In this case, however, the amount of the payments will be calculated on the basis of your salary during the previous 12 months.
Details on Pension Insurance:
You pay into the pension insurance scheme in order to receive a pension upon retirement. This period is known as retirement. The amount of your pension is calculated on the basis of your income during your working life. The years during which you paid contributions in Ger- many are counted towards this. Generally speaking, pensions from the statutory scheme can also be paid to other countries. This is the case if you should, after retirement, leave Germany again. In certain individual cases, restrictions may apply, however. It is therefore important that you should seek information on your own individual circumstances from the German Pension Insurance Scheme in good time.
Details on Health and Nursing Care Insurance:
As an employee you are insured against illness at all times. You are thereby a member of either the statutory health insurance scheme or have a private health insurance policy. Should you become ill at any time, the health insurance fund will pay the costs of your medical treatment. When you join a health insurance scheme, you also automatically have nursing care insurance. This insurance comes into play should you, due to serious illness or the infirmities of old age, no longer be able to take care of yourself. You may, for example, be able to pay for the assistance of a nursing professional with the aid of your nursing care insurance.
Unemployment Insurance:
The unemployment insurance scheme pays those who are without employment a regular in- come for a certain period of time. Generally speaking, in order to receive this benefit you must have been insured for at least one year within the last two while employed, and you must also be actively looking for new employment.
You may obtain in-depth information here:
Further information regarding social insurances may be found, inter alia, on the website of
Make it in Germany.