Erwerbsminderungsrente nach Bezug von ALG II: Auswirkungen der Reformen auf die Versicherungsbiografien

The introduction of the reformed means-tested unemployment assistance (ALG II) increased the numbers of those insured in the public pension fund from 2005 to 2010. The amount of these contributions was small and did not lead to a significant increase in future pensions. However, the possibility of becoming an insured person in the public pension system enabled the long-term unemployed to apply for a pension for reduced earning capacity after three years. Particularly in West Germany, the insurance biographies of the unemployment benefit recipients display long periods of interruptions at an early stage, often due to long-term sicknesses. Both in West and East Germany the number of recipients of unemployment assistance who successfully applied for a reduced earnings-capacity pension after many years of unemployment is remarkably high. Above all, it turns out that only a small number of those who directly moved from the receipts of unemployment benefits (ALG II) to the pension system have been employed during the ten years before entering the pension system. For that reason, the pension contributions in many cases are low or extremely low and do not provide sufficient security. This affects men and women alike.