Account clarification
Account clarification ensures the correct amount of pension entitlements
Pensions can only be paid on time and in the correct amount if the pension insurance account is complete.
From 1992 onwards, the data in the new federal states is entered electronically by the employer or the service providers (health insurance funds, employment offices/employment agency), but the insurance histories do not contain the data for the years before that.
In these cases, there are gaps in the insurance account. These and other gaps are closed as part of the account clarification process. The pension insurance institution has been requesting account clarification for a long time and on an ongoing basis.
Account clarification is not only a prerequisite for a subsequent pension calculation, but also for the provision of pension information or pension information regarding the pension amount earned to date, the fulfilment of the access requirements and the possible start of the pension.
To initiate the account clarification procedure, it is necessary to submit an account clarification application and provide the relevant evidence.
The application for account clarification can be submitted to the insurance office. It is recorded electronically using the "eAntrag" programme provided by Deutsche Rentenversicherung and forwarded online to the relevant pension provider. Applicants receive a printout with the data transmitted.
Where applicable, the following documents are mainly required:
- The social security cards of the GDR (SVA) as proof of periods of employment,
- Certificates as proof of training/school attendance/studies/retraining,
- Military service card as proof of basic military service,
- Birth certificates for the assertion of child-raising periods,
- Documents relating to supplementary pension provision (certificate, confirmation of membership, verification card, certificate of remuneration)
In addition, all other applications in the area of statutory pension insurance, e.g. applications for old-age pension, reduced earning capacity pension, survivors' pension, rehabilitation measures and pension information are recorded electronically and transmitted online, and corresponding information on pensions is provided.
Detailed information on which documents must be submitted for each application can be found in the relevant information sheets from the insurance office.
However, information is also provided and applications accepted in other areas of statutory social insurance, e.g. accident, health, long-term care and unemployment insurance.
The insurance office is responsible for applicants and those seeking information who live in Chemnitz, usually reside here or have their place of employment or work in Chemnitz.
Notarisations
The insurance office certifies copies of insurance documents to be submitted free of charge for pension purposes as well as for all other areas of social insurance. The prerequisite for this is the submission of legible copies and corresponding originals. Instead of the original, a notarised copy or certified copy can also be submitted.
It is also possible to have signatures notarised for social insurance purposes, e.g. under witness statements or other declarations. The prerequisite for this is the presentation of a valid identity card or passport and signature at the insurance office.
Replacement evidence for lost insurance documents is difficult to obtain
If necessary evidence, such as the social insurance cards of the former GDR (SVA), certificates, remuneration certificates etc. have been lost or if entries in them are incomplete, it is recommended that you endeavour to obtain replacement evidence, e.g. remuneration certificates, in good time.
Unfortunately, the procurement situation for replacement certificates has deteriorated significantly since the retention obligation for GDR wage documents expired on 31 December 2011. In almost all cases, it is no longer possible to obtain a wage certificate from the former employer or a wage archive.
The insurance office can also provide specific information on this.
Here you can find out where you can still go for the relevant evidence or what options there are for providing evidence of pensionable periods, even if direct evidence in the form of a certificate of earnings can no longer be obtained.
This requires precise information on the name of the company, the address, the period in question and the activity carried out.
Supplementary pension schemes in the former GDR
In the former GDR, there were a large number of supplementary and special pension schemes in addition to social insurance and voluntary supplementary pension insurance (FZR).
The Unification Treaty stipulates that these systems are to be transferred to the statutory pension insurance scheme. The respective pension provider is responsible for determining the remuneration and periods to be taken into account.
The procedure is initiated by submitting an application. The forms are available at the insurance office and appropriate support is provided.
The following documents are generally required:
- Identity card,
- Social insurance cards of the GDR (SVA),
- Proof of inclusion in the respective supplementary pension scheme (certificate or confirmation of membership/contribution record card),
- Gross pay certificate from the former employer,
- Proof of qualifications (certificates)
- Proof of bonus payments (if available)
It is not always necessary for a pension commitment to have been made during the GDR era.
Beginning with the judgements of 1998, the Federal Social Court has ruled that contribution periods can be recognised as periods of supplementary pension provision even without a corresponding pension commitment. However, one of the prerequisites for this is that an activity was carried out for which, by its nature, a supplementary pension was provided.
These decisions are particularly relevant in practice for the supplementary pension scheme for technical intelligence. The insurance office will provide information regarding the authorised persons, the application process, the documents to be submitted and the procedure. It is also possible to submit an application.
The prerequisites for the recognition of periods of technical intelligence are an engineering degree, the exercise of an engineering activity in the GDR and employment in a state-owned production company or equivalent company. The requirements regarding the activity and the place of employment must still have been met on 30 June 1990.
Retrospective inclusion has an effect on the pension amount for insured persons who never joined the FZR or did not join it immediately when it was introduced on 1 March 1971, although they would have been entitled to do so on the basis of their earnings, as well as those who joined the FZR but did not insure themselves up to their actual earnings, but only up to 1,200 marks per month.
Another interesting regulation in this context concerns the pension scheme for the pedagogical intelligentsia. Insured persons who belong to this pension scheme have the option of having flat-rate premiums credited in addition to their earnings. This is possible from 1977, in the following scale: 450 marks after 2 years of service, 600 marks after 5 years of service and 750 marks after 10 years of service. Information on this can be obtained from the insurance office. The relevant applications will also be accepted.
It should be noted, however, that applications for retrospective recognition of any bonuses are generally always checked to see whether the previous supplementary pension periods were rightly recognised. It is therefore strongly recommended that you obtain the relevant information before submitting your application in order to avoid any disadvantages.