What are reward points?
The values of the payment points are redefined every year. They are based on the average income of all insured persons in the corresponding calendar year.
In order to determine the earnings points personally acquired in a calendar year, one’s own insured earnings are set in relation to the respective average earnings of all employees. If the personal annual salary corresponds to the average salary of all employees, you receive exactly one payment point.
Anyone who had an annual income (provisionally estimated average wage) of 41,541 euros (West Germany) or 39,338 euros (East Germany) in 2021 will receive exactly one earnings point added to the points they have accumulated in the past. One earnings point currently entitles you to receive a monthly pension of EUR 34.19 in western Germany and EUR 33.47 in eastern Germany.
If the gross earnings were higher or lower, one receives more or fewer remuneration points accordingly. With a west salary of 20,770.50 euros, you only get half a payment point and thus 17.10 euros in the west pension.
Extrapolation not so easy!
Anyone who now thinks that they only have to multiply their earnings points for the current year by their years of work in order to calculate their future pension is wrong.
Anyone who gets one earnings point in 2021 and has worked for 35 years in their career might think that with the simple calculation 35 years x 1 earnings point x 34.19 euros (for a West German) they would get a pension of 1,196.65 euros. In fact, it’s not quite that simple.
On the one hand, the values of the earnings points are different every year, and on the other hand there are other factors to be taken into account. For example, deductions apply if you take your pension early. On the other hand, under certain conditions, non-contributory years can also be taken into account, such as school education with a vocational character, periods in which one received sick pay or unemployment benefit I, but also periods of pregnancy and maternity leave.
Editorial office finanzen.net
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