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Providing the Seaman with Security in Stormy Times: These are the benefits provided by the Social Insurance for Seafarers
The Bridging Benefit is the Centrepiece of the Seafaring Insurance
Working on board a ship is not a “bed of roses“. Whether on a container ship, a cruise ship, a trawler or a ferry – working at sea really takes it out of the seamen. The health suffers and then the decision has to be made as to whether to leave the ship and remain on land. But what happens then? What is the financial situation for the seaman?
The Social Insurance for Seafarers provides you with support, informs you and advises you in this difficult situation. Much is to be considered and a number of conditions are to be met.
Most importantly: You have to be 56 years old if you want to leave the ship. This is the minimum age and the other decisive aspect is the conditions you meet in order to profit from the diverse benefits that the Social Insurance for Seafarers offers. The bridging benefit that is also referred to as the “seaman´s pension” is the centrepiece of the benefits offered by the Social Insurance for Seafarers.
Conditions and Benefits – this is important
Everything at a glance
After spending time at sea – what now?
The Special Role Played by the Bridging Benefit when Unemployed
If a seaman who has registered unemployed is entitled to a bridging benefit, the Social Insurance for Seafarers pays the difference between unemployment benefit I and the higher (fictitiously calculated) bridging benefit and this is paid as long as the seaman is in receipt of unemployment benefit I.
In order for him to be paid this difference, he has to file an application with the Social Insurance for Seafarers, enclosing a certificate from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit employment agency that includes the amount of unemployment benefit I that is paid and the date when payments commenced, together with the period during which payments are made. The Social Insurance for Seafarers is to be informed of any changes to this benefit without delay.
Should the entitlement to unemployment benefit I be terminated, the bridging benefit shall normally be paid in the full amount as from then.
Information: Self-employed coastal fishers and coastal shippers have been able to pay voluntary unemployment insurance contributions since 1 February 2006. This is also valid for seafarers who work abroad and do not have an unemployment insurance. Please contact your local Bundesagentur für Arbeit for more information.
A Reduced Pension: the Bridging Benefit is a Compensation for a Reduced Payment
The retirement ages have been increased in the state pension insurance for almost all old-age pensions.
Some seafarers are entitled to an old-age pension at the age of 62. In this case, the old-age pension is reduced.
If you should be granted a pension due to you having a full reduction in the earnings capacity before you reach the age of 63, then this pension shall be reduced.
The Social Insurance for Seafarers pays you a bridging benefit should you no longer work at sea. This is paid until you attain the statutory retirement age (65-67) or if you are in receipt of your statutory old-age pension. With this, the Social Insurance for Seafarers compensates the pension deduction in full. One could also say: the bridging benefit is an important compensation payment for the seaman in order to prevent the reduction, or to put it differently: the financial loss.
If you want to know more about the retirement ages and the pension reduction, you will find this in the German Pensions Insurance brochure, "Die richtige Altersrente für Sie".
Advice is Important: put the single Deduction Compensation Payment to Good Use
The Social Insurance for Seafarers also offers you an additional important benefit: the single deduction compensation payment. This benefit is paid to seamen who also have an entitlement to recurring deduction compensation payments. The benefit is in the form of a single payment.
How is this single payment calculated?
The single payment is half of the amount that you would have to pay into the pensions insurance in order to compensate the pension reduction because you avail yourself of your pension prematurely. This single payment is at your free disposal.
Is it worth paying it into the pensions insurance?
You can pay this amount into the pensions insurance for example, and thereby increase your old-age pension – and your surviving dependants´ pension -.
It is important for you to know that the single payment is deemed to be earnings in the meaning of the statutory health and nursing care insurance. The health insurance company decides whether health insurance and nursing care insurance contributions are to be deducted from it.
No matter how you decide to use the single compensation payment, obtain advice. The experts from the Social Insurance for Seafarers would also be pleased to advise you on this.
Good to know:
Single reduction compensation in case of death.
Should the seaman die before he has attained the statutory retirement age, the regular payments shall be stopped at the end of the month of death. The dependants that have an entitlement to a pension, are then paid the deduction compensation as a single payment.
What is the “Benefit before Reaching the Statutory Retirement Age"?
The "benefit before reaching the statutory retirement age“ is calculated in the same way as the premature full old-age pension that has not been subjected to a deduction. It is paid for a maximum period of 24 months and its amount is restricted to half the amount, i.e. the calculated benefit is halved.
What is the “Benefit after Reaching the Statutory Retirement Age"?
The "benefit after reaching the statutory retirement age“ is calculated in the same way as the full old-age pension and it is paid for a maximum period of 24 months. This benefit is restricted to half the amount, i.e. the calculated benefit is halved.
The Supplementary Benefit is subject to Contributions
The Social Insurance for Seafarers grants a lump-sum supplementary benefit on all benefits (including single payments). Please note that, as with the benefit itself, this supplementary benefit is subject to the payment of statutory health insurance and nursing care insurance contributions.
What Role do the Health Insurance and Nursing Care Insurance play?
It won´t work without an adequate health insurance cover
An important aspect to be considered at an early stage is how you wish to take out health insurance cover at an advanced age.
If you are in receipt of benefits from the Social Insurance for Seafarers and you are not a compulsory member of a statutory health insurance company, you can apply for a voluntary membership in one. You should file this application in good time: three months after you are no longer a compulsory member at the latest.
Should you be unable to join a statutory health insurance company, then you could take out private health insurance cover.
Statutory health insurance contributions
If you are in receipt of benefits from the Social Insurance for Seafarers, you also pay statutory health insurance contributions. The Social Insurance for Seafarers informs your health insurance company of the amount of the benefits payments it had paid to you. This is used in order to calculate your individual health insurance contribution. In special cases, the Social Insurance for Seafarers transfers the health insurance contributions direct.
The seaman also pays a health insurance contribution for the “bridging benefit as a single reduction compensation“. The single payment is deemed to be earnings that are subject to social insurance contributions in the meaning of the statutory health and nursing care insurance. The health insurance company calculates the contributions and informs the insured person with a separate official decision.
The Social Insurance for Seafarers does not participate in your health insurance contributions.
Nursing care insurance contributions
A benefit that you receive from the Social Insurance for Seafarers is also subject to a nursing care insurance contribution. It is also the case here that the Social Insurance for Seafarers informs the nursing care insurance that you are in receipt of benefits.
The current contribution rates in the statutory health insurance are as follows
- for members who are parents: 2.55 percent
- for members without children: 2.80 percent.
The Social Insurance for Seafarers does not participate in your nursing care insurance contributions.
The information regarding the compulsory contributions and the duty to inform with regard to the health insurance company also have validity for the nursing care insurance.