The reduced earning capacity pension supports you if you are no longer able to work for health reasons and have not yet reached the standard retirement age. This pension serves as an income replacement.
Before you can draw the reduced earning capacity pension, German Pension Insurance will check whether a rehabilitation programme can help you to support yourself again. This includes medical and occupational rehabilitation, including further training for professional reorientation or work aids.
German Pension Insurance will determine to what extent you are still able to work on the general labour market. Depending on this, you will either receive
- a pension due to full reduction in earning capacity or
- a pension due to partial reduction in earning capacity.
If, from a medical point of view, you are partially disabled and unemployed because there is no suitable part-time job available, you can also receive a full reduced earning capacity pension.
You can also receive a reduced earning capacity pension as a disabled person. This applies, for example, if you work in a special institution for the disabled and are unable to work in the general labour market due to your disability.
The amount of your reduced earning capacity pension depends on your insurance periods with Deutsche Rentenversicherung. Your annual pension information will tell you what you can expect if you have a full reduction in earning capacity. If you are partially incapacitated for work, half of this is taken as a basis.
For younger insured persons, it is not only the few previous years of employment that count. Rather, there is what is known as the additional qualifying period. This is the time between the onset of reduced earning capacity and a certain statutory age. The additional qualifying period puts you in the same position as if you had paid contributions up to this age.
If your pension starts before the relevant age limit, you will have to accept a reduction in your pension. For each month that you claim your pension earlier, the reduction is 0.3 per cent, up to a maximum of 10.8 per cent.
If you receive a reduced earning capacity pension, you can earn additional income to a certain extent with a part-time job.
- The supplementary income limit for the full reduced earning capacity pension is based on the monthly reference figure - a value derived from the average earnings of all those insured under the statutory pension scheme. As the reference figure changes every year on 1 January, this means that the supplementary income limit also changes every year on this date. It is therefore a dynamic value and changes in line with wage trends. The supplementary income limit in 2025 is EUR 19,661.25.
- If you have a partial reduction in earning capacity, you may only work less than 6 hours a day. How much you are allowed to earn is calculated individually.
An application for a reduced earning capacity pension does not mean that you will never be allowed to work again. It is often possible to recover from serious health setbacks through targeted treatment and support. Your reduced earning capacity pension is usually granted for a limited period, for a maximum of 3 years. You will only receive an unlimited pension in exceptional cases.
Note: If you were born before 2 January 1961, you may be able to receive a "partial reduced earning capacity pension for occupational disability". This pension takes into account whether you can continue to work in your previous occupation.