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Procedure descriptions

Apply for a reduced earning capacity pension

The reduced earning capacity pension, which serves as income replacement, supports you if you are no longer able to work for health reasons and have not yet reached the standard retirement age.

Before you receive a 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 measures, as well as further training for professional reorientation or work assistance.

German Pension Insurance will determine the extent to which 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 you are partially incapacitated and unemployed because a part-time job commensurate with your performance is not available, you can also receive a pension for full reduction in earning capacity.

People with a disability can also receive a reduced earning capacity pension. This applies, for example, if you are employed in a recognised workshop for disabled people or in another protective facility and cannot work on the general labour market due to your disability.

The amount of your reduced earning capacity pension depends, among other things, on the insurance periods you have completed. Your 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 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 a certain amount of additional income through employment.

  • 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 20,763.75.
  • If you have a partial reduction in earning capacity, you may only work less than six 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. The pension is limited to a maximum of three years and can be repeated. A permanent pension is only granted if, from a medical point of view, an improvement in the state of health is absolutely unlikely. You will only receive an unlimited pension in exceptional cases.

Note: If you were born before 2 January 1961, you may be eligible for a "partial disability pension". This pension takes into account whether you can continue in your previous occupation.

Forms/Online Services

Responsible authority

  • the municipal or city administration or the insurance office of your place of residence
  • the information and advice centres, regional centres of the German Pension Insurance (DRV) or
  • voluntary insurance counsellors working for the DRV
Deutsche Rentenversicherung Baden-Württemberg - Regionalzentrum Karlsruhe
Stadt Kuppenheim

Details

Prerequisite

  • You cannot work in the general labour market due to illness or disability:
    • work less than three hours a day (full reduction in earning capacity) or
    • work at least three hours but less than six hours a day (partial reduction in earning capacity)
    • Exception: If you are partially disabled and unemployed because there is no suitable part-time job, you may also be able to receive a pension for full reduction in earning capacity.
  • You cannot improve your earning capacity by working again:
    • medical rehabilitation or
    • vocational rehabilitation, for example retraining or work aids
  • You have not yet reached the standard retirement age. This is the date from which you can draw the standard old-age pension.
  • You have been insured for at least five years (general qualifying period)
  • You have paid into the pension insurance scheme for at least three years in the last five years before the onset of reduced earning capacity.
  • Exception: If you have already completed the five-year qualifying period before 1 January 1984, you may be entitled to a pension without the three years of compulsory contributions. The prerequisite is that every calendar month in the period from 1 January 1984 until the onset of your reduced earning capacity is covered by so-called qualifying periods, for example by periods of voluntary contributions or, under certain conditions, periods of unemployment.
  • The general waiting period of five years includes
    • Contribution periods (compulsory and voluntary contributions),
    • Substitute periods,
    • Child-raising periods,
    • Periods of non-occupational home care,
    • Periods from pension equalisation and pension splitting,
    • Periods of marginal employment (but only on a pro rata basis without a personal contribution top-up)
    • Under certain conditions, you can also fulfil the waiting period of five years early, for example if you have become less able to work due to an accident at work.

Reduced earning capacity pension for people with disabilities

If you have not fulfilled the general waiting period of five years before the onset of reduced earning capacity, it is still possible to receive a full reduced earning capacity pension. You must then

  • fulfil the qualifying period of 20 years, for example have worked for 20 years in a workshop for disabled people and
  • have remained fully disabled without interruption.

Procedure

You can apply for a reduced earning capacity pension in writing, in person or online.

Before you submit your application, you can seek advice from Deutsche Rentenversicherung.

Written pension application:

  • Download the forms pack for the reduced earning capacity pension from the German Pension Insurance website. Complete the application for an insured person's pension and the forms listed therein in full and compile the required documents.
  • You can submit your completed and signed application together with the required documents to either:
    • send it by post to Deutsche Rentenversicherung or
    • hand it in at one of the local advice centres.
  • Your pension insurance provider will process your application and request any missing documents if necessary.
  • Your pension insurance provider will check the requirements for your pension entitlement and the completeness of your insurance history. If necessary, they will clarify any gaps in your insurance history together with you.
  • German Pension Insurance will check your reduced earning capacity on the basis of the information you provide and the documents you submit. If necessary for the assessment, further medical documents will be requested, for example medical reports or expert opinions.
  • German Pension Insurance will clarify other matters, for example your health insurance relationship, whether you earn additional income or receive another pension.
  • If you are entitled to a reduced earning capacity pension, you will receive a pension notification with details of the start date, the start of the current payment and the amount of the pension. You will also be informed of your rights and obligations.
  • If you are not entitled to a pension, you will receive a rejection notice with the reason for the rejection.

Online pension application:

  • Go to the German Pension Insurance online portal and select Online Services.
  • Complete the application, upload the necessary documents and submit your pension application.
  • Once your pension application has been received, you will receive a confirmation of receipt.
  • Your pension insurance provider will check your application for completeness and request any missing documents.
  • German Pension Insurance will check the requirements for your pension entitlement and the completeness of your insurance history. If necessary, it will clarify any gaps in your insurance history together with you.
  • German Pension Insurance will check your reduced earning capacity on the basis of the information you provide and the documents you submit. If necessary for the assessment, further medical documents will be requested (e.g. medical reports or expert opinions).
  • German Pension Insurance will clarify other matters, for example your health insurance relationship, whether you earn additional income or receive a different pension.
  • If you are entitled to a reduced earning capacity pension, you will receive a pension notification with details of the start date, the start of the current payment and the amount of the pension. You will also be informed of your rights and obligations.
  • If you are not entitled to a pension, you will receive a rejection notice stating the reason for the rejection.

Personal application:

  • Compile the documents required for the application and make an appointment at a German Pension Insurance information and advice centre.
  • During the counselling session, your application for a reduced earning capacity pension will be recorded and forwarded online.
  • Your pension insurance provider will check the application and request any missing documents if necessary.
  • German Pension Insurance will check the requirements for your pension entitlement and your insurance history for completeness. If necessary, it will clarify any gaps in your insurance history together with you.
  • German Pension Insurance will check your reduced earning capacity on the basis of the information you provide and the documents you submit. If necessary for the assessment, further medical documents will be requested (e.g. medical reports or expert opinions).
  • German Pension Insurance will clarify other matters, for example your health insurance relationship, whether you earn additional income or receive an accident pension.
  • If you are entitled to a pension, you will receive a pension notification with details of the start date, the start of the current payment and the amount of the pension. You will also be informed of your rights and obligations.
  • If you are not entitled to a reduced earning capacity pension, you will receive a rejection notice stating the reason for the rejection.

A person you trust can also submit the pension application on your behalf. Please submit a corresponding authorisation to Deutsche Rentenversicherung for this purpose. As long as the power of attorney is valid, your pension insurance provider will only contact the authorised person.

Deadlines

Indefinite pensions:

  • If you apply for a pension in the first three months after the onset of your reduced earning capacity, your pension will start on the first day of the month following the onset of your reduced earning capacity. If you submit your application later, the pension will only be paid from the beginning of the month in which you submit your application.

Temporary pensions:

  • As a rule, a temporary pension starts at the earliest on the seventh calendar month after the onset of the reduction in earning capacity. It is sufficient if you apply for the pension by the end of this seventh calendar month. If you submit your application later, the pension will only be paid from the start of the month of application.
  • If the determination of full reduction in earning capacity means that your entitlement to unemployment benefit, sickness benefit or daily sickness allowance ends, your pension due to full reduction in earning capacity can begin before the seventh calendar month after the onset of the reduction in earning capacity.

Required documents

  • valid identity card or passport
  • Proof or pensionable periods that are not included in the insurance history, for example
    • Offsetting certificates
    • Proof of training periods, proof of periods of unemployment and illness
  • List of your health impairments
  • Names and addresses of the doctors treating you
  • all details of medical examinations by public bodies such as health insurance companies, employment agencies or employers' liability insurance associations
  • Details of your hospitalisation and rehabilitation stays in recent years and
  • a chronological list of your professional activities
  • If another person is submitting the application on your behalf:
    • Power of attorney or
    • Order of the court

Costs

None

Processing time

Usually about four to five months.

Miscellaneous

You can also have your pension application submitted by a person you trust. To do this, please submit a corresponding power of attorney to your pension insurance provider. As long as the power of attorney is valid, your pension insurance provider will only contact the person you have authorised.

Legal basis

Sozialgesetzbuch Sechstes Buch (SGB VI):

  • § 43 Rente wegen Erwerbsminderung
  • § 101 Beginn und Änderung in Sonderfällen
  • § 241 Rente wegen Erwerbsminderung

Release note

machine generated, based on the German release by: Sozialministerium Baden-Württemberg, 24.02.2026

Kontakt

Stadt Kuppenheim
Friedensplatz
76456 Kuppenheim
Telefon: 07222/9462-0
Telefax: 07222/9462-150
stadt@kuppenheim.de

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