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Employed or self-employed: the test, the procedure and the back-payment
The module’s worked examples, then cases to attempt before revealing their solution · 2 sections · 339 words · 3 min
Worked example
The month that makes the difference
A software developer starts with an insurer on 1 March, and the application arrives on 20 March. She is voluntarily insured for health and pays into a private pension policy. If DRV Bund finds employment in July and she consents, compulsory insurance only starts when the decision is notified in July. Had the application been filed in May, it would run from 1 March.
Practical case
How much pension contribution does the audit claim?
An engineering firm has engaged a design engineer as a ‘freelancer’ since 1 January 2021 at 3,000 euros a month. The cooperation ends on 28 February 2026. In March 2026 an audit begins and finds employment. The firm is not accused of intent, the fee is treated as gross pay, and each month's contributions fell due in that month. How many months are not yet time-barred, what pension contribution does the audit claim, and how much of it can the firm pass on to the engineer?
Hint: The four-year period only starts at the end of the calendar year in which the contributions fell due. The contribution rate of the general pension insurance was 18.6 percent throughout.
Show the solution
The 2021 contributions fell due in 2021; the four-year period began on 31 December 2021 and ended on 31 December 2025. They are time-barred. Contributions from January 2022 fell due in 2022 and become time-barred at the earliest at the end of 2026; the audit begun in March 2026 also suspends the period. The claim therefore covers January 2022 to February 2026, which is 48 plus 2, so 50 months. Each month's pension contribution is 18.6 percent of 3,000 euros, which is 558 euros, 27,900 euros in total. Half of that, 13,950 euros, would be the employee's share. As the cooperation has ended, there is no next pay run from which the firm could deduct anything under § 28g SGB IV. It bears the whole amount. The other insurance branches and any surcharges come on top.
Answer: 50 months, €27,900 pension contribution, none of it recoverable
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