German insolvency benefit for shareholder-managing directors — the supplementary sheet
Insolvency benefit (Insolvenzgeld) is paid only to employees (§ 165(1) SGB III). If you worked as a shareholder or managing director of a GmbH or UG, you must therefore show that you were EMPLOYED — not self-employed, working under instructions and integrated into the organisation (§ 7(1) SGB IV). If the clearing office of the German pension insurance (Clearingstelle der Deutschen Rentenversicherung) has already ruled on your status, enclose its decision; otherwise the Federal Employment Agency asks for the supplementary sheet for shareholders and managing directors (Zusatzblatt „Gesellschafter/Geschäftsführer“) together with the insolvency benefit claim. The pension insurance's yardstick: a shareholder-managing director is not employed if he holds at least 50 % of the share capital or can block every resolution of the other shareholders under the articles (a comprehensive blocking minority, umfassende Sperrminorität). And the deadline is strict: two months after the insolvency event (§ 324(3) SGB III).
Up to date for 2024 — verified on September 23, 2026Official formGuide: about 50 min
This content is part of the path: When the employer becomes insolvent· Step 8 of 8· Last step of the path
Deadlines
- Insolvency benefit claim with supplementary sheet: within two months of the insolvency event
- § 324(3), first sentence, SGB III — a preclusive deadline (Ausschlussfrist). The insolvency event is the opening of insolvency proceedings, the rejection of the petition for lack of assets, or the complete cessation of business where no petition was filed (§ 165(1), second sentence)
- Deadline missed through no fault of your own: two months after the obstacle ends
- § 324(3), second sentence, SGB III; you are at fault if you did not pursue your claims with the necessary care (third sentence)
- Period covered: the months of employment before the insolvency event
- § 165(1), first sentence, SGB III; the Insolvenzgeld calculator works out the length. If you kept working without knowing of the insolvency event, the period before the day you learned of it counts (§ 165(3))
Documents to prepare
- Decision of the pension insurance clearing office on your employment status, if any
- Articles of association and list of shareholders with every shareholder's capital contribution
- Managing-director, employment or service contract
- Trust or voting agreements, if any
- Date of the insolvency event and case number of the insolvency proceedings
- Customer number at the employment agency (Kundennummer)
- Insolvency pay certificate, notice of termination and the last three payslips
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Who this applies to
- Managing shareholders of a GmbH or UG who claim insolvency benefit: the Agency asks for the supplementary sheet whenever the pension insurance has not already examined whether an employment relationship exists
- External managing directors with no stake in the share capital who must prove their employee status because no clearing-office decision exists
- According to the pension insurance, the same yardstick applies to the managing director of a pre-formation GmbH (Vorgründungs-GmbH) and of an entrepreneurial company with limited liability (UG)
- Usually employed, and therefore an employee within § 165 SGB III: the managing director who serves the company's work process, receives matching pay and has no decisive influence on the company's affairs — in particular the external managing director with no shareholding (German pension insurance)
- NOT employed on the pension insurance's yardstick: the shareholder-managing director with at least 50 % of the share capital or with a comprehensive blocking minority
- NOT needed if the clearing office has already determined your employment status: its decision is enough
- NOT this sheet but the supplementary sheet for family members (Zusatzblatt Familienangehörige) if you helped in the business as a relative without being a shareholder
Worked example
Tobias Brandt and Selin Kaya, Brandt & Kaya Metallbau GmbH
Brandt & Kaya Metallbau GmbH has share capital of 25,000 euros. Selin Kaya holds 17,500 euros (70 %), Tobias Brandt 7,500 euros (30 %); both are managing directors. The articles allow resolutions by simple majority and give Tobias no veto. Tobias works in the workshop as directed by the shareholders' meeting and has a service contract with a fixed monthly salary of 4,800 euros, from which wage tax is withheld. Insolvency proceedings open on 3 March; the last salaries are unpaid. There is no clearing-office decision. So by 3 May (two months, § 324(3) SGB III) Tobias files the insolvency benefit claim with the completed supplementary sheet, showing his stake, the voting rule in the articles, his service contract and his fixed salary. On the pension insurance's yardstick he has neither 50 % nor a comprehensive blocking minority — the facts point to employment. Selin, with 70 %, is in the opposite position: on the same yardstick employment is ruled out, and with it the employee status that § 165 SGB III requires. The amounts are illustrative; the employment agency decides.
How to fill it in, step by step
- Check whether the clearing office of the German pension insurance has already determined your employment status — for managing shareholders of a GmbH, the collecting agency (Einzugsstelle) must apply for the status determination as soon as the employer's notification shows it (§ 7a(1), second sentence, SGB IV). If there is a decision, enclose it.
- Establish the date of the insolvency event (opening order, rejection for lack of assets or cessation of business) and note the deadline: two months later (§ 324(3) SGB III).
- Gather the articles of association, the list of shareholders, your managing-director or service contract and any trust or voting agreements.
- Complete the supplementary sheet in full with your contracts to hand: what you state about your stake, voting rights and instructions must match them.
- Sign the sheet by hand and file it with the insolvency benefit claim at the employment agency, together with the insolvency pay certificate (Insolvenzgeldbescheinigung), employment contract, notice of termination, the last three payslips and the case number of the insolvency proceedings.
- Answer the employment agency's queries and send in any missing documents.
Good to know
- Employment is non-self-employed work, in particular under an employment relationship; its indicators are working under instructions and integration into the organisation of the person giving them (§ 7(1) SGB IV).
- According to the pension insurance, recent Federal Social Court (BSG) case law makes the shareholder's LEGAL POWER (Rechtsmacht) decisive. Waiving it through voting agreements, transfers of voting rights or voting proxies is irrelevant for social insurance purposes.
- A comprehensive blocking minority must be able to block ALL resolutions of the other shareholders and must stem from the articles (German pension insurance). A veto covering only some matters does not meet that definition.
- The collecting agency must apply for a status determination when the employer's notification shows that the employee is a managing shareholder of a GmbH (§ 7a(1), second sentence, SGB IV). Other insurance bodies are bound by the decision of Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund when assessing compulsory insurance (§ 7a(2), fourth sentence, SGB IV).
- § 336 SGB III has been repealed; its footnote refers to § 453 SGB III for the version in force until 31 March 2022.
- The certificate of unpaid pay is not issued by the claimant but by the insolvency administrator or the employer: the insolvency pay certificate (Insolvenzgeldbescheinigung).
- The Insolvenzgeld calculator works out the amount and the period covered.
Common mistakes
- Assuming that a managing director is automatically an employee. What counts is employment within § 7 SGB IV and, for shareholders, their legal power in the GmbH.
- Citing a trust or voting agreement as proof that you lacked legal power. According to the pension insurance, such a waiver is irrelevant for social insurance purposes.
- Filling in the supplementary sheet when a clearing-office decision exists, and forgetting the decision. It is the stronger document.
- Counting the two months from the opening when the insolvency event came earlier. § 324(3) SGB III runs from the insolvency event — which also includes rejection for lack of assets or cessation of business.
- Holding back the claim until your status is settled. The preclusive deadline runs from the insolvency event alone (§ 324(3), first sentence, SGB III) — waiting for the status decision puts it at risk.
Frequently asked questions
Can a shareholder-managing director get insolvency benefit?
Only if you were an employee, i.e. employed within § 7 SGB IV (§ 165(1) SGB III). On the pension insurance's yardstick, employment is ruled out if you hold at least 50 % of the share capital or have a comprehensive blocking minority. With a smaller stake and no such rights, employment is possible; the employment agency decides on the basis of the supplementary sheet.
Do I need the supplementary sheet if a status decision already exists?
The Federal Employment Agency asks for the supplementary sheets when the pension insurance has not examined whether an employment relationship exists. If you have a clearing-office decision, enclose it with the claim.
When is the deadline?
Within a preclusive period of two months after the insolvency event (§ 324(3), first sentence, SGB III). The Agency's web page says two months after the opening; the statute refers to the insolvency event, which also includes rejection for lack of assets. If you miss the deadline through no fault of your own, you have two months from the end of the obstacle.
Does this also apply to a UG (haftungsbeschränkt)?
Yes. According to the pension insurance, the managing director of an entrepreneurial company with limited liability is judged by the same yardstick as a GmbH managing director.
Go further
Compute the related amounts
Related forms
- German status determination procedure (Statusfeststellung) — freelancer or employee?
- Issuing the German insolvency pay certificate (Insolvenzgeldbescheinigung)
- Applying for German insolvency pay (Antrag auf Insolvenzgeld, employee form)
- Supplementary sheet for family members to the German insolvency pay application (Zusatzblatt Familienangehörige)
Official sources
- § 165 SGB III — Entitlement to insolvency benefit (Gesetze im Internet) — September 23, 2026
- § 324 SGB III — Application before benefit (subsection 3: insolvency benefit) — September 23, 2026
- § 7 SGB IV — Employment — September 23, 2026
- § 7a SGB IV — Determination of employment status — September 23, 2026
- § 336 SGB III — repealed (footnote on § 453) — September 23, 2026
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung — glossary: managing director of a GmbH — September 23, 2026
- Federal Employment Agency — Insolvency benefit, information for employers — September 23, 2026
Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.