Skip to content

Compulsory pension insurance on application during sickness benefit, unemployment benefit or incapacity — V0030

If you receive sickness benefit (Krankengeld), injury benefit (Verletztengeld), transitional benefit (Übergangsgeld), unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld) or another benefit listed in § 3 sentence 1 no. 3 SGB VI, you are automatically covered by the statutory pension scheme during that time only if you were last compulsorily insured in the year before the benefit started. If you do NOT meet that condition, you can apply for compulsory insurance (Versicherungspflicht auf Antrag, § 4(3) sentence 1 no. 1 SGB VI). The same applies to a period of incapacity for work or medical rehabilitation without entitlement to sickness benefit because you are not insured, or insured without sickness benefit, in the statutory health scheme — for at most 18 months (no. 2). The application is made on form V0030. Filed within three months, it takes effect from the start of the benefit or incapacity; otherwise only from the day after it is received (§ 4(4) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI).

Up to date for 2025 — verified on September 23, 2026Official formGuide: about 20 min

Deadlines

Insurance from the start of the benefit: apply within three months of that start
§ 4(4) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI — the case of § 4(3) sentence 1 no. 1 (receiving a benefit)
Insurance from the start of the incapacity or rehabilitation: apply within three months of that start
§ 4(4) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI — the case of § 4(3) sentence 1 no. 2
Filed later: insurance starts only on the day after the application is received
§ 4(4) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI — and at the earliest when compulsory insurance from a preceding employment or activity ends
Maximum duration for incapacity or rehabilitation without sickness benefit: 18 months
§ 4(3) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI
End: at the end of the day on which the conditions ceased to apply
§ 4(4) sentence 2 SGB VI — as a rule when the benefit or the incapacity ends

Documents to prepare

  • Pension insurance number (Versicherungsnummer)
  • Notice or proof of the benefit you receive and the date it started
  • For incapacity for work: medical certificate; for rehabilitation: name of the provider
  • How you were insured in the year before the start: compulsorily insured until, exempt or released from (with reason), or voluntarily insured
  • For incapacity or rehabilitation: your last payslip for the calendar month before it began
  • If the benefit stems from a damaging event: completed form F0870 and details of any damages claims made
Download the official form

The blank PDF remains downloadable from the German authority's site. For pre-filling, we keep a copy of this published official form (section 5(2) of the German Copyright Act, source cited on the produced document).

What you get

  • The official form itself, pre-filled with your entries. Only the boxes that match the fields below are filled in: complete the others on the form before filing it.

Free, no account and no email address.

The generated document is written in French — the language the receiving French authority expects. This page is in English; the document itself is not translated.

Fill in the official form online

Free. The official PDF is filled on the fly: your entries are not recorded in any of our databases and are only used to produce this document. They travel in the request body, never in the page address.

All fields are required unless marked “optional”.

Type of application and reference numbers
1 Personal details

DD.MM.YYYY

5 digits

6 to 20 characters: digits, spaces, + and .

6 to 20 characters: digits, spaces, + and .

2 Receiving social benefits (including donors)

DD.MM.YYYY

3 Incapacity for work or medical rehabilitation
4 Other details

DD.MM.YYYY

DD.MM.YYYY

5 Accessible documents for visually impaired people
6 and 7 Declaration and attachments

A draft is a file you save wherever you like, just like the document itself: we keep no copy of it and nothing is left in your browser. When signed in, you can also save it to your space to pick it up later — only if you ask.

Official form pre-filled with your data: read every box and check the amounts before filing or paying.

Who this applies to

  • People receiving sickness benefit, injury benefit, sickness benefit under social compensation or soldiers' compensation, transitional benefit, unemployment benefit or care support allowance (Pflegeunterstützungsgeld) who are NOT already compulsorily insured under § 3 sentence 1 no. 3 SGB VI — usually because they were not last compulsorily insured in the year before the benefit began (§ 4(3) sentence 1 no. 1 SGB VI)
  • Donors of organs, tissue or blood stem cells who receive compensation for lost earnings and are not compulsorily insured under § 3 sentence 1 no. 3a SGB VI (§ 4(3) sentence 1 no. 1 SGB VI)
  • People who have no entitlement to sickness benefit only because they are not in the statutory health scheme, or are in it without sickness benefit, for the period of incapacity for work, partial incapacity, or medical rehabilitation or vocational participation measures — if they were last compulsorily insured in the year before, for at most 18 months (§ 4(3) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI)
  • Also people habitually resident abroad (§ 4(3) sentence 2 SGB VI)
  • NOT people already insured by law during the benefit because they were last compulsorily insured in the year before it started (§ 3 sentence 1 no. 3 SGB VI) — no application is needed
  • NOT people who are exempt, or released from compulsory insurance, for every employment or self-employed activity (§ 4(3a) sentence 2 SGB VI)
  • NOT people released because they belong to another old-age scheme — such as a professional pension fund (Versorgungswerk) — if the benefit period is or can be covered there (§ 4(3a) sentence 3 SGB VI)
  • NOT via this form: recipients of earnings-loss compensation under the Soldiers' Compensation Act — there the competent authority files the application (§ 4(3) sentence 1 no. 3 SGB VI)

Worked example

Lena Hartmann, self-employed graphic designer, receives sickness benefit

Lena Hartmann has worked for years as a self-employed graphic designer for many clients. She is in none of the groups that are compulsorily insured by law, and she is voluntarily insured in the statutory health scheme with an entitlement to sickness benefit. After an operation she receives sickness benefit from 1 March 2026. Because she was not compulsorily insured in the year before the benefit began, § 3 sentence 1 no. 3 SGB VI does not make her a compulsory member automatically: without an application, those months produce no pension contributions. She files form V0030 on 20 May 2026 — within three months of the start of the benefit. Compulsory insurance therefore starts retroactively on 1 March 2026 (§ 4(4) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI). Had she applied only on 15 June 2026, it would have started on 16 June. The contribution base is 80 percent of the earned income underlying the sickness benefit (§ 166(1) no. 2 SGB VI): with an illustrative 3,000 euros a month, 2,400 euros. Lena and her health insurance fund generally bear the contributions half each (§ 170(1) no. 2(a) SGB VI). The insurance ends on the day the sickness benefit ends (§ 4(4) sentence 2 SGB VI). The amounts are illustrative.

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. First check whether you were last compulsorily insured in the year before the benefit began: if so, you are already insured by law (§ 3 sentence 1 no. 3 SGB VI) and need no application.
  2. Identify your case: receiving a social benefit (§ 4(3) sentence 1 no. 1 SGB VI), or incapacity for work or rehabilitation without entitlement to sickness benefit (no. 2).
  3. Check whether an exemption or release rules the application out — for instance through a professional pension fund that covers the benefit period (§ 4(3a) SGB VI).
  4. Note the date on which the benefit, the incapacity or the rehabilitation began, and add three months (§ 4(4) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI).
  5. Complete form V0030 — online via eAntrag or as a PDF — and tick the relevant type of application at the top.
  6. Attach a copy of proof of the benefit, or, for incapacity, the medical certificate or the name of the rehabilitation provider.
  7. Submit the application to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung before the three months expire, so that the insurance takes effect from the start.

Good to know

  • The difference from § 3 SGB VI: there, compulsory insurance arises by itself during the benefit if you were last compulsorily insured in the year before it started. § 4(3) SGB VI opens it, on application, to everyone else.
  • For unemployment benefit, transitional benefit, sickness benefit or injury benefit, the contribution base is 80 percent of the pay or earned income underlying the benefit (§ 166(1) no. 2 SGB VI).
  • For incapacity or rehabilitation without sickness benefit, the base is 80 percent of the pay or earned income last insured for a full calendar month (§ 166(1) no. 5 SGB VI) — and you bear the contributions yourself (§ 170(1) no. 5 SGB VI).
  • For sickness and injury benefit, the recipient and the benefit provider generally bear the contributions half each (§ 170(1) no. 2(a) SGB VI).
  • Section 4 of the form asks how you were insured in the year before the start (compulsorily, exempt, released or voluntarily) and whether the benefit stems from a damaging event — in that case form F0870 must be attached as well.
  • Self-employed people who receive no benefit have a different route: the application under § 4(2) SGB VI within five years of starting the activity.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming every period of sickness benefit automatically counts for your pension. Under § 3 sentence 1 no. 3 SGB VI it does only if you were last compulsorily insured in the year before the benefit began.
  • Letting the three months slip. Insurance then starts only on the day after the application is received (§ 4(4) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI), and the earlier months carry no compulsory contributions.
  • Expecting unlimited cover for incapacity without sickness benefit. The law caps it at 18 months (§ 4(3) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI).
  • Applying although a professional pension fund covers the benefit period. The application is then excluded (§ 4(3a) sentence 3 SGB VI).
  • Leaving out the proof of benefit or the medical certificate. The form expressly asks for it.

Frequently asked questions

I receive sickness benefit — am I not covered by the pension scheme anyway?

Only if you were last compulsorily insured in the year before the benefit began (§ 3 sentence 1 no. 3 SGB VI). Otherwise compulsory insurance arises only on application (§ 4(3) sentence 1 no. 1 SGB VI).

From when does the insurance apply?

From the start of the benefit, or of the incapacity or rehabilitation, if you apply within three months of it; otherwise from the day after the application is received (§ 4(4) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI).

I have private health insurance and am unable to work. Can I still pay pension contributions?

Anyone who has no entitlement to sickness benefit only because they are not in the statutory health scheme can apply for compulsory insurance for the period of incapacity, if they were last compulsorily insured in the year before — for at most 18 months (§ 4(3) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB VI). You then bear the contributions yourself (§ 170(1) no. 5 SGB VI).

Who pays the contributions?

For sickness and injury benefit, generally the recipient and the benefit provider half each (§ 170(1) no. 2(a) SGB VI); for incapacity or rehabilitation without sickness benefit, the insured person alone (§ 170(1) no. 5 SGB VI).

When does the insurance end?

At the end of the day on which the conditions ceased to apply (§ 4(4) sentence 2 SGB VI) — as a rule when the benefit or the incapacity ends.

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Related forms

Official sources

Read in German

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.