Sustainability reserve
In accordance with Section 216 of Book VI of the Social Code, the providers of general pension insurance in Germany must hold a sustainability reserve (referred to as a fluctuation reserve until the end of 2003 ). The sustainability reserve consists of excess operating resources and reserves. On the one hand, it is used to cover deficits during the year and to compensate for seasonal fluctuations in income over the course of the year so that short-term contribution rate adjustments are avoided. On the other hand, it is to be used to compensate for long-term economic deficits so that the contribution rate can also be kept stable during the economic cycle.
In the event of an emergency, the federal government is responsible for paying monthly pensions in accordance with Section 214 of Book VI of the Social Code, which must close a shortfall in cover by transferring the monthly federal subsidy early or by means of a short-term working capital loan.
The lower and upper target value of the sustainability reserve describes the range to compensate for economic fluctuations. The value that is expected to be reached at the end of the year is decisive for changes to the contribution rate in the statutory pension insurance : an adjustment on January 1 of a year is required if the funds in the sustainability reserve are retained on December 31 of this year while maintaining the previous contribution rate
- 20% of the average expenditure for a calendar month (minimum reserve) is expected to fall below, or
- Expected to exceed 150% of the average expenditure for a calendar month (maximum sustainability reserve).
The assessment basis is not the total expenditure, but the "own expenses" of the GRV, which make up around 83% of all expenditure ( Section 158 SGB VI). The contribution rate is to be changed in such a way that, assuming this contribution rate, the sustainability reserve is expected to be equal to the minimum or maximum value at the end of the year.
The amount of the sustainability reserve in the other months of the year is less important and follows a specific course. While the development of the expenditure of the pension insurance is relatively even over the course of the year, the contribution receipts are different in the individual months. This development is not new; rather, monthly liquidity fluctuations are inevitable due to special payments from employers or a different number of working days. In particular, the sustainability reserve regularly continues to decrease over the course of the year and is not topped up to its year-end value until December through the incoming contributions for special payments (“Christmas bonus”).
The sustainability reserve is reported at the end of each month by the pension funds to the Federal Social Security Office . As of December 31, 2005 to 2016, it developed as follows:
| Year (31.12.) |
Sustainability reserve in billions of euros |
Sustainability reserve in monthly expenses |
| 2005 | 1.7 | 0.1 |
| 2006 | 9.7 | 0.6 |
| 2007 | 11.5 | 0.7 |
| 2008 | 15.7 | 1.0 |
| 2009 | 16.2 | 1.0 |
| 2010 | 18.6 | 1.1 |
| 2011 | 24.1 | 1.4 |
| 2012 | 29.5 | 1.7 |
| 2013 | 32.0 | 1.8 |
| 2014 | 35.0 | 1.9 |
| 2015 | 34.0 | 1.8 |
| 2016 | 32.4 | 1.6 |
The status as of December 31, 2015 corresponded to 180% of an average monthly expenditure (1.8 employees).
Since a sustainability reserve of over 1.5 monthly expenditures was expected at the end of 2012 and 2013, the contribution rate to the GRV was increased from 19.9 to 19.6% on January 1, 2012 and to 18.9% on January 1, 2013 lowered. Since January 1, 2015, the contribution rate has been 18.7%.
Web links
- Current status of the sustainability reserve (absolute value)
- Development since 1973 (in monthly editions)
- Development since 1973
- Pension insurance values
- Pension insurance in time series 2017