Federal Minister of Labor Ursula von der Leyen wants to force self-employed people to take old-age provision: from 2013, they should choose to pay into either private or statutory pension insurance - at least 300 euros a month. An overview of facts and errors.

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Compulsory parental insurance for the self-employed is a matter for all of us: Leyens Errors

Although not yet all the details of the proposed law clear are, has now become more violent Resistance formed: The Online-Petition against the law has been signed more than 75000 times to date. No wonder: von der Leyen's argument is full of contradictions and errors.

Cabaret artist Volker Pispers puts it in a nutshell: The German pension system would work wonderfully if only everyone shared in it equally. Labor Minister Ursula von der Leyen apparently thought so too and now wants to get the self-employed on board. Meanwhile, the online petition against the compulsory pension was signed more than 50.000 times, which is now a public one Consulting in the petitions committee of the German Bundestag. 7 facts about the topic.

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What are the plans for pension insurance?

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Already in February I had reported (and recorded) a live event, on the minister of the Leyen announced her plans, a compulsory pension insurance for all: wanting to introduce self-employment. This should, depending on Age 250 euros and more per month.

Overall, there are contradictory details about the exact design of the plans: For example, ZEIT ONLINE citing the Berliner Zeitung that the regulation should apply to all self-employed under 30, while to a lesser extent for self-employed between 30 and 50 years of age Regulate are planned. Those over 50 are not affected.

Exceptions to the insurance obligation

The self-employed who earn less than 400 euros a month should also be excluded to earn – as well as doctors, lawyers, architects who work in professional pension schemes insured and are members of the artists' social security fund.

Deskmag, on the other hand, writes of at least 350 euros, while older people should pay more. It is possible that the exact design is not yet completely clear, and that is precisely why the minister brought McKinsey's advisors on board for 1 million euros.

7 facts on pension insurance: study for 1 million euros and diet increase

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They should, she writes Süddeutsche, a so-called feasibility study draw up. The consultants should examine how the new obligation to make provisions can be implemented technically and with as little bureaucratic and financial effort as possible. And that until the end of June.

In view of the fact that Leyen's main argument for the introduction of compulsory pension insurance for self-employed people is that they should not be on the pocket of the general public, this makes as little impression as the cabinet's planned increase in diet. And otherwise, their reasoning is a little contradictory, let's say. An overview of 7 claims and the facts.

Note: This text originally appeared on Best of HR - Berufebilder.de® as a contribution to compulsory pension insurance for the self-employed, which received almost 400 likes on Facebook got. In cooperation with Karsten Wenzlaff from the Institute of Communication in social media I have now added something to the post and on the errors of the Ms. von der Leyen focused. The corresponding article has now been published on ikosom and on CARTA and is now also the title post and the most-read article due to 19 comments in just one day.

Claim 1: Self-employed can not provide for themselves

One of Leyen's main arguments in favor of compulsory pension insurance is that the self-employed can generally not take care of themselves - and therefore obviously have to be patronized like underage children. In the Wirtschaftswoche, the Minister of Labor revealed how little she actually believes in tomorrow's innovators and job creators - and says a lot about Germany as a business and start-up location!

"They will ask: Why are you forcing me? Someday I'll be big Money earn, then it will be enough. Life experience shows, however, that this game of poker often goes wrong. Free riders on Costs the general public must not exist.”

The fact is: the Minister of Labor contradicts herself!

With a UDLTalk in February 2012, she was asked what she thought of charging employers for the costs of prevention to participate And admitted:

“The idea that you involve employers is basically right at first. It is only typical for the self-employed that he has no employer. ”

The self-employed are saddled with the sole responsibility for their own provision. It's like not trusting children to be able to eat by themselves, but then expecting them to set the table. Things are different, for example, with artists' social insurance, where the clients are jointly responsible for contributions. The minister has to decide: Are the self-employed now responsible for themselves and can they make pension decisions independently? Or are they not and therefore need the support of the clients and the state to make provisions?

Claim 2: It is typical for the self-employed that he has no employer

The minister asserts (see the above quotation) that self-employed persons do not have employers.

The fact is: The Minister ignores the situation of the self-employed workers!

Many work in Germany People, who are socially insured like self-employed persons, but in fact work like employees for only one client. An example are the generalists in many newspaper editorial offices. Many of these employee-like self-employed feel and they don't behave like self-reliant entrepreneurs who, for example, freely pay their fees negotiate but like second-class workers who are worse off. For example, generalists from newspapers are even denied access to artists' social insurance - precisely with the argument that they are not really self-employed!

This is because there are no social insurance costs for the employer - the self-employed are self-supporting.

With the client's participation in the social security contributions, the minister would now have the opportunity to make this model unattractive for employers. Even more people could be hired if the incentive to outsource disappear. Incidentally, the Verdi trade union, in which 30.000 solo self-employed are organized, has been advocating such uniform compulsory insurance for all employees for years.

Claim 3: Forced-to-run traffic is a burden on the general public

Ursula von der Leyen wants to prevent (see quotation above) that the self-employed do not release themselves from the social systems for years, but in the end, if their business idea fails, they fall back into the “social hammock” as free-riders.

The fact is that the pension insurance obligation exacerbates the situation of the self-employed only - and there are already examples!

The Idea, wanting to do something for the general public may be right in the beginning, compulsory insurance is the wrong way to do it. Ms. von der Leyen could see this for herself on a living object, so to speak: freelance teachers and other professional groups have been obliged for several years to pay 19,6 percent of their profits to the German pension insurance. But that doesn't make them any better. On the contrary, the additional burden often means that those affected either do not even report to the German pension insurance in the hope of not being discovered - and thus violate the applicable law. Or that they supplement their meager fee with unemployment benefit II. Both without a doubt at the expense of the general public.

Instead of dealing with such real existing cases, the Minister of Labor would rather commission the McKinsey management consultancy for one million euros to create a feasibility study on how the new pension obligation can be implemented technically and with as little bureaucratic and financial expenditure as possible. And the federal cabinet is planning a diet increase.

Claim 4: The Federal Government wants to promote innovation and make Germany attractive for foreign companies

The federal government repeatedly emphasizes how important innovations are for Germany as a business location. As an example, reference is made to the “Germany – Land of Ideas” initiative, with the Federal Government and German industry, with which the Power of Germany as a location for business and science should be made visible. The following self-image is designed on the website:

"The Germans and the people of all Welt say: “Land of ideas”, that suits Germany. Poets and thinkers, technicians and inventors, Made in Germany: that's who we are. Germany's strengths, its people and its innovative strength are combined with the Term 'Idea' aptly described.”

The fact is that compulsory pension insurance prevents innovation and ultimately makes Germany unattractive for foreign start ups!

Tim Wessels, IT-Entrepreneur and initiator of the online petition, complains in an interview with now that compulsory pension insurance is hostile to innovation:

"I think that much less Companys are founded and that many ideas are simply not tried out anymore. Politicians like to complain that not enough people try things out in Germany and that the vast majority of successful start-ups in the web sector, for example, come from the USA. If such laws are made in this country, it shouldn't come as a surprise."

In fact, the German founding culture is rather badly ordered: The Financial Times reports that the number of new companies 2012 is likely to fall to a record low of 400.000. The M Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), which annually compares the start-up conditions in over 50 countries, regularly ranks Germany at the bottom when it comes to the overall societal start-up conditions. One reason: a good 50 percent of those surveyed in this country would opt out Anxiety I'd rather not start up at all.

In such a climate, we can be happy when start-ups like the Swedish Soundcloud choose Berlin as a location and create jobs here. But even for such companies, Germany threatens to become increasingly unattractive. Because foreign workers, even if they only work in Germany for a short time like seasonal workers, are subject to pension insurance, but may be able to have the contributions reimbursed later. If those mandatory If it is also extended to foreign entrepreneurs, it would tend to deter start-ups like Soundcloud.

Claim 5: Compulsory insurance is intended to close gaps in equity

Federal Minister of Labor Ursula von der Leyen wants a more equitable social insurance for all. According to Süddeutsche Newspaper she said:

"We have a mandate to address gaps in justice that lead to poverty in the long term in the long run. ”

The fact is that compulsory provision opens up new gaps in justice because it prefers or disadvantages individual groups!

According to a key point paper from the Ministry of Labor with the title: “For a pension obligation for self-employed persons”, the self-employed will apparently at least have the wah in the futurel: interstate and private provision. The insurance claims may only be non-inheritable, transferable, borrowable, sellable or capitalizable. Other professional groups, such as freelance educators, were not so lucky at the time: although you also had the option of interstate or private retirement, but only if you were in front of the 30. September 2001 were self-employed and were already able to provide a retirement pension. All others were compulsorily insured by the state. Or does this model flourish for all other self-employed persons?

Equally unfair is the way the social security contributions of the self-employed are calculated. With the previous compulsory pension insurance, the calculation was based on, for example, flat-rate reference values, with the statutory Health insurance a relevant minimum income of more than 1000 euros per month, according to which the amount of the contributions is calculated. This leads to the absurd situation that the self-employed make several hundred euros in social security contributions a month, even on low wages. The exception are the members of the artists' social insurance: They are allowed to do that Income, according to which the social security contributions are calculated.

Conclusion: The social insurance for self-employed affects all and is urgently in need of reform

We are in the middle of a fundamental, social change: Classic employment biographies as we know them are becoming increasingly rare, phases in which permanent employment, unemployment and self-employment alternate are already the rule rather than the exception for many. That's exactly why this applies Problem not just a small fringe group, but all of us.

Because the German social security system is far from being set up for this brittle employment biography - even though this problem was raised more than 10 years ago by the trade union, among others Education and science was recognized (p.27). The normal case is still permanent employment, everything that lies outside of this norm causes headaches for politicians and bureaucracy - as can be seen very clearly from Ms. von der Leyen's half-baked initiative.

What we urgently need is a survey of the social insurance situation of the self-employed in Germany, which shows where the policy must begin to really improve their situation. Rapid firing, with which individuals are strongly favored or disadvantaged, worsen the already unfair situation additionally and also endanger the economic location of Germany.

What we need is a fundamental reform of the social security system, no "doctoring around" in individual professional groups!

UPDATED

After all, that the self-employed pension insurance obligation does not quite taste, has arrived at the Ministry of Labor. Ursula von der Leyen responded in a video message. And she has today, at the 11. June 2012, Tim Wessels invited to a meeting on the situation of self-employed. Wessels had initiated an e-petition, in which in a short time far more than the required 50.000 signatures had come together.

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This post was viewed almost 400 times on Facebook passed on - despite the complex topic. Good thing and many thanks to my readers. Because: The discussion is far from over!

facebook-likes

Success of the online petition

When Deskmag last week announced good cheer that the online petition against the pensions insurance plans of the Federal Employment Minister had found the necessary 50.000 signatories, some may have thought that you can now sit back and relax.

And I admit, I too was wondering Resonance on my Article Skeptical: Because an overview of the subject of social insurance in Germany is extremely complicated and the matter is difficult or hardly understandable.

Thanks for almost 400 Likes in 2 days

So I'm all the more pleased that over the past weekend alone, a good 400 readers read the article not only via Facebook but mostly clicked on it and dealt with the complex matter. And more are added every hour!

And what's more: Dozens of other readers listened to the live event, at which Ursula von der Leyen announced her pension insurance plans in February, again as an interview and also listened to this article 184 times via Twitter and Facebook passed on.

Motivation for my work: readers want accurate information!

This is a great example of how important it is to have the same topic on a blog (and something like that is only on the blog and not on Facebook possible!) to be followed for a longer period and to illuminate different facets.

And for me it is proof that readers also value well-founded texts, detailed research and this accuracy in the representation of the facts - including O-tones. And not, as many colleagues think, only superficial Wischi-Waschi prefer. The readers want to get an idea of ​​themselves!

And for me personally it's a big one Motivationto continue with my work: Thanks to my readers!

Please discuss: What does a good and equitable social insurance look like?

Finally, the petition now has 70.000 supporters. This shows that the discussion about better and fairer social insurance must and will continue, and we should also deal with the issue of how good and fair social insurance for the self-employed could really look.

Therefore, I will post on this topic also other articles in which I make the topic even tighter, and ensure a corresponding media distribution. In this sense: carry on - the topic concerns us all!

Is Frau von der Leyen reasonable?

Unfortunately, that does not mean that Ursula von der Leyen has become sensible by now: she keeps much more attached to her plans - after all, she also believes that she is doing something good for the people and protecting us all from the threat of old-age poverty.

Personally, I find your video message not very credible – too nice and neatly learned, the appearance seems to me there. And too little of your own personal conviction. It is therefore to be feared that the conversation will not be a dialogue but rather an attempt to change Wessels' mind - this is also shown by earlier conversations with petitioners.

Carsten Foertsch did a critical fact check in a really worth reading article on Deskmag von der Leyen's views. His conclusion is the hope for a fair pension insurance with equal rights and obligations for everyone. And that a reform that discriminates against the self-employed even more than any other professional group in Germany is undesirable. For example, Förtsch's text deals with the real intentions of our Minister of Labor:

Pensions insurance: justice for all?

First and foremost, Ms. von der Leyen does not want to secure the self-employed in old age with the reform, but simply earn more money [...] Many self-employed people are already paying for old-age provision. However, for others, such as civil servants or politicians, who spend 0% of their income on their pension pay and later with one minimum pension received from 1300 euros, these amounts are usually much higher. For this, these people will not be included in a compulsory pension in the future […]

Conflict of interests in favor of the German insurance industry?

Unfortunately, the results of the Stiftung Warentest conclude that all types of insurance are only worthwhile to a limited extent. Life insurance policies do not provide retirement benefits because the rate of return is below the annual inflation rate. Self-employed people who opt for a Rürup pension only pay off for high earners without fluctuating income, i.e. those who are hardly affected by the compulsory pension [...] Incidentally, Rürup is the one who runs a company with Maschmeyer today. Maschmeyer, on the other hand, is an old colleague of Ms. von der Leyen's, even if we don't want to use it to indicate any conflicts of interest in her plans in favor of the German insurance industry.


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