Information in English

Occupational pension schemes are public-law security systems for members of the chambered liberal professions for their old-age, disability and survivors' pensions. The pension schemes are self-governing public-law institutions set up under legal basis in the state law. In principle, compulsory membership arises automatically on commencement of professional activity in the area of responsibility of the respective pension scheme.

The professional pension schemes represent a type of pension of their own, which is added to the first pillar of the structured old-age security system, which is based on three pillars (statutory pension insurance/civil service pension, company pension scheme, private pension & life insurance). They are solidarity-based, non-profit-making institutions of the respective professions, which are intended to ensure that their members have an adequate financial standard of living, particularly in old age and in the event of occupational disability. Self-employed members of this profession are subject to compulsory insurance under the pension scheme of the NRW Chamber of Psychotherapists. Employed members of the psychotherapeutic professions are also members of the pension scheme. However, they can be exempted from the obligation to contribute to the pension scheme because of the continued obligation to contribute to the German pension insurance.

The pension scheme was founded on 28.09.2003 by a resolution of the chamber meeting and, in accordance with its statutes, began operating on 01.01.2004 as a professional compulsory pension scheme for psychotherapists in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a partially legal entity of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Psychotherapists according to § 6 a HeilBerG NRW. Volunteer professionals who use professional management for the day-to-day administration carry out its tasks autonomously. The bodies of the pension scheme are the Chamber Assembly of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Psychotherapists, the Representatives' Meeting consisting of 5 members each from the chamber districts of North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg and the East German Chamber of Psychotherapists and the Board of Administration consisting of 5 members. Within the framework of self-administration, these bodies decide on the basic principles of membership, contribution and benefit law.

Every psychotherapist who becomes a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Psychotherapists, State Chamber of Psychotherapists Baden-Württemberg or the East German Chamber of Psychotherapists and who has not yet reached the age of 63 is a member of the pension scheme. This is a statutory compulsory membership which cannot be established by application or terminated by notice, but is exclusively linked to membership of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Psychotherapists, the State Chamber of Psychotherapists Baden-Württemberg or the East German Chamber of Psychotherapists.

In principle, every psychotherapist with a licence to practise and the associated compulsory membership in the respective chamber of psychotherapists automatically becomes a compulsory member of the pension scheme.

Membership ends when you are no longer a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Psychotherapists, the State Chamber of Psychotherapists Baden-Württemberg or the East German Chamber of Psychotherapists, unless you are drawing a pension benefit from the pension scheme at that time. If you are not receiving a pension, your contributions paid to the pension scheme generally remain in the pension scheme; you have acquired a dynamic pension entitlement from this.

Under certain circumstances, the contributions paid to the pension scheme can be transferred to a subsequent compulsory membership in another pension scheme. In addition, if certain conditions are met, it is possible to continue membership of the pension scheme voluntarily.

No, this is not possible. As the chambers of psychotherapists were only established after the 1995 pension reform, which stipulated a closure of the possibility of exempting employed members of professional pension schemes from this year, there is no right of exemption for this profession.

In contrast to the statutory pension insurance and private pension & life insurance, the occupational pension schemes only include members of certain occupational groups to a limited extent on a regional basis. The regulation of the individual pension scheme can be geared to the specific pension requirements of the respective community of insured persons. Within the framework of self-administration, the members themselves decide on the basic principles of membership, contribution and benefit rights.

In contrast to the statutory pension scheme, there is immediate protection for the insured without a waiting period (exception: founding members). Income from other sources of income is not taken into account for benefits. To finance the benefits, capital-forming methods are used which are tailored to the specific requirements of the respective pension scheme. They are financed without any state subsidies.

In contrast to private pension & life insurance schemes, compulsory membership is created by law without a separate contract being concluded; the legal relationship between the member (insured person) and the pension scheme is of public law nature. A health examination is generally not required at the start of membership. The contribution is based on the professional income and covers the risk of occupational disability as well as survivors' benefits without additional contribution. An increased risk does not lead to a higher contribution - there is no exclusion of liability for certain risks (solidarity component). The benefits are not reduced by commission payments, advertising measures, internal acquisition costs, taxes (especially corporate taxes), reinsurance premiums and dividends. With a view to ensuring a lifelong care on a pension basis, no capitalisation of pension rights is envisaged.

In addition, the pension schemes are subject to state legal and insurance supervision together with an annual audit.

The pension scheme of the NRW Chamber of Psychotherapists uses the modified prospective cover procedure in actuarial mathematics. This capital-forming method takes into account the average length of time the contributions are paid, with an interest factor being included in the pension calculation, which adjusts to age each year (age-related pension). In contrast to the individual prospective cover procedure based on the model of private life insurance, the modified open cover plan procedure allows for a much more flexible structuring of contribution and benefit rights. Whereas in the individual prospective cover procedure only the income generated through the investment of accumulated capital can be used to further increase the prospective entitlements through profit sharing and dynamic pension increases, the modified open cover plan procedure has more sources of profit, such as the income from contribution dynamics resulting from the development of the contribution rate and the assessment ceiling for the German pension insurance. An actuarial interest rate of 3.5% is included in the actuarial valuation of the contributions.

The Representatives' Meeting decides on the adoption of the annual financial statements, the determination of contributions and the assessment of benefits, the discharge of the Board of Administration, the election and dismissal of members of the Board of Administration, the compensation of expenses for members of the Representatives' Meeting and the Board of Administration together with amendments to the statutes.

The Board of Administration manages the business of the pension scheme. According to the statutes, it is responsible for all tasks that are not explicitly assigned to the Representatives' Meeting or that are the responsibility of the Management.

In addition to these two bodies, the Management leads the administrative office and conducts the day-to-day administrative business in accordance with the principles and guidelines laid down by the Board of Administration. In particular, the Management implements the decisions of the Board of Administration.

The benefits provided by the professional pension scheme are no less secure than those provided by the German statutory pension insurance or the private insurance industry. All pension systems are only as secure as the general development of the respective national economy. In addition, however, several additional safeguards are built into the law and the statutes to ensure that the benefits of the professional pension scheme can be met at all times.

For example, the pension scheme is not only constantly monitored by the Executive Board and the Representatives' Meeting, but the state legal and insurance supervisory authority also exercise considerable control over the security of the professional pension scheme. Furthermore, the professional pension scheme is also audited annually by an auditor, who also monitors and checks in particular the risks related to the pension scheme in the implementation and administration of the pension scheme. Finally, the actuary is responsible for constantly reviewing the actuarial bases for the calculation of benefits and, if necessary, making proposals to remedy any undesirable developments. In this way a professional pension scheme is secured in several ways.

The regular compulsory contribution is 5/10 of the maximum contribution to the statutory pension insurance. In accordance with the statutes, there is also the possibility of income-related contribution assessment if income is below this limit. As a rule, the income tax assessment must be submitted as proof of income.

If there is no or only low income, the minimum contribution of 1/10 of the maximum contribution to the statutory pension insurance is to be paid. For members who take up an exclusively self-employed activity for the first time, a reduction of the contribution to half of the minimum contribution can be made on application for a period of 3 years. Furthermore, after the 3 years have expired, a contribution reduction on the minimum contribution can be applied for 2 more years.

Employed psychotherapists remain compulsorily insured under the statutory pension insurance by law and can be exempted from the obligation to pay contributions to the professional pension scheme in whole or in part.

Voluntary additional contributions can be paid, including the compulsory contribution, up to a maximum of 15/10 of the maximum contribution to the statutory pension insurance.

All contribution payments are tax deductible as special expenses within the scope of and in accordance with the Retirement Income Act.

Contributions are to be paid cashless by direct debit. The members of the pension scheme are required by the statutes to provide bank details.

The obligation to contribute to the pension scheme is regulated in §§ 28 et seq. of the statutes. Under § 28 section (2), the regular monthly compulsory contribution corresponds to 5/10 of the respective maximum contribution to the German pension insurance. In addition to this regular compulsory contribution, there is also an income-related contribution in accordance with § 28 section (3), which is determined by applying the current contribution rate of the statutory pension insurance to the income. For newly approved, self-employed members, a conscientious estimate of income is required for the first income-related determination. When taking up exclusively self-employed work for the first time, there is the possibility to apply for a contribution reduction to half of the minimum contribution for a period of 3 years, independent of income. After the 3 years, the full minimum contribution can be applied for 2 more years.

In addition to these compulsory contributions, there are also options for voluntary contributions together with the regulation of minimum contributions and contributions in certain life situations, such as unemployment or maternity. Details on this can be found in §§ 28 and 30 of the statutes.

From 2005, the taxation of pension expenses (contributions) and retirement income (pensions) will be based on the Retirement Income Act. In the course of so-called deferred taxation, the pension expenses are tax-deductible to a certain extent, which increases every year. The maximum deductible amount is EUR 20,000 for single persons and EUR 40,000 for married persons. In 2014, for example, 78 percent of this amount (= EUR 15,600 / EUR 31,200) can be claimed against tax. This percentage increases by 2 percent annually until the full amount is reached in 2025 as the maximum deductible amount.

Depending on the calendar year in which the first pension is drawn, the pension is subject to taxation to a certain, annually staggered extent (e.g. for 2014: 68%, at 100% at the start of the pension from 2040). The percentage rate determined at the time of pension commencement is retained over the entire payment period of the pension (so-called cohort model). This also applies if the type of pension is changed, e.g. from a occupational disability pension to a standard old-age pension. The pension institutions are obliged to report the respective pension amount annually to the financial administration.

Contributions are to be paid cashless by direct debit. The members of the pension scheme are required by the statutes to provide bank details. 

The contributions to the pension scheme are monthly contributions and are due on the 28th of a calendar month in accordance with § 31 section (1) of the statutes.

By paying additional contributions, it is possible to close or at least reduce the "net pension gap" resulting from demographic change. Every additional contribution paid has an increasing effect on the prospective pension entitlement in line with contributions. Together with the compulsory contributions, additional contributions may not exceed 15/10. According to the 2005 Retirement Income Act, contributions to pension schemes of the first pillar of the German pension system, including contributions to our professional pension scheme, can be deducted from taxes as special expenses to a certain extent. 

The types of benefits provided by the pension scheme are regulated in § 13 of the statutes, according to which the pension scheme provides the following benefits:

1. Retirement pension
2. Occupational disability pension
3. Survivor's pension
4. Transfer of contributions
5. Capital compensation

In addition, under certain conditions, subsidies for rehabilitation may be granted in accordance with § 19 of the statutes.

Each year, the professional pension scheme sends its members a notice of entitlement with the calculation bases for the current calendar year, from which the pension entitlement achieved or to be expected if the same contributions continue to be paid is derived. There is no guaranteed pension level. A legally binding pension notice will be provided by retirement. 

No, you essentially provide for your pension yourself through your contributions. The benefits are financed by a funded system, which also includes solidarity shares (e.g. for occupational disability and survivors' insurance).

The decision is yours! The professional pension scheme covers full occupational disability (= 100%) in relation to the profession as a psychotherapist. On the basis of medical reports, we check whether the member is temporarily or permanently unable to practice the profession of a psychotherapist within the meaning of the professional code of conduct for health reasons. There is no reference to the exercise of other activities. There is also no crediting of other (pension) income. In the case of private occupational disability insurance, other conditions may apply when determining occupational disability. Please contact your private insurance provider for information on this.

In case of doubt, the benefits provided by the professsional pension scheme are no less secure than those provided by the German statutory pension insurance or the private insurance industry. All pension systems are only as secure as the general development of the respective national economy. In addition, however, several additional safeguards are built into the law and the statutes to ensure that the benefits of the professional pension scheme can be met at all times.

For example, the pension scheme is not only constantly monitored by the Board of Administration and the Representatives' Meeting. In addition, the state legal and insurance supervisory authority also exercise considerable control over the security of the professional pension scheme. If, for example, the supervisory authority comes to the conclusion that the contributions paid and the income generated should no longer be sufficient for the benefits, the supervisory authority can instruct the pension scheme either to reduce the benefits or to increase the contributions, thus setting in motion mechanisms that primarily serve to secure the benefits. In addition, the professional pension scheme is also audited annually by an auditor, who also controls and reviews in particular the risks related to the pension scheme in the implementation and administration of the pension scheme. Finally, it is the responsibility of the actuary to constantly review the actuarial bases for the calculation of benefits and, if necessary, make proposals to remedy any undesirable developments. All in all, a professional pension scheme is thus secured in several ways.