VBLklassik pension points.

There are also pension points for social components. These are, on the one hand, pension points during maternity and parental leave and, on the other, pension points for attributed periods in the case of pensions for reduced earning capacity.

Additional pension points for maternity leave and parental leave

Pension points for attributed periods where a reduced earning capacity pension is drawn

The pension points account also continues to grow in the event of reduced earning capacity.

If the insured event of partially or fully reduced earning capacity occurs before an employee, subject to compulsory insurance, has reached his/her 60th birthday, pension points are added to the pension calculation. Pension points are credited for every twelve full calendar months up till the insured person’s 60th birthday.

These points correspond to the ratio between the average monthly pensionable income for the past three calendar years before the insured event occurred and the reference income.

Months without pensionable income are not considered when calculating the average income.

You may be granted bonus points. The number of bonus points depends on the economic situation, i.e. on the amount of profits we generate year by year and pass on to you.

Besides the pension points for pensionable income and possible pension points for social components, so-called bonus points may also be allocated to the pension account in connection with the distribution of profits (profit shares; §68 VBL Statutes).

For that purpose, by the end of each year an assessment is made as to whether, and to what extent, bonus points can be granted for the previous financial year. The basis for the calculation of the bonus points is an actuarial balance sheet, with the aid of which an actual (Eastern Länder of Germany collective bargaining area) or fictitiously calculated (Western Länder of Germany collective bargaining area) profit is calculated from returns on capital.

If there is no capital funding, but instead the benefits are financed on a pay-as-you-go basis, the average ongoing interest yield of the ten largest pension funds in the Federal Republic of Germany is taken as the basis as the assumed interest yield.

The profit thus calculated is reduced by the expenses for the social components and administration costs. Any remaining profit flows into the pension accounts of the insured persons as bonus points. Prerequisite for this is the decision issued by the Supervisory Body of VBL at the proposal of the responsible actuary. Bonus points for a completed calendar year may be granted for insured persons who at the end of the following financial year

• are subject to compulsory insurance or
• are subject to non-contributory insurance and have completed a waiting/qualifying period of 120 premium/contribution months.

The age factor takes into account the interest yield of the contributions paid. The following applies as a rule: the younger the insured person is when the contract is concluded, the higher the age factor, as the interest over an insurance period of 30 or 40 years results in a higher yield than for a member who is insured for only 10 years.

Pursuant to the transitional regulations of the new laws on supplementary pensions, employees’ accrued rights acquired in the integrated pension system were fully transferred into the pension points model as of 1 January 2002. The deferred entitlement/claims acquired up to 31 December 2001 were converted into pension points and these were then credited to the employee’s pension account as starting credit under the VBL Statutes (§79).

Partial old-age retirement agreed before 1 January 2003

In the case of partial old-age retirement agreed before 1 January 2003 on the basis of the German Partial old-age retirement Act (Altersteilzeitgesetz), the pensionable income is calculated on the basis of the earnings for part-time old-age (as a rule halved) according to §4 of the Collective Labour Agreement Regulating Partial old-age retirement (Tarifvertrag zur Regelung der Altersteilzeitarbeit – TV ATZ). The resulting pension points are multiplied by 1.8, unless they are based on income of which the insured person is entitled to the full amount.

Partial old-age retirement agreed after 31 December 2002

For partial old-age retirement agreed after 31 December 2002, pensionable income is 1.8 times the earnings to which the insured person has a 50% entitlement/claim in accordance with §4 ATV TZ, plus the earnings of which he/she is entitled to the full amount. With regard to the accrued rights acquired during the partial old-age retirement, employees in partial old-age retirement are allocated to the position they would be in if they had continued to work 90 % of their previous working hours rather than 50 %.