(2023)
How can I take out voluntary unemployment insurance?
For self-employed individuals working at least 15 hours per week, there is an advantageous option for voluntary unemployment insurance - officially known as "insurance on request". For a small contribution, anyone who has been in insured employment for at least twelve months within the last two years can insure themselves against unemployment when starting their own business or becoming self-employed. Receiving a wage replacement benefit, such as unemployment benefit, is also accepted as a prerequisite, regardless of the duration.
However, the founder must decide quickly on voluntary continued insurance, as it is only possible within three months of starting self-employment.
The monthly contribution to voluntary unemployment insurance is based on the full reference value of social insurance. The reference value (West) in 2023 is 3,395 Euro/month. The reference value (East) is 3,290 Euro/month.
If the business idea fails and the founder loses their income or gives up their business, they receive benefits from unemployment insurance.
The amount of unemployment benefit is usually based on the gross salary earned before unemployment. In the case of voluntary insurance, the previous insured employment income as an employee is used if you were employed for at least 150 days in the last two years before applying for unemployment benefit. However, if no 150 days with contribution periods can be proven in the last two years before unemployment, unemployment benefit I is based on a fictitious income. The amount of this fictitious income is determined on a flat-rate basis according to professional qualifications. The qualification required for a job to which the employment agency's placement efforts are primarily directed is decisive.
In 2017, compulsory insurance in unemployment insurance was introduced for all carers - not just for relatives (§ 26 para. 2b SGB III):
- Persons who leave employment to care for relatives in care level 2 to 5 are subject to compulsory insurance.
- The prerequisite is that the carer provides at least ten hours of care per week, spread over at least two days a week.
- Another prerequisite is that the carer was subject to compulsory employment promotion insurance (as an employee) or was entitled to a current wage replacement benefit for employment promotion (unemployment benefit) immediately before starting the care activity.
- The contributions are paid solely by the care funds for the entire duration of the care activity.
For persons subject to insurance as carers, an income of 50 percent of the monthly reference value is considered as contributory income; the reference value for the accession area is decisive if the place of work is in the accession area. The reference value in pension and unemployment insurance is 3,395 Euro per month in the old federal states and 3,290 Euro in the new federal states. The contribution rate in unemployment insurance is 2.6 percent in 2023 (§ 345 No. 8 SGB III since 1.1.2017).
Since 1.8.2016, parents who take parental leave according to § 15 BEEG after the child's third year can also voluntarily insure themselves in unemployment insurance (§ 28a para. 1 No. 4 SGB III).
