The Social security is the legally regulated insurance system designed to cover certain social risks. Its core areas include health, long-term care, pension, and Accident insurance, as well as employment promotion.
What is the Social security?
The Social security protects insured persons in particular against illness, the need for care, unemployment, reduced earning capacity, occupational accidents and diseases, and in old age.
People who are employed against Remuneration are generally included in the protection of Social security. Whether and in which branches compulsory insurance exists depends on the respective statutory requirements.
Which branches belong to Social security?
The German Sozialversicherung system covers the following areas in particular:
- statutory health insurance Protection, particularly in the event of illness
- social Long-term care insurance: Covering the risk of needing long-term care
- statutory Pension insurance: in particular old-age, incapacity and survivors' insurance
- Employment promotion or Unemployment insurance: in particular cover against unemployment
- statutory Accident insurance: in particular protection against industrial accidents and occupational diseases
The individual areas are each characterised by their own legal regulations and insurance providers.
How is the Social security funded?
For employees who are subject to compulsory insurance, health, long-term care, pension and Unemployment insurance are generally funded by contributions to which both employers and employees contribute in accordance with the applicable statutory provisions.
There are special regulations on contribution sharing for certain insurance branches and employment matters. By contrast, statutory Accident insurance is generally funded by employers for employees.
How are Social security contributions calculated?
For employees, the contributory Remuneration is generally a fundamental basis for calculating contributions. In the Payroll is the remuneration relevant for social security law often referred to as gross social security salary depicted.
For various insurance branches, remuneration subject to contributions is only up to the respective applicable Contribution assessment limit (BBG) taken into account.
What is the total social security contribution?
As a general rule, for employees with compulsory insurance, the total social security contribution combines contributions for health, long-term care and Pension insurance, as well as employment promotion.
The employer pays the total social security contribution to the responsible collection agency. Contributions to the statutory Accident insurance, on the other hand, do not belong to the total social security contribution.
What is the meaning of Social security in Payroll?
In Payroll, an assessment must be made for employees as to which Sozialversicherung branches are subject to compulsory insurance and which Remuneration is subject to contributions.
The classification under insurance and contribution law affects, among other things, the social security gross income, the employee and employer contributions, as well as the corresponding Social security contributions.
