Overview
- Full disability or full old‑age pensions exclude statutory sick pay under §50 SGB V, while partial pensions can allow it, often with reductions depending on timing of the award.
- People assessed as fully incapacitated for under three hours daily generally exit Bürgergeld and move to social assistance, whereas partial incapacity keeps conditional Bürgergeld access with part‑time placement duties.
- For 2026 the earnings limits for disability pensions rise with the new reference value: about €20,763.75 a year remains exempt for full EM pensions and at least €41,527.50 for partial EM pensions, and the crediting period extends to age 66 years and 3 months.
- The temporary EM top‑up for existing beneficiaries is scheduled to be permanently built into ongoing payments from December 2025, with effects flowing through monthly from 2026.
- Practical guidance reiterates a maximum of 78 weeks of sick pay per condition, the use of the seamlessness rule for ALG I after sick pay ends, and cautions that employed full‑pensioners only receive six weeks’ wage continuation but no sick pay, unlike many part‑pensioners.