Overview
- Consumer guidance highlights that filing late can permanently raise tax exposure, delay favorable health insurance status and reduce allowances, despite retroactive pension payments.
- The application’s question 9.7.2 asks whether to project earnings for up to three months before the start date; accepting the projection can fix the calculation even if later actual pay would yield a higher pension.
- Experts suggest declining the projection when one-off payouts such as unused vacation, overtime or bonuses are expected, and note it can suit cases with stable pay or recent part‑time shifts.
- A rule change planned for 2027 would make projection the default and provide automatic upward adjustments when real earnings exceed the estimate.
- A recent Schleswig‑Holstein regional social court ruling restricts recoupment after retroactive upgrades to the portion the claimant actually retained, while lawmakers are advancing a July 1, 2026 ‘new basic security’ with uniform 30% sanctions and a ‘three times plus one’ escalation for missed Jobcenter appointments.