Germany's Aktivrente is a monthly income-tax exemption of up to €2,000 of qualifying employment wages after a worker reaches the statutory regular retirement age. It has applied since 1 January 2026 under §3 no. 21 EStG. It is not an extra €2,000 pension or an exemption of the existing pension itself. The Federal Finance Ministry FAQ lists employment and payroll conditions.
Hans's wage example
Hans reaches his regular retirement age, works in eligible employment and earns €1,500 a month in wages. If the conditions are met for the whole month, the €1,500 wage can be income-tax-free under Aktivrente. At €2,500 monthly wages, the first €2,000 can be exempt and €500 remains taxable under ordinary rules. The allowance is monthly, not a €24,000 annual bank of exemption automatically transferable between months.
Who qualifies
The regular pension age is transitional by birth year; 67 applies to those born in 1964 or later. Eligibility generally requires covered employment for which the employer pays qualifying pension-insurance contributions or an equivalent subsidy. Self-employed earnings, civil-service salary and ordinary minijobs do not qualify. The exemption can start only from the month after reaching the regular age under BMF's payroll guidance.
Social insurance and pension points
Tax-free wages can still attract social-insurance contributions; the mix depends on insurance status. For a person already receiving a full old-age pension after regular age, employee statutory pension contributions are generally not compulsory; the employer contribution alone usually does not raise that existing pension. The worker may opt back into pension contributions to earn an increase under Deutsche Rentenversicherung guidance. Therefore “Hans pays 20.3% and automatically earns new Entgeltpunkte” is not a reliable universal example.
Calculate the full tax position
Hans's income tax saving cannot be quoted as €3,500 without the taxable share of his pension, deductions, filing status, health contributions and other income. The chart instead shows the amount of monthly wage potentially exempt at three wage levels, leaving tax savings to a full household tax calculation.
