🧭 Rights and points of contact in old age: an overview
In brief
In old age, several areas of law apply at the same time: the statutory pension (SGB VI), long-term care insurance (SGB XI), basic income support in old age (SGB XII), health insurance (SGB V) and advance planning and inheritance law (BGB). If you know which topic belongs to which office, you lose less time with applications and deadlines. This page sorts out the most important areas and points to the matching topic pages.
Step by step
- Assess your personal situationFirst work out roughly whether it is about a pension, care, supplementary basic income support, health costs or advance planning/inheritance law – often several areas overlap.
- Identify the responsible officePension: Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German Pension Insurance). Care: the Pflegekasse (long-term care insurance fund) at your health insurer. Supplementary basic income support: the Sozialamt (social welfare office) of your municipality. Advance planning/inheritance law: a notary; the Betreuungsgericht (guardianship court) only in a dispute or if there is no advance planning.
- Keep an eye on deadlinesObjections to notices can almost always only be made within one month – write down the date of delivery immediately.
- Use independent advicePflegestützpunkte (care support centres), Verbraucherzentralen (consumer advice centres) and welfare associations advise free of charge and independently of individual insurers or providers.
Deadlines
- Pensions and basic income support in old age are often confused: the pension is an insurance benefit paid after contributions, whereas basic income support is a needs-tested welfare benefit that tops up the pension only up to the subsistence minimum.
- If you miss deadlines for an objection or an application, you often do not lose the entitlement in principle, but you do lose retroactive payment for the time that has passed.
- Reputable advice (Pflegestützpunkt, pension insurance, Verbraucherzentrale, welfare associations) is free of charge – be cautious with paid offers at the door or by phone.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Structure of the social law relevant to seniors
The Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch, SGB) divides the relevant areas into separate books: SGB VI (statutory pension insurance), SGB XI (social long-term care insurance), SGB XII (social assistance, including basic income support in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity in the Fourth Chapter, §§ 41 ff.) and SGB V (statutory health insurance). For all books, the principle of subsidiarity applies via § 2 SGB XII or comparable provisions: social assistance benefits are granted only when prior claims (pension, housing benefit, maintenance, own assets) are not sufficient.
Guardianship law since the 2023 reform
Guardianship law was fundamentally reformed on 1 January 2023, and the provisions on powers of attorney for care, guardianship directives and living wills in Book 4 of the BGB were renumbered (including §§ 1814 ff., 1820, 1827 BGB). A new, time-limited right of spouses to represent each other in emergencies in health matters was introduced (§ 1358 BGB).
Legal recourse
Disputes about pensions, care and basic income support are decided by the social courts (Sozialgerichtsgesetz, SGG); for insured persons and benefit recipients as claimants the proceedings are in principle free of court costs (§ 183 SGG).
A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.