Das Betriebsrentenstärkungsgesetz und seine Auswirkungen auf Geringverdiener: Eine modelltheoretische Analyse

Abstract

With the Act of Strengthening Occupational Pensions (BRSG - Betriebsrentenstarkungsgesetz), which came into force on January 1, 2018, and in particular the new § 100 EStG (so-called BAV-Forderbetrag - occupational pension subsidy), the legislator is attempting to make company pension schemes more attractive and thus expand their distribution. Especially among low-income earners, occupational pension schemes are only under-average. Due to the demographic development and the resulting decline in the level of security of the statutory pension insurance in the future, additional, capital-funded provision and thus occupational pension schemes will become increasingly important. Especially low-income earners are dependent on additional provisions in order to escape the threat of old age poverty. Against this background, this dissertation examines how and to what extent tax and social security law are able to promote low-income earners before and after the BRSG came into force. This is done using model theory as the main research method. The core of the work is a deterministic calculation model. Its results finally show that the legislator has succeeded in making occupational pension schemes more attractive with the BRSG. Low-income earners in particular are given targeted subsidies with the so-called Riester-incentive and the occupational pension subsidy. The aim of promoting this group of people can therefore be achieved with the reforms undertaken - at least from a model theory point of view. The reasons for the lack of sufficient benefit claims from occupational pension schemes among low-income earners have been and are still being intensively discussed in the expert public. So far, however, there has been a lack of an exact model-theoretical consideration to uncover and precisely quantify possible financial advantages and disadvantages of individual pension alternatives in the light of the BRSG reforms. In particular, the occupational pension subsidy introduced by the new § 100 EStG has not yet been examined in terms of model theory. This dissertation closes these gaps.