Covered by
your husband?
Maybe!
But check
the numbers.

It's not just a few years of lower contributions

Most women think of it like this: "I work part-time for 5 years, pay in less, get a bit less pension at the end." That's true — but it misses the bigger picture entirely.

Part-time work doesn't just reduce pension contributions. It stalls the career. Reducing to 60% at 30 means missing salary jumps, promotions, networks. Returning at 38 often means coming back at a lower level than colleagues who stayed full-time. And that new, lower salary becomes the basis for all future contributions — for the next 25 to 30 years.

Add tax effects, lower occupational pension entitlements, and the feeling of having to prove yourself all over again after the break — as if what was self-evident before no longer counts.

Civil servant ≠ covered

"I'm a teacher, I'm a civil servant — nothing can happen to me." This is a widespread belief. And it's dangerously wrong.

The German pension system for civil servants is designed for 40 years of full-time work. Those who work full-time for 40 years receive 71.75% of their final salary as pension. Those who work part-time only accumulate proportionally — and this adds up to a massive loss.

Over 20 years of retirement, that's over €180,000 simply missing. Not because of bad decisions — but because the system was designed for a life reality that doesn't exist for mothers. (Sources: albert-sibert.de · Federal Office for Supply (BAV))

"My husband provides for me"

9 out of 10 mothers I surveyed believe this. It's an understandable thought — and at the same time one of the riskiest financial assumptions a woman can make.

14 years and 8 months — that's how long marriages last on average before they end. During this time, most mothers have reduced their working hours, skipped career steps, and left retirement planning to their partner. Afterwards they're not just alone — they're without the pension entitlements they could have built up during that time.

Add to this: divorce costs money. Legal fees, court costs, dividing property and pension entitlements — it can quickly run into five figures. And the longer the marriage, the more conflict potential has accumulated.

"We'll sort out a prenup later"

There's hardly a sentence I hear more often. And hardly one that gets more expensive the longer you wait.

Signing a prenup early is straightforward, cheap, and conflict-free — because there's nothing to divide yet. No shared house, no diverged careers, no years of pension entitlements to somehow reconcile.

• The earlier, the cheaper. Notary fees in Germany are based on assets — sign early and pay less.
• The earlier, the less conflict. When there's nothing there yet, there's nothing to fight about.
• Regulate pension equalisation. The contract can specify how pension entitlements are split in case of divorce — protecting both sides.
• Not a vote of no confidence. A prenup isn't a sign of distrust. It's a sign of mutual respect and clarity.

"We'll do it later" almost always means: never. And if it does happen, it's under pressure — in a crisis that makes everything more expensive, emotional, and complicated.

"It's not worth it for me to work full-time"

This thought is understandable. And — at least in the short term — sometimes even mathematically plausible. But it contains three thinking errors that together become very expensive.

Illusion 1: The childcare calculation. Many women compare their monthly net salary with childcare costs — and come out at zero or minus. This is sometimes even true. But this calculation ignores what really matters: salary development, promotions, and pension entitlements over the next 20–30 years. Spending €800 net on childcare today isn't investing in childcare — it's investing in your own financial independence in old age.

Illusion 2: Tax bracket 5. In most partnerships in Germany, the woman automatically ends up in tax bracket 5 (Steuerklasse 5) — with significantly higher deductions than the man in bracket 3. The result: she sees little in her account each month and thinks her work is barely worth it. The actual equalisation only comes with the annual tax return — months later, as a joint refund that disappears into the household budget. The system makes women's work look unattractive, even though the annual figure adds up. Tax bracket 4/4 with factor (Faktorverfahren) is often fairer and shows the real picture monthly.

Illusion 3: "I earn so little anyway." The low monthly take-home from tax bracket 5 and part-time creates a psychological effect that's hard to overcome: when you see little each month, work doesn't feel worth it. But monthly net isn't the measure. The measure is pension entitlements in 30 years — and what remains when life circumstances change.

Clarity is the first step

versorgt shows you exactly where you stand today — and what you can concretely do to close your gap. Whether you work part-time, are a civil servant, or are just returning to work.

No registration. No ads. No sales pitch. Just the numbers you need.