If you wish to be exempted from compulsory insurance with the Landwirtschaftliche Alterskasse, you must submit an application All persons insured with the Landwirtschaftliche Alterskasse are eligible to apply:

• Farmers,
• their wives and husbands and
• their family members who work with them.

The prerequisite is that you regularly receive earned income outside agriculture of more than twelve times the annual mini-job limit.

Earned income is defined as the regular receipt of

• wages
• earned income
• comparable income or
• income in lieu of earnings which, excluding income from agriculture and forestry, exceeds twelve times the mini-job limit per year.

Earned income is deemed to be regular if the monthly income exceeds the mini-job limit. In the case of self-employed persons, the taxable annual income is to be taken as a basis.

The following income is considered non-agricultural income:

Remuneration

Remuneration is all current or one-off income from an employment relationship. It does not matter

• whether there is a legal entitlement to the income,
• under what title or
• in what form they are paid.

In the case of the employment of close relatives, the actual status under employment law is decisive. This applies to family members and spouses working on the farm. If the work goes beyond mere family assistance, it is considered to be an employment relationship. Exemption from compulsory insurance with the pension fund depends on the amount of remuneration actually received.

Employment income

Employment income is the profit from self-employment (determined by the tax office in accordance with the general profit calculation regulations of income tax law). This includes, for example, income from self-employment in a trade (e.g. hotel or craft business) or as a doctor or lawyer.

Comparable income

Comparable income includes in particular

• Remuneration of ministers, parliamentary state secretaries and parliamentary salaries,
• top-up amounts from the employer in accordance with the Partial Retirement Act,
• severance payments from the employer due to termination of employment as a one-off or ongoing benefit or
• early retirement benefits in accordance with the Early Retirement Act.

Income in lieu of earnings

Income in lieu of earnings are benefits that replace earned income (based on or in corresponding application of public law provisions). A distinction must be made between short-term and long-term replacement income.

Short-term income replacement income includes, for example

• Sickness benefit
• sickness benefit
• Injury benefit
• transitional allowance
• unemployment benefit
• Parental allowance
• maintenance allowance
• comparable benefits from a social security institution

Long-term replacement income includes, for example

• Pensions from statutory pension insurance
• Pensions from statutory accident insurance
• Pensions from an occupational pension scheme
• Pension payments
  • according to civil service regulations or principles,
  • comparable emoluments from a public-law employment or official relationship or
  • Comparable emoluments from the pension scheme for members of parliament

Income that cannot be taken into account

Exemption is not possible for the following income, regardless of the amount:

• Income from renting and leasing
• Income from capital assets (e.g. interest)
• Blind person's allowance
• Remuneration during the performance of compulsory military service
• Vocational training allowance from the employment agency
• Benefits under the Federal Pension Act with the exception of compensation for occupational injuries
• Benefits under the Equalization of Burdens Act
• Benefits under the Federal Compensation Act

As a rule, exemption begins as soon as the conditions for exemption are met. You must submit the application within 3 months. If you submit the application later, the exemption will apply at the earliest from the day on which you submit the application.

The Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture can also determine your insurance obligation for the past.

The exemption ends as soon as the conditions are no longer met. If the conditions for exemption no longer apply or there is another reason for exemption, you must report this immediately.