Active Retirement Calculator
Earn up to €2,000 per month tax-free from the standard retirement age — calculate your personal tax benefit
- Updated
- Values checked
- Basis
- § 3 no. 21 EStG (Income Tax Act)
Monthly gross wage from employment subject to social insurance after the standard retirement age.
Average marginal tax rate. Your marginal tax rate depends on your overall situation (statutory pension, other income, if any) — it cannot be derived from your extra income alone. If you don't know it, use 24% as a rough guide.
Your tax benefit
per month
€360.00
€360.00Your extra income of €1,500.00 stays completely tax-free. That saves €4,320.00 in tax a year.
With the Aktivrente you keep €360.00 more net each month
Net per month
- Tax-free part
- €1,500.00
- Social insurance
- €158.25
- Tax benefit per year
- €4,320.00
What you can do
No pension insurance
The employee share of pension insurance no longer applies, since you are already drawing your statutory pension in full (§ 5 (4) no. 1 SGB VI).
Simplified calculation
Simplified calculation, as of July 2026: the marginal tax rate is entered directly, as it depends on your overall situation (statutory pension, other income, if any). Health and long-term care insurance are calculated using the nationwide base rate without individual surcharges or reductions; the employee share of unemployment insurance no longer applies to you from the standard retirement age, regardless of whether you draw your pension. The annual tax benefit is the monthly value × 12 and assumes constant extra income throughout the year.
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Who benefits from the Aktivrente?
- Requirement: you have reached the standard retirement age (currently 67, including the transitional rule) — the benefit applies to wages from the following month.
- Actually drawing a pension is not necessary for the tax exemption — it already applies if you defer your pension. If deferred, however, the employee share of pension insurance still applies.
- You must be in employment subject to social insurance contributions.
- Not eligible: mini-jobbers, the self-employed, retired civil servants (pensioners drawing a Pension).
Aktivrente 2026: Tax-Free Extra Income in Retirement
With the Aktivrente ("active retirement"), employees subject to social insurance contributions can, since 1 January 2026, earn up to €2,000 per month from employment tax-free — the benefit applies to wages from the calendar month following the one in which the standard retirement age is reached. The reform is intended to create an incentive to stay in work beyond retirement age, without the extra income being noticeably reduced by wage tax.
Unlike many other tax benefits, actually drawing a pension is not a requirement: even those who defer their pension and continue working full-time or part-time benefit from the new rule once they have passed the standard retirement age. Our calculator shows you, based on your extra income and your personal marginal tax rate, exactly how large your monthly and annual tax benefit turns out to be.
Aktivrente at a Glance
- Up to €2,000/month tax-free
- Equivalent to €24,000 per year — any amount above that remains taxable as usual.
- From the month after the retirement age
- Currently 67 (incl. transitional rule) — the benefit applies to wages from the following calendar month.
- No pension drawdown required for the tax benefit
- The tax exemption already applies even if you defer drawing your pension.
- Social insurance contributions mostly remain
- Health/long-term care insurance as usual; the employee share of unemployment insurance no longer applies from the standard retirement age; the employee share of pension insurance only if you are actually drawing your full pension.
How the Aktivrente Affects Your Net Income
These Factors Determine Your Tax Benefit
- Amount of extra incomeUp to €2,000 you benefit fully from the tax exemption — above that, the taxable share rises 1:1 with additional earnings.
- Personal marginal tax rateIt depends on your overall situation (statutory pension, other income) — the higher the rate, the greater the absolute benefit per tax-free euro.
- Type of employmentOnly employment subject to social insurance contributions counts. Mini-jobs are excluded, since no individual wage tax is due there anyway.
- Social insurance obligationHealth and long-term care insurance contributions still reduce your net income unchanged. The employee share of unemployment insurance no longer applies from the standard retirement age; the employee share of pension insurance only if you are already drawing your full pension.
- Monthly extra income (gross)
- €2,500.00
- Of which tax-free (Aktivrente)
- €2,000.00
- Of which taxable
- €500.00
- Wage tax without Aktivrente (30% on €2,500)
- €750.00
- Wage tax with Aktivrente (30% on €500)
- €150.00
- Monthly tax benefit
- €600.00
Who Benefits from the Aktivrente – and Who Doesn't
Only employees subject to social insurance contributions who have already passed the standard retirement age benefit. Not eligible are mini-jobbers (whose wages are already taxed at a flat rate by the employer), the self-employed, and retired civil servants (pensioners drawing a Pension) — the new tax exemption does not apply to them.
A separate legal framework, independent of the Aktivrente, applies to social insurance: you are only exempt from pension insurance contributions if you are actually drawing your full statutory pension after reaching the standard retirement age (§ 5 (4) no. 1 SGB VI) — in that case, the employee share of the pension insurance contribution no longer applies. If you defer your pension and continue working, you remain subject to pension insurance and keep paying the employee share. For unemployment insurance, by contrast, exemption applies to everyone from the standard retirement age, regardless of whether they draw their pension. In both cases, the employer has continued, since 2022, to pay its half of the contribution where the employee is exempt, though without this creating any additional pension entitlement. Health and long-term care insurance are unaffected by this and continue to be paid in full — this, too, was an explicit goal of the reform, as emphasized by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Aktivrente
Standard retirement age, mini-jobs, social insurance and the €2,000 limit explained
Does the Aktivrente apply as soon as I reach the standard retirement age?
The tax exemption applies from the calendar month following the one in which you reach the standard retirement age (currently 67, including the individual transitional rule for your birth year) — not already in the month you reach it. Actually drawing a pension is not required for the tax exemption — even those who defer drawing their pension and continue working benefit from it (though they remain subject to pension insurance contributions). The rule has applied since 1 January 2026.
Does the Aktivrente also apply to a mini-job?
No. Mini-jobs are excluded from the Aktivrente rule, because wages there are already taxed at a flat rate by the employer and remain contribution-free for you anyway. The Aktivrente only provides a benefit for employment subject to social insurance contributions above the mini-job threshold (2026: €603/month).
Do I still have to pay social insurance contributions as an Aktivrente pensioner?
Health and long-term care insurance contributions are still due in full — according to the Federal Ministry of Finance, the tax exemption of the Aktivrente is explicitly also meant to strengthen the social insurance funds. The employee share of unemployment insurance no longer applies for anyone who has reached the standard retirement age. The employee share of pension insurance, however, only stops applying if you are already drawing your full pension (§ 5 (4) no. 1 SGB VI) — if you defer your pension and continue working, you remain subject to pension insurance and keep paying it. The employer continues to pay half of the contribution in both cases, without this creating any additional pension entitlement.
What happens to extra income above the €2,000 limit?
Only the first €2,000 of your monthly wages (or €24,000 per year) are tax-free. Any amount above that is taxed as usual at your personal tax rate — the rule therefore works like an allowance: the first €2,000 always remain tax-free, and only the amount exceeding it is additionally taxed.
Can the Aktivrente be combined with drawing the statutory pension?
Yes, without restriction. The Aktivrente only concerns the tax treatment of your wages from employment alongside your pension — regardless of whether you are already drawing your pension or have deferred it. Your pension payment itself is not changed by the Aktivrente rule and continues to be taxed under the existing rules.