Starshollow

  @cstcstcst : you are basically correct. If you'll substitute the missing pension proof from public pension with a private pension plan, you'll can set it up now and in good time (basically even at once, but it looks better if you can show proof of having paid for a few months already) use it as proof of caring about sufficient pension income for the future..if and when it meets the standards of the local authorities granting the NLE (Niederlassungserlaubnis = permanent residence permit ). What amount needs to be saved until reaching the pension age of 67 and what kind of pension plan may be used differs vastly from state to state, county to county and city to city within Germany.   For Berlin there is a certain amount stated in their rules&procedures which changes (i.e. increases) every year a bit. Plus, Berlin will only accept so-called BASIS- or RÜRUP-pension plans, because you can't take out the capital from these later and squander it, these pension plans will only pay out a pension for life later when you reach pension age.   I would recommend that you get yourself an independent financial advisor/broker to work out the best option for you to this regards because these kinds of the plan come in a wide variety with a vast difference in costs and performances. A good advisor can either get you such a plan with a decent discount on the costs or even one with no commissions-costs involved at all if you are prepared to pay a fee to the advisor instead.   Cheerio  

  you can't use private pension schemes as a substitute for public pension in Germany, I am afraid. If you fall under the descriptions as provided above to be a "arbeitnehmerähnlicher Selbstständiger", you only have one chance to escape paying into public pension the full contribution and that is to hire someone with a Midi-job, i.e. gross salary above 451 EUR per month. As soon as you have a "sozialversicherungspflichtiger" employee, you are out of bounds and not required to pay into public pension anymore. Now just do the math and see what is cheaper for you at the end of the day (assuming that there is some benefit, too, from having someone to work for you in one way or another, if only as your PA who does your laundry, cleans your home and massages your back based on a monthly employment with salary :-)  )   Cheerio  

if you are taking up self-employment for the first time in Germany, you can claim a deferral of the status of being considered as either "Scheinselbstständig" or as an "arbeitnehmerähnlicher Selbstständiger" for the first three years. Which means during those first three years you will become exempt from paying into the public pension.   Cheerio  

I would not say that I recommend the actual findings/recommendation by FINANZTEST, just the general overview about what is really important and what not. Especially income protection ( Krankentagegeld, Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung, Schwere Krankheitenversicherung, Grundfähigkeitenversicherung) is a field for experts with individual case-by-case analysis. Life insurance is only necessary if you have dependents who would financially be between a rock and hard place (on top of grieving for you) in case you kick the proverbial bucket. That is particularly true if there are some debts to pay like a mortgage. Basically, as long as you are single or for DINKs it is not needed, once you have a dependent partner/spouse and especially when you have children, it comes to the top rankings in any serious financial priority lists.  Cheerio  

most likely yes - the exact answer can only be given by someone who knows exactly what kind of liability insurance plan you signed up for and what the terms&conditions say. it would also be important to know what (if any) amount of excess/deductible your policy has so that you'll know how much you'll be needing to fork out from your own money.   Cheerio  

  what do the terms and conditions say in your German private health insurance policy about coverage abroad (in the US) ? That would be the key-point to look at in order to answer the question. The broker or agent who advised you on that insurance plan should be able to give you a complete and concise answer on this...   Cheerio  

There are very few pension assurances in Germany that still accept US nationals. it is a bit of a field of special know-how to know who is still in this market. Whereas classical RIESTER plans are more open and available to US-nationals, investment-fund based are usually not out of a severe misunderstanding/misinterpretation of the current FATCA et al regulations in the US.   I would strongly advise to seek out an independent advisor for you who is well experienced in this field and can help you find something that is suitable for you and still practical on the German market for you.   Cheerio  

  the long and short of it is...what you want does not exist in Germany. Sorry. A RIESTER plan would allow you to take out the money while then losing the entire tax benefits and direct subsidies if you do... which clearly then does not make any sense..   Cheerio  

it has been said above (and before) that you simply can't change back to public health insurance by choice.  legally you opted out from public insurance and that's it then...  The only way back is, as described, by getting compulsorily insured if and when you get unemployed with unemployment-benefits or by having your gross salary drop below the legal threshold (JAEG - Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze) .   If you can prove that you have been badly advised (i.e. you need written proof not just he-said-I-said ) you can hold the broker liable for such malpractice.. if he is a broker and not a tied agent, that is.   Sorry that you fell into such a typical trap for Expats coming freshly to Germany, though.   Having said that: there are many other private health insurances in Germany and many of them are quite good actually. If you would have come to a professional advisor before the end of September, such an advisor could have checked the market and helped you switch insurance by January. Now, unless you have recently received a notice that your premiums will be increased, you can't switch your insurance anyway until January 2020...   Perhaps it is time to get a professional and dedicated insurance advisor/broker to take care of all your insurances for you before you continue driving blindly thru the foggy German insurance landscape like you did for the past ? Just saying...   Cheerio    

if you want to have something flexible where you can draw down some or all of the invested capital at all (and especially before reaching pension age) there is no chance to take any tax breaks or writing off of the amounts in your tax declaration as it is considered just like investing directly into mutual funds, ETFs or stocks, and bonds.   Only pension plans that do not allow you to access the capital before pension age ( RIESTER and bAV DIREKTVERSICHERUNG are such) or not at all (RÜRUP pension only allows to get a monthly pension payout for the rest of your natural life) are getting any tax subsidies/benefits from the government.    the old "can't have the cake and eat it " thingy again :-)   Cheerio  

ok, here are my 5 cents to what you are planning to do:   - unless this turns into something like a bona fide "family office" financial service, I would not bother to apply for any license here in Germany. In order to get a 34 F - license as an investment advisor, you need to have proof of an academic of professional education and training in line with certain standards here in Germany. You have to set up indemnity insurance, have to show proof of your own financial status being good, not having any major legal issues or insolvencies in your past and much, much more.  The costs for that alone, not to mention the hassle, will not be compensated by your friend, methinks.  The § 32 KWG is even worse, that is more or less a banking license and you'll fall under the regulation directly of the BaFin. The standards for requires education, training, and professional experience are even higher and there are much higher and more expensive reporting requirements.   - what I would invest in is a good lawyer to draft a contract between you and your friend aka client to make sure you're not getting yourself into a bad and expensive legal battle if the markets take a nosedive and your friend is suddenly losing money and not happy with that (it is always easy to get new clients in growing/upswing markets but not so much then markets become bearish).  So, to what degree you can be held liable and that your friend/client is aware of you not having any professional license etc is something I would definitely want to have in writing before starting such an endeavor if only to CYA.    - and obviously have the taxation side of this checked beforehand, too, by a professional tax advisor.   Cheerio  

You definitly do not need the § 32 KWG license for what you want to do for your friend. At best, you would need a license under § 34 F GewO for financial advice. However, if you do not advertise, do not canvass/solicit publicly for clients and just offer advice to a friend (even if he pays you for that), I do not see why you should even need to obtain such a license, either (which would require not only proof of suitable education/training in finance but also an indemnity insurance and yearly reporting of your advice to the regulators etc).  As long as you friend is ok with a friend-to-friend setting up and you not having any indemnity insurance or such, keep it as it is. What you then need to figure out is how you report any income you derive from advising this friend in your tax report. Cheerio PS: the rule with the 15 clients and <25 Million assets under management only applies to the US, not to Germany.

@bobMorane hi Bob, not sure if you have seen/read the explanations of what we as professional advisors consider to be crucial/imperative coverage with 3rd party liability insurance ? You can find it here: https://www.crcie.com/insurance/3rd-party-liability/   And if I may be so bold: since John Gunn has already answered most - if not all - of your questions - why don't you let him advise you and sign up for the insurance thru him? It does not change the price of the insurance contributions BUT you have then someone there to advise you and help/assist you in case of claims...because that is what an independent insurance broker does. Unless you personally enjoy dealing with German (or any other) insurance companies directly, reading all their legal mumbo-jumbo stuff and all... :-)    Cheerio  

pls send us simply a direct message via our contact-form...this section on Toytown is kinda reserved for clients who have already received services and want to talk about their (hopefully happy) experience as a reference for all others. https://www.crcie.com/contact/

@engelchen - the "Obligatorische Anschlussversicherung" has kinda erased much of the former sense of the § 9 you quote here. So, if he picks up an employment with >450 EUR per month (but it must definitly be more than 450 EUR and not just 450 EUR, as you yourself know, just writing this because the OP does not mention at least 451 EUR in his contributions) and this employment is ended after one month or two, he can stay in his own right as voluntary member... provided (and that is very important) that the employment was not limited per contract to these one or two months from the beginning. So, if you just sign up for an employment for one month and the contract says it is just for one month, the old § 9 would come in and you would not be allowed to continue with your public health insurance in your own right. If, however, you pick up an unlimited employment and call it quits yourself after one month or get fired by the employer after that time, you can continue in your own right as a voluntary member due to the "Obligatorische Anschlussversicherung" since Agust 2013.   Cheerio