Before you start receiving your pension
Here is a brief overview of what happens before you start receiving your pension. The timeline highlights key stages on the path to receiving your pension.
Pension payments: When and how?
Pension payments are made at the start of the month for the current month. The actual date on which the payment is credited to your account depends on the recipient bank and may vary. The Sächsische Ärzteversorgung has no influence over this. Pension payments made abroad may take longer to process.
The pension payment statement serves as proof of the pension benefits paid within a calendar year and is sent to all beneficiaries by the end of March of the following year at the latest.
Note: In accordance with legal requirements, the same statement regarding the pension benefits paid is sent electronically to the Central Allowance Office for Pension Assets (ZfA). The Central Allowance Office for Pension Assets manages various reporting procedures for the tax authorities and thereby supports the digitalisation of tax offices.
Frequently Asked Questions About Retirement Benefits
Last year, the Extended Chamber Assembly resolved at its meeting to index-link pension benefits by 4.5 per cent with effect from 1 January 2026. An index-linked adjustment was also implemented the year before. The 39th Extended Chamber Assembly resolved on 12 June 2026 to index-link current pension benefits by 5 per cent with effect from 1 January 2027. You can find this news directly on our homepage under ‘Latest News’.
The application for the regular old-age pension must be submitted no later than three months after reaching the standard retirement age. For example, if you reach the standard retirement age on 10 February 2026, you may submit your application by 9 May 2026 in order to receive the compulsory old-age pension retroactively from 1 March 2026.
No, your obligation to make contributions to the Saxon Medical Pension Fund ends when you reach the standard retirement age or when you are granted early retirement benefits. You will then no longer be required or able to make further contributions. Our Articles of Association do not provide for any subsequent increase in pension benefits through further contributions.
Any work you undertake – whether in the medical or veterinary field or in another profession – will no longer affect your retirement pension once you start receiving it. Furthermore, there are no limits on additional income under the Sächsische Ärzteversorgung. The situation is different under the German Pension Insurance Scheme; please contact your relevant pension provider for further information.
See also: Retirement & continuing to work
The Articles of Association do not provide for a partial pension. In the past, the board members have already considered this issue in detail and concluded that there is currently no need to introduce a partial pension. Alternatively, the Sächsische Ärzteversorgung offers the option of claiming an early retirement pension from the age of 62, with a monthly reduction of 0.4% for each month taken early, whilst continuing to work. Upon claiming the early retirement pension, the obligation to pay contributions (pension insurance contributions) ceases, and any income will not be taken into account when calculating your pension with the Sächsische Ärzteversorgung.
For members born in 1950 or later, the current standard retirement age of 65 will be raised in stages. The increase will take place in two-month increments, depending on the year of birth: members born in 1950 will therefore receive their standard old-age pension at the age of 65 years and two months, whilst for those born in 1951 it will be 65 years and four months. The maximum standard retirement age of 67 will then apply to all those born from 1961 onwards.
If the early retirement pension is claimed, the pension is reduced by 0.4% for each full calendar month during which the pension is received prior to the first day of the month following the month in which the standard retirement age is reached. This reduction continues to apply once the standard retirement age is reached.
Members generally have a choice of three different schemes.
1. Mandatory old-age pension. Under the ‘standard’ option, the old-age pension is paid from the standard retirement age.
2. Early retirement pension. From the age of 62, SÄV members can apply for an early retirement pension – the start date can be chosen individually, between the age of 62 and the standard retirement age.
3. Deferred retirement pension. Those who wish to remain in employment for longer may, upon application, defer receipt of their pension until they reach the age of 70 at the latest.
In 2008, the Extended General Assembly of the Sächsische Ärzteversorgung decided to gradually raise the standard retirement age to 67. The basis for raising the standard retirement age was the actuarial report, which reviews the calculation basis for benefit entitlement on an annual basis. This took into account future demographic trends among SÄV members in relation to existing and future benefit obligations.
Notwithstanding the provisions of statutory and private pension insurance, the Sächsische Ärzteversorgung, as a solidarity-based community, is independently responsible for its financial development and thus for ensuring the fulfilment of its pension provision mandate. The increase in the standard retirement age does not therefore coincide with the increase in the German Pension Insurance scheme, as the increase there is based on a different legal framework.
For members born between 1957 and 1963 who, in addition to pension entitlements with the pension scheme, also have entitlements with the German Pension Insurance scheme, this results in different retirement dates.
The old-age pension increases by 0.6 per cent for each full calendar month between the standard retirement age and the date on which the old-age pension is granted. The deferred old-age pension must be claimed no later than the first day of the month following the month in which the person reaches the age of 70. The application must be received by the Sächsische Ärzteversorgung before the desired start date of the pension.