In a recent judgement, the Federal Social Court confirmed the German Pension Insurance of Oldenburg-Bremen’s opinion and thus overturned the decisions of the lower courts. At the heart of the case was the question of whether expenses for an office anniversary celebration, which amounted to more than EUR 110 per employee and was only subjected to flat-rate taxation on a date well after the pay slip was issued, were subject to social security contributions.
In its plenary session on 28 October 2022, the Bundesrat gave the green light for the payment of an energy price flat rate sum to recipients of old age and other pensions by approving the corresponding bill from the Bundestag, which had had its second reading on 20 October 2022. Also approved was the upper limit for employment income subject to social security contributions.
The German refusal of a deduction for social security contributions paid by a German resident French government official does not meet the EU-requirement for free movement of workers, since its effective exclusion under German law placed her at a comparative disadvantage vis-à-vis her German colleague.
