2.000 Euro a month tax-free on top, but not for everyone: a dental assistant who is close to the Regelaltersgrenze (the statutory retirement age) tells her boss over lunchtime coffee about the new Aktivrente (a tax exemption for people who keep working past that age). The practice owner quickly works out what it means for her staffing. Holding on to experienced people suddenly becomes more attractive. Then she notices something. The rule does not apply to her. She is self-employed, and that is exactly why the new tax-free allowance stays out of reach for her, no matter how long she keeps working.
The short answer. Since 1 January 2026, the Aktivrente has applied only to employees who carry on working past the Regelaltersgrenze in a job subject to social insurance contributions. They can then earn up to 2.000 Euro a month, or 24.000 Euro a year, tax-free on top. Self-employed people, freelancers and practice owners are explicitly excluded.
What the Aktivrente means for employees
The Aktivrente has been in force since 1 January 2026. It takes effect from the month after you reach the Regelaltersgrenze and requires one particular setup: employment that is not self-employed and that is subject to social insurance contributions. The employer has to keep paying pension insurance contributions, and health and long-term care insurance continue unchanged for the employee as well. Anyone who wants to keep working past the Regelaltersgrenze can now do so tax-free up to a fixed amount. Wages are tax-free up to a limit of 2.000 Euro a month, or 24.000 Euro a year.
For a long-serving practice employee who stays on past the Regelaltersgrenze, that is a noticeable difference. More of the gross salary is left over as net pay than before the turn of the year.
Who is left out, and why that counts twice for practice owners
The legislator has drawn the target group narrowly. Excluded are the self-employed, commercial business operators, farmers and foresters, civil servants, elected representatives and mini-jobbers. Anyone whose income does not come from employment subject to social insurance contributions gets nothing out of the Aktivrente, no matter how long they work or how much revenue they make in a year. The Federal Ministry of Finance FAQ on the Aktivrente confirms this too.
For a practice owner, that hits twice. As an employer she benefits, because experienced staff now have a reason to stay longer. As a self-employed person she goes empty-handed herself, even though she usually works the longest, often well past the Regelaltersgrenze, because her own practice does not end on a set date.
Who can use the Aktivrente:
- employees who have already reached the Regelaltersgrenze
- who continue or take up employment subject to social insurance contributions
- whose employer keeps paying pension insurance contributions
- who earn up to 2.000 Euro a month; above that, normal taxation applies
The Aktivrente sounds like a simple answer to the shortage of skilled staff, but it is not a retirement product. It makes working on as an employee easier, yet it builds no additional pension of its own and changes nothing about the level of your pension. Health and long-term care insurance contributions remain in full; only wage tax falls away up to the limit. And anyone who is self-employed, like a practice owner, simply gets nothing at all out of the whole rule, not even as a side benefit.
What this means for your own retirement planning
How the Aktivrente works out in an individual case for payroll or for a practice's staffing costs is something a tax advisor should calculate, especially when several employees are affected and the new rule is meant to feed into holiday and shift planning.
For you as a practice owner, the real question stays untouched. With the Aktivrente the state has created a building block that, of all people, is not available to those who carry the entrepreneurial risk throughout their working lives. You still have to build your retirement planning as a self-employed person entirely on your own, without an employer's share and now without this new tax advantage either. Which tax lever is open to you instead is covered on my page about the Basisrente (tax-deductible basic pension, “Rürup pension”). How big the gap between your statutory pension and what you will need in retirement actually is can be estimated in a few minutes with the pension gap calculator. If, as a practice owner, you regularly review how you protect your team anyway, the article on occupational pensions (bAV) in a medical practice connects this topic to the employer side.
Frequently asked questions about the Aktivrente for the self-employed
What is the Aktivrente 2026?
The Aktivrente is a tax rule in force since 1 January 2026 that lets employees earn up to 2.000 Euro a month tax-free on top after reaching the Regelaltersgrenze, as long as they remain in employment subject to social insurance contributions.
Can self-employed people use the Aktivrente?
No. The rule applies exclusively to employment relationships that are not self-employed and that are subject to social insurance contributions. Self-employed people, commercial business operators, farmers and foresters, civil servants and mini-jobbers are explicitly excluded.
From when does the Aktivrente apply, and to whom?
The Aktivrente takes effect from the month following the one in which you reach the Regelaltersgrenze, and only for employees whose employer keeps paying pension insurance contributions. Anyone who retires earlier or carries on working on a self-employed basis is not covered.
Do I still have to pay social insurance on the tax-free amount?
Yes. The tax exemption applies only to wage tax. Health and long-term care insurance contributions still apply for employees at the usual level; the Aktivrente does not change that.
The amounts stated reflect the legal position as at 2 September 2026. Whether and how the Aktivrente works in your case is best clarified with your tax advisor.
Eduard Strekert is a financial advisor for Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG (DVAG). This article is general information and does not replace personal advice. It does not constitute investment or tax advice.