Finding and keeping good medical assistants (MFA) is getting harder and harder. An occupational pension (bAV) is one of the strongest levers for it. And along the way, it also builds your own provision as a practice owner.
The short answer. As a practice owner, you set up the occupational pension in three steps. First, protect your team through a Direktversicherung (direct insurance policy). What counts here is the statutory employer subsidy and the collective agreement for medical assistants. Second, put a clear Versorgungsordnung (pension scheme rules) in place, so that as an employer you don't take on unnecessary liability risk. Third, sort out your own provision, beyond the Ärzteversorgungswerk (professional pension fund for doctors), with a Basisrente (tax-deductible basic pension, “Rürup pension”) and a flexible fund-linked solution.
I'm Eduard Strekert, financial advisor for Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG (DVAG), tied agent, based in Lüdenscheid, and I support practices, self-employed professionals and business owners in the Märkischer Kreis region. Let's take a calm look at the roadmap behind it.
Why is a bAV especially worth it for medical practices?
The competition for good medical assistants is fierce. Salary alone no longer ties anyone to you, because the practice next door can pay that too. An occupational pension is a benefit your team feels directly and that keeps working for a long time.
On top of that: as an employer, you're required to offer your team salary conversion (Entgeltumwandlung) anyway. If you shape that actively and well, instead of merely administering it, you turn an obligation into a retention tool. And in the same move, you build your own provision. One lever, two goals.
Step 1: The bAV for your practice team
At its core, a team member converts part of their gross salary into a pension contribution. Within the statutory maximum limits, this is favored for both tax and social security contributions. Three points turn it into a real offer.
- Statutory subsidy. On top of the salary conversion, you as the employer pay at least the 15 percent subsidy (§ 1a BetrAVG). Anyone who gives more sends a strong signal.
- The collective agreement for medical assistants. If you follow the collective agreement (Tarifvertrag), an employer-funded contribution is added on top. The exact amount changes over time, so we'll look at the current figures together.
- The implementation path. For practices, the Direktversicherung is usually the simplest route with the least administration. An industry-wide solution can score extra points, because the contract moves with the employee if someone leaves your team for another practice.
Explained properly, this is a tangible benefit for your team. This is exactly where it's decided whether the bAV fizzles out as a box-ticking exercise or actually keeps people.
Step 2: How do you avoid liability as an employer?
As soon as you promise a bAV, you're on the hook for it. This is called the employer's guarantee obligation (Einstandspflicht). Mistakes in the setup can get expensive later.
The solution is a clean Versorgungsordnung. It is your practice's rulebook and defines who receives which benefit and under what conditions. That keeps the rules clear and your liability risk much lower. This belongs in expert hands, often in cooperation with your tax advisor or lawyer. This article does not replace investment or legal advice.
Step 3: Your own provision as a practice owner
As a resident doctor, you usually pay into your Ärzteversorgungswerk. That's a strong foundation. But it often isn't enough for your accustomed standard of living in old age. On top of it, you build further in a targeted way.
Mind your legal form. If you run a solo practice or a GbR (partnership under German civil law), a bAV for yourself is usually not possible. The reason lies in your tax status as a co-entrepreneur. If your practice operates as a GmbH (German limited company) and you are its employed managing director, the picture is different. Exactly how this looks in your case is something we clarify together with your tax advisor.
State-supported basic provision. A fund-linked Basisrente, often called Rürup, can be deducted as special expenses, up to an annual maximum. With a high personal tax rate, the effect can be correspondingly larger. How strongly it works for you depends on your situation. The catch: the capital is locked in until retirement and the later pension is taxed. So it's a tax deferral, not a tax gift.
Flexible fund-linked provision. As an agile counterpart, there's a fund-linked solution you can access when you need to. It makes up for the flexibility that the professional pension fund and the Basisrente lack. A quick note for perspective: investment funds and ETFs aren't opposites, but two ways of investing with broad diversification.
A model case from practice
Take Dr. Schneider, a GP in Lüdenscheid, a solo practice with four medical assistants. She wants to keep good people and build solid provision for herself.
For the team, she sets up a Direktversicherung via salary conversion, pays the statutory subsidy and follows the collective agreement. A Versorgungsordnung governs who gets what. That makes her offer attractive and puts her on legally solid ground.
As a solo practice, she can't use a bAV for herself. Her foundation stays the Ärzteversorgungswerk. On top of it, she adds a Basisrente for the tax advantage and a flexible fund-linked portfolio for agility. How much of it is needed depends on her provision gap and her tax rate. That's exactly what we calculate for her specific case, instead of working with a blanket figure. The result is a solution that fits her practice, not an off-the-shelf number.
A bAV doesn't run on autopilot. Explained poorly, hardly anyone on the team takes it up, and then the retention effect fizzles out. Designed poorly, you bring a liability problem into your practice as the employer. It isn't about the fastest product, but about a clean concept for your practice and for you. That's exactly what we look at together before anything gets signed.
Frequently asked questions about the bAV in the medical practice
Am I required as a practice owner to offer a bAV?
Yes. You have to offer your team the option of salary conversion and pay a subsidy of at least 15 percent. How you shape it is up to you.
What is the best implementation path for a practice?
For most practices, the Direktversicherung is the simplest route with the least administration. Which solution fits in detail depends on the size of the practice and the team.
What happens to the bAV if someone on the team moves to another practice?
The contract belongs to the team member and moves with them. A solution with good portability makes the switch especially straightforward.
Can I set up a bAV for myself as a doctor?
That depends on your legal form. In a solo practice or a GbR it isn't possible. As the employed managing director of a practice GmbH, it is. We clarify this with your tax advisor.
Is the Ärzteversorgungswerk enough as retirement provision?
It's a strong foundation, but on its own it often doesn't cover your accustomed standard of living. A Basisrente and a flexible fund-linked solution complement it well.
Do you also advise practices in person in the Märkischer Kreis region?
Yes. I'm based in Lüdenscheid, advise in person or via video, and support practices and self-employed professionals across the entire region.
Your next step in the Märkischer Kreis region
You don't have to solve this alone, and certainly not on a single afternoon between two consultation hours. A first conversation doesn't commit you to anything. It means you'll know what a bAV concept for your team looks like and how your own provision fits with it.
I'm Eduard Strekert, financial advisor for Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG (DVAG), tied agent, based in Lüdenscheid. I support practices and self-employed professionals in the Märkischer Kreis region in building provision with structure, at their own pace. There's no need to rush anything. Next step: book a free initial consultation, and we'll look at your practice together.
Related reading:
- Retirement planning for the self-employed: how to build it without an employer
- Private health insurance for the self-employed: what you really pay
- Financial advisory for the self-employed in the Märkischer Kreis region
Eduard Strekert is a financial advisor for Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG (DVAG), tied agent. This article is general information and does not replace personal advice. It does not constitute investment or tax advice.