Last Updated on May 29, 2021 by LawEuro
Members of the Bundestag Act (Laws / Regulations of Germany)
Part Nine
Transitional provisions
Section 35
Transitional provisions in respect of the Eleventh Act Amending the Act on the Legal Status of Members of the Bundestag
(1) The present Act shall apply without prejudice to pension entitlements and expectancy rights predating the entry into force of the Eleventh Amendment Act. Section 29(4) of the present Act shall apply. The first and second sentences above shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to surviving dependants of a recipient of superannuation benefits if the latter dies after the entry into force of the Eleventh Amendment Act.
(2) Pension entitlements and expectancy rights of former Members of the Bundestag who fulfilled the conditions relating to duration of membership prior to the entry into force of the Eleventh Amendment Act and those of their surviving dependants shall be governed by the law hitherto in force. Section 29(4) of the present Act shall apply. The first and second sentences above shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to Members of the Bundestag who belong to the Bundestag or to the Parliament of a Land prior to the entry into force of the Eleventh Amendment Act as well as to their surviving dependants.
(3) Former Members of the Bundestag who re-enter the Bundestag after the entry into force of the Eleventh Amendment Act and who fulfil the conditions set out in sections 19 and 21 of the present Act prior to the amendment shall receive superannuation benefits under the law hitherto in force, subject to the proviso that four per cent of the remuneration referred to in section 11(1) shall be awarded for each year of membership after the entry into force of the Eleventh Amendment Act until the maximum rate of superannuation benefits is reached. Section 29(4) shall apply. The first and second sentences above shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to surviving dependants.
(4) The pension expectancy arising under subsection (1) to (3) of the law hitherto in force shall form the basis of assessment for the pension entitlement if it is higher than the pension expectancy arising under this Act.
Section 35a
Transitional provisions in respect of the Nineteenth Amendment Act
(1) The provisions of Parts Five and Nine of this Act in force up to 22 December 1995 shall continue to apply to Members who belonged to the Bundestag on 22 December 1995, former Members of the Bundestag and their surviving dependants. Section 25 b (1), (2) and (5) shall apply, mutatis mutandis.
(2) In those cases referred to in subsection (1) above, a notional assessment figure shall apply instead of the Members’ remuneration payable under section 11 of this Act. The assessment figure for transitional emoluments shall be set at 5,301 euros. The notional assessment figure for superannuation benefits shall be set at 11,683 Deutsche Mark with effect from 1 July 2000, at 11,868 Deutsche Mark with effect from 1 January 2001, at 6,165 euros with effect from 1 January 2002, at 6,263 euros with effect from 1 January 2003, at 6,411 euros with effect from 1 January 2008, at 6,555 euros with effect from 1 January 2009, at 6,805 euros with effect from 1 January 2012, at 7,055 euros with effect from 1 January 2013, at 7,410 euros with effect from 1 July 2014 and at 7,765 euros with effect from 1 January 2015. For subsequent adjustments, the adjustment factor shall be determined on the basis of the procedure prescribed in section 11(4) and (5) of this Act.
(3) Where section 29 applies to pension entitlements under this Act, the notional assessment figure for the superannuation benefits referred to in subsection (2) above shall also be used as a basis in the cases referred to in subsection (1) above instead of the Members’ remuneration payable under section 11.
(4) Members of the thirteenth German Bundestag to whom subsection (1) above applies may opt for the provisions of Part Five, as amended by the Nineteenth Amendment Act, to be applied until their retirement from the Bundestag. This decision shall be binding. In the event that a Member dies prior to exercising his or her option, the more favourable version shall apply.
Section 35b
Transitional provisions in respect of the Twenty-seventh Amendment Act
(1) The provisions of Parts Five and Nine of this Act in force up to 31 December 2007 shall apply to entitlements and expectancy rights accruing to Members of the Bundestag, former Members of the Bundestag and their surviving dependants up to 31 December 2007. Section 19(1) and (2), the third sentence of section 20 and section 25b(3) shall apply, mutatis mutandis.
(2) In those cases referred to in subsection (1) above, a separate notional assessment figure shall apply instead of the Members’ remuneration payable under section 11 of this Act. This notional assessment figure shall be set at 7,174 euros with effect from 1 January 2008, at 7,335 euros with effect from 1 January 2009, at 7,615 euros with effect from 1 January 2012, at 7,895 euros with effect from 1 January 2013, at 8,292 euros with effect from 1 July 2014 and at 8,689 euros with effect from 1 January 2015. The foregoing provisions shall be without prejudice to section 35a. For subsequent adjustments, the adjustment factor shall be determined on the basis of the procedure prescribed in section 11(4) and (5) of this Act.
(3) The minimum period prescribed in section 19 of this Act as amended prior to the entry into force of the Twenty-seventh Amendment Act shall not apply to the assessment of entitlements and expectancy rights of Members of the 16th Bundestag under subsection (1) above.
(4) Where section 29 applies to pension entitlements under this Act, the notional assessment figure for the superannuation benefits referred to in subsection (2) above shall also be applied in the cases referred to in subsection (1) above instead of the Members’ remuneration payable under section 11. In cases in which the pension entitlements derive partly from the new legislation and partly from subsection (1) above, these parts shall be calculated with due regard to the figures obtained by applying the respective percentage ratios with which pensions are calculated on the basis of the notional assessment figure prescribed in subsection (2) above and the remuneration prescribed by section 11.
Section 35c
Transitional provisions in respect of the Thirtieth Amendment Act
The provisions of Parts Five and Nine of this Act in force on the day of the first sitting of the 19th Bundestag shall apply to entitlements and expectancy rights accruing to Members of the Bundestag, former Members of the Bundestag and their surviving dependants up to the date of the first meeting of the 19th Bundestag. The foregoing provision shall be without prejudice to sections 35a and 35b of this Act.
Section 36
Transitional provisions for public servants
(1) A civil servant who has retired on the basis of the Act of 11 May 1951 on the Legal Status of Public Servants Elected to the First German Bundestag (Gesetz über die Rechtsstellung der in den ersten Deutschen Bundestag gewählten Angehörigen des öffentlichen Dienstes – Federal Law Gazette I, p. 297) or on the basis of the Act of 4 August 1953 on the Legal Status of Public Servants Elected to the German Bundestag (Gesetz über die Rechtsstellung der in den Deutschen Bundestag gewählten Angehörigen des öffentlichen Dienstes – Federal Law Gazette I, p. 777), as amended by the Act of 21 August 1961 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1557) or on the basis of corresponding legislation of a Land and who was elected to the eighth Bundestag or to a later Bundestag, shall be regarded as having been re-appointed as a civil servant on simultaneous suspension of his or her rights and duties (section 5(1) of the present Act) with effect from the date of acceptance of election or from the date of entry into force of the present Act, whichever is the later, provided that he or she still fulfils the general conditions for appointment as a civil servant. In all other respects, the entitlements accruing, prior to the entry into force of the present Act, under section 4 and the last sentence of section 4a of the Act of 4 August 1953 on the Legal Status of Public Servants elected to the German Bundestag shall be preserved.
(2) Subsection (1) above shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to judges, to career members and fixed-term volunteer members of the armed forces and to public-service employees.
(3) In the case of former Members of the Bundestag, entitlements accruing under the Act of 4 August 1953 on the Legal Status of Public Servants elected to the German Bundestag shall be preserved.
Section 37
Pensions for Members who retired prior to 1968
On application, the President shall award superannuation benefits and a surviving dependants’ pensions, pursuant to the Act governing the Remuneration of Members of the Bundestag 1968 (Diätengesetz 1968), dated 3 May 1968 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 334), as amended by Article VIII of the Act of 18 February 1977 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 297), to a former Member who retired from the Bundestag prior to 1 January 1968 and to his or her surviving dependants with effect from the first day of the month of application.
Section 38
Pensions for periods prior to the entry into force of this Act
(1) A Member of the Bundestag who leaves during the period between 1 January 1968 and the date of entry into force of the present Act and his or her surviving dependants shall receive a pension under the Act governing the Remuneration of Members of the Bundestag 1968.
(2) A Member of the Bundestag who belonged to the Bundestag prior to the date of entry into force of this Act and did not leave the Bundestag until after that date shall receive superannuation benefits in accordance with this Act; his or her membership prior to the entry into force of this Act shall be reckonable service for the assessment of these benefits.
(3) Instead of the superannuation benefits awardable under subsection (2) above, the individual’s own contributions to superannuation benefits and the surviving dependants’ pension under section 4 of the Act governing the Remuneration of Members of the Bundestag 1968 (Diätengesetz 1968) shall be reimbursed on application without payment of interest. In the latter case, periods of membership of the Bundestag prior to the entry into force of the present Act shall not be taken into consideration in the determination of the superannuation benefits payable under this Act. In the cases described in section 23 of this Act, only half of the compensatory severance payment shall be awarded.
(4) Instead of the superannuation benefits awardable under subsection (2) above, a Member of the Bundestag who fulfils the conditions of section 5(1) and section 7a(1) of the Act governing the Remuneration of Members of the Bundestag 1968 shall receive, on application, a retirement pension under the said Act for the period of membership of the Bundestag prior to the entry into force of the present Act; for the period after the entry into force of the present Act came into force, superannuation benefits under this Act shall be awarded, subject to the proviso that five per cent of the Members’ remuneration under section 11(1) is paid for each year of membership. The qualifying periods before and after the entry into force of this Act may not exceed sixteen years. The same shall apply in respect of surviving dependants.
(5) The application referred to in subsections (3) and (4) above must be made to the President of the Bundestag within six months from the entry into force of this Act.
Section 38a
(1) On application, recipients of pensions awarded under sections 37 and 38(1) of this Act shall receive a pension in accordance with Part Five instead of their current pension. The same applies to former Members who belonged to the Bundestag for at least six years before the entry into force of this Act and their surviving dependants. The last sentence of section 18(1) shall apply, mutatis mutandis.
(2) Section 38(4) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to former Members who left the Bundestag prior to 1 April 1977 and subsequently re-entered. The application must be made to the President of the Bundestag within six months from the date of re-entry into the German Bundestag. The same shall apply in respect of surviving dependants.
Section 38b
Surviving dependants’ pension in the event of the death of a serving Member of the Bundestag
On application, surviving dependants as defined in section 25(4) of the present Act whose insured event occurred during the period between 1 April 1977 and the date of entry into force of the Seventh Amendment Act shall receive a pension under section 25(4) of the present Act with effect from the first day of the month of application.
Section 39
Reckonability of previous pension benefits
(1) In accordance with section 10 of the Act governing the Remuneration of Members of the Bundestag 1968 (Diätengesetz 1968), pension benefits payable under that Act shall not be reckonable benefits for the purposes of section 29(3) and (4) of the present Act.
(2) Where there is a concurrent entitlement to remuneration or a pension arising from membership of the Parliament of a Land (section 29(5) and (6) of the present Act), only the non-contributory element of pension benefits payable under the Act governing the Remuneration of Members of the Bundestag 1968 shall be reckonable. Periods credited under section 21 of the Act governing the Remuneration of Members of the Bundestag 1968 shall be regarded as contribution periods.
Section 40
Reduced compensatory severance payment
For periods of membership to which the Act governing the Remuneration of Members of the Bundestag 1968 (Diätengesetz 1968) applies, half of the compensatory severance payment under section 23 of the present Act shall be awarded. In this case, the Member’s own insurance contributions under section 4 of the Act governing the Remuneration of Members of the Bundestag 1968 shall be reimbursed on application.
Section 41
Continuation of life assurance
Life-assurance policies in existence on the entry into force of this Act shall be continued, subject to reduction of superannuation benefits and widow’s or widower’s pension in accordance with the number and amount of monthly contributions made by the policyholder to the life-assurance fund since 1 January 1968.
Section 42
Conversion or cancellation of life assurance
(1) A Member or former Member of the Bundestag who has opted for the continuation of insurance at the expense of the Federal Republic under section 20 of the Act governing the Remuneration of Members of the Bundestag 1968 (Diätengesetz 1968) may convert or cancel the life-assurance policy.
(2) In the case of conversion, there is the option of continuation at the individual’s own expense or of non-contributory insurance, subject to reduction of superannuation benefits and widow’s or widower’s pension in accordance with the number and amount of monthly contributions made by the policyholder to the life-assurance fund from 1 January 1968 until the end of the month in which the policy was converted or until the award of superannuation benefits.
(3) In the event of cancellation of the insurance policy, the insured person shall be reimbursed with the redemption value based on his or her own contributions.
Section 43
Continued payment of transitional emoluments
A former Member of the Bundestag receiving Members’ allowances under the Act governing the Remuneration of Members of the Bundestag 1968 (Diätengesetz 1968) at the time of entry into force of the present Act shall retain this entitlement.
Section 44
Reckonable service for transitional emoluments
Periods of Membership of the Bundestag prior to the entry into force of this Act shall count towards the period for which transitional emoluments are payable.
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