Your Guide to Understanding Health Insurance Premiums in Old Age

Welcome to Germany, the land of beer, not-so-punctual trains, and scary fairy tales. Navigating life in Germany as an expat comes with its own set of myths and tales, especially when it comes to health insurance. One of the most persistent myths? That private health insurance becomes a financial mountain too steep to climb in your later years and becomes unaffordable. But fear not! Here in Germany, we like to plan ahead. If you decided to stay your whole life in Germany, private insurance got something up its sleeve called Altersrückstellung or aging reserves, if you're still wrestling with the beautiful but unnecessarily complicated German language. Think of the aging reserves like a financial time capsule. In private health insurance, you pay a premium based on your age, your health status, and the coverage you choose so that the insurance can cover future health costs. Aging reserves are an additional contribution you pay so that when you're older and wiser and possibly grayer, your future self can thank you because the reserves are used to compensate for the growing health costs that come with aging. But if you only plan to stay in Germany up to five years and then go back, then you're exempt from the obligation to put aside aging reserves in private health insurance. Otulova offers a special expat therapy mattress. Click here to find out more.