As an umbrella organisation of senior citizens' organisations, BAGSO - Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Seniorenorganisationen (German National Association of Senior Citizens' Organisations) collects information on support services for older Ukrainians and provides information on the situation of older people in Ukraine.

You can find more information (in German) at the following link: www.bagso.de

Those people in Germany pursuing employment that is subject to social security contributions are compulsorily insured in statutory pension and pay into pension funds. Benefits from the statutory pension insurance can be claimed if you have paid contributions for at least 5 years (generalized qualifying period in the sense of a minimum insurance period). Aside from compulsory contribution periods in the context of employment, periods in which obligatory contributions for child raising periods were made are also considered.

Ukrainian citizens living in Germany may likewise acquire retirement insurance claims, as long as they fulfill the prerequisites laid down in insurance law for the retirement scheme in question. The age of entry is the same for Ukrainian refugees as it is for German citizens – between 63 and (as of 2031) 67 years of age, depending on the type of pension.

Please, find more information and contact persons here: Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German Pension Insurance).

Please note: Further information on benefits as well as on asset allowances for pensioners is available in the ’Social benefits’ section.

Multigenerational houses can be found nearly everywhere in Germany. In total, there are about 530 of those places for encounters promoting neighborly coexistence. Everyone is welcome – people of all ages with different cultural and religious backgrounds. They spend time together, learn from and with each other, are there for each other and shape “their” multigenerational house with a great deal of voluntary commitment. Those who would never have met in everyday life meet here – for example during a language course, the repair café or homework tutoring.

Multigenerational houses are firmly anchored in their municipalities and always close to what is happening. This is how unique offers for the locals can be created. Here are a few examples of what you can experience in the multigenerational house:

• come over for a cup of coffee, have some conversations and get to know people of all ages. In the open meeting (Offener Treff), everyone is welcome.
• you would like to become involved and test your talents and abilities? Volunteering will put a smile on your face and on the faces of others.
• learn from and with each other – for instance how you can manage your career start or how to use a smartphone, tablet or other device in old age.
• breathe new life into old items and ensure sustainability – for example during swap meets or in the bicycle workshop.
• come to the multigenerational house for consultation and support – for instance in the form of advice on education and better computability of family, care and occupation.
• give your opinion on how neighborhood should look like – in the multigenerational houses, your voice is heard.

Please, find more information here: www.mehrgenerationenhaeuser.de

The around 500 seniors‘ offices in Germany are contact points for older people that do voluntary work, meet with others or search for support in their everyday lives. In the seniors’ offices, you can find competent contact persons for all questions concerning old age. The offices act as contact institutions for voluntary workers in the local communities, organize their own projects and offer a lot of support and qualification as well as appropriate framework conditions. They promote self-determined life and housing for people in old age, help them get assistance and participate in shaping the municipalities’ social planning.

The Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Seniorenbüros e.V. (BaS) is the seniors‘ offices association. At the moment, it is supporting two refugee projects: 17 seniors‘ offices participate in the BaS project “Alt & Jung – Chancenpatenschaften” within the framework of the federal program “Menschen stärken Menschen”. The experience gained from the project launched in 2016 is now used for the support of those who fled Ukraine. Another nine seniors‘ offices are involved in the BaS project „“Generationen-Kulturen-Vielfalt“ within the framework of the program „“Demokratie leben!“ and organize encounters with refugees.

The seniors‘ offices and the voluntary workers of both BaS projects as well as many other senior’s offices throughout Germany

• welcome refugees after their arrival and help them in case of urgent need
• assist with primary care and accompany them to administrations
• organize the most basic goods (e. g. food, clothing, toys, hygiene products)
• open the door of their places for encounters to refugees
• serve as intermediaries for partnerships between older, committed people and refugees from all around the world
• search for housing options and offer accommodation themselves in a small number of cases
• organize benefit concerts and other fundraising activities

Please, find more information here: www.seniorenbueros.org, www.chancenpatenschaften.de and www.generationen-kulturen-vielfalt.de

Statutory nursing insurance is an independent branch of social security. It was introduced in 1995 and has, since then, continuously developed further. There is an extensive insurance obligation for all those with statutory or private health insurance. In statutory health insurance, those insured are compulsorily insured with social nursing insurance, this also applies for voluntary membership in statutory health insurance. Those who are insured privately need to be insured with private nursing insurance. There are different stipulations for private nursing insurance, one example being that nature and level of the benefits need to be equivalent to the benefits of social care insurance.

The primary objective of nursing insurance is to support care-dependent people in accordance with their need for care and their care situation so that they can organize their daily nursing routine in the most self-determined manner possible. What benefits are provided to care-dependent people by the insurance and the point in time at which these are granted depends on the degree of restrictions of their independency and their abilities – their identified care degree – the care situation (e. g. home care or care in a nursing home) and also on who pays for the care services (e. g. family or an outpatient nursing service).

In order to receive benefits from nursing insurance, you need to make an application within the framework of which it is also examined if the care-dependency will be long-term, with an expected duration of at least six months. If this is not the case, you will not be granted any nursing insurance benefits, however, in financial need, benefits based on the right for social assistance, “help for care“, in particular, may come into question. In order to be able to claim nursing insurance benefits, those insured also need to have been insured as members of nursing insurance or covered as family members for at least two of the last ten years. In the case of insured children, this length of qualifying insurance is deemed to be met when it is met by one parent. Should the length of qualifying insurance not be met while statutory requirements are fulfilled, social assistance benefits, “help for care“, in particular, may come into question here as well.

In nursing insurance, those care-dependent shall decide by themselves how they are provided with care and by whom. This is why nursing insurance also supports those affected that decided that they wanted to be nursed by their family, friends or by other volunteers instead of an outpatient nursing service. If care is ensured by these individuals themselves, nursing insurance pays so-called care allowance (Pflegegeld). If close relatives wish to provide care in the home environment, they can request to be released from work in full or in part to provide care under the provisions of the German Caregiver Leave Act (Pflegezeitgesetz) and the German Family Caregiver Leave Act (Familienpflegezeitgesetz) for a certain period of time (up to max. 24 months).

Those care-dependent may also benefit from an outpatient nursing service or an outpatient care service. This service supports care-dependent people and their families with home care so that the family member nursing the care-dependent person can organize profession, nursing and care more easily and efficiently.

Moreover, there are many nursing insurance benefits that are used when they are specifically required. Whenever you need support with questions concerning care, feel free to benefit from the consultation of nursing insurances and private nursing care insurance companies. Upon request, consultation can take place at home. It is free of charge for the individual claiming the consultation.

Please, find more information on the website of the Federal Ministry of Health as well as here: www.wege-zur-pflege.de/start

Should older or care-dependent people decide that they do not want to be nursed or cared for at home, but in a care facility or a different type of living arrangement, consumer protection regulations stipulated in the Wohn- und Betreuungsvertragsgesetzes (law concerning living and care contracts, WBVG) may be taken into account when making a contract with the company. Please, find more information on the WBVG on the homepage of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth here: www.bmfsfj.de