Do apprenticeship and internship periods count toward retirement? Many university students complete internships before fully entering the workforce. During these internships, employers are required to register interns with social security, but this coverage is not the same as standard employment insurance. Known as internship insurance, it protects interns against work accidents and occupational illnesses and covers medical treatment and temporary disability benefits related to internship activities. Since internship insurance does not include payments for retirement-related contributions, internship periods are not counted toward retirement.
People calculating retirement should not base their insurance start date on internship insurance periods; doing so will produce an incorrect result because internship time is not related to retirement.
How Long Is the Internship Period?
During undergraduate programs, the total required internship duration is 60 working days. Of these, 30 days are considered general internship and the remaining 30 days are professional internship. If approved by the Internship Committee, students may complete both the professional and general internships at the same company, but they must be carried out in different units. In other words, if both internships are completed at the same employer, the professional internship should be in a different department than the general internship.
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What Is the Internship/Apprenticeship SGK Number and Entry Date?
Students in Vocational Training Centers, vocational high schools, vocational colleges or technical universities receive an SGK registration number for mandatory internship periods. The SGK entry date is recorded with this number and the same number is used throughout the individual’s working life. Although there is an insurance start date and a number, retirement contribution days do not appear for internship and apprenticeship periods.
Why Don’t Contributions Appear for Internship/Apprenticeship Periods?
Schools and Apprenticeship Training Centers pay only the short-term insurance branches for internship work. These payments cover expenses if the intern suffers a workplace accident or illness and provide temporary disability income during medical leave. However, internship/apprenticeship insurance does not include payments for disability, old-age and survivors’ insurance (the contributions counted toward retirement). For this reason, contribution days and amounts are not shown on SGK service statements for these periods.
Do Internship Periods Count Toward Retirement?
Insurance recorded during internship or apprenticeship periods is not included in the calculation of retirement days. The reason is that schools and apprenticeship centers pay only short-term insurance contributions for internships and do not pay the disability, old-age and survivors’ insurance contributions that count toward retirement.
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Is the First Internship Entry Date Considered the Start Date for Retirement?
Insurance registration dates during internship and apprenticeship are not considered the first insurance start date and are not accepted when calculating total insured service for retirement. Therefore, these entry dates are not taken into account when determining the start of insured service for retirement purposes.
Can Internship Periods Be Purchased as Back Payments?
Under current regulations, only certain education-related periods can be purchased as credited service: doctoral study or medical specialty training completed without being insured, normal internship periods for those doing legal traineeships, and periods spent by doctors as honorary assistants. Internship and apprenticeship periods for other professions cannot be credited or purchased under existing laws.
Is an Internship Entry Date Accepted for Maternity Buyback?
For women to perform a maternity buyback, the children must be born after the mother’s first insurance registration date. For buyback purposes, it is sufficient if the insurance entry before birth is in the short-term insurance branches. Therefore, maternity buyback is possible for children born after a recorded internship insurance entry.
Are Retirement Contributions Paid under Apprenticeship Insurance?
Those working under apprenticeship insurance should be aware that apprenticeship periods are not counted toward retirement. Like internship insurance, apprenticeship insurance does not include retirement contribution payments. Consequently, apprenticeship time is neither included in retirement service nor considered the start of retirement insurance. For apprenticeship insurance to count toward retirement, a legislative change would be required. The issue was raised in 2019 but the proposal submitted to the legislature was rejected. Thus, including internship and apprenticeship periods in retirement calculations requires a change in the law. If the relevant laws are amended, internship and apprenticeship periods could then be counted toward retirement.
Retirement Age Table for Men / Women