German Federal Pension Insurance
Germany
Europe

The Reduced-Earning Risk Index (RI-EMR): A procedure for the early identification of needs and implementation of appropriate rehabilitation strategies

Implementation year
2018

The German Federal Pension Insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung – DRV) provides medical rehabilitation services based on the “rehabilitation before pension” principle. However, studies show that only every second recipient of a reduced earning capacity pension has made use of a rehabilitation benefit in advance.

In order to counter this problem, an index was developed that can predict the risk of reduced earning capacity. Data already stored in the pension insurance system, such as periods of incapacity to work or unemployment, are already being used. The risk index combines all this information into a predictive model. The prediction quality is high: Approximately 75 per cent of future reductions in earning capacity can be predicted with it.

Based on the risk index, it is possible to specifically contact those insured high-risk persons and draw their attention to rehabilitation benefits before the process of reduced earning capacity has progressed too far. This makes an efficient, target group-oriented strategy for preventing reduced earning capacity pensions possible.

Guideline