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West German Federal Indemnification Law (BEG)
German Social Security/Ghetto Pension "ZRBG"
German Government Ghetto Work Fund
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Past Ghetto Pension/Ghetto Work Fund articles
Ghetto Pension Handbook (2003 English, Hebrew, German, Spanish)
Ghetto Pension Handbook Supplement: Appeals (2004 English)
[PDF document]
Payments from Germany
German Social Security -Frequently Asked Questions
See also: Where to Apply | Payments for Child Rearing Periods (Kindererziehungszeiten)
What is German social security for work in a Ghetto?
The so-called Ghetto Pension Law (ZRBG), enacted in 2002 and based on court decisions from 1997 (regarding work in the Lodz Ghetto of Poland), grants pensions for voluntary and remunerated work in ghettos located in territories occupied or annexed by the Nazis.
What are the main eligibility criteria for these social security payments?
The insured work is defined as voluntary and remunerated, performed while
interned in a Nazi-occupied or -annexed ghetto.
How did the current liberalization come about?
In continuing discussions with the German government, the Claims Conference has strongly maintained that the eligibility criteria for the Ghetto Pension have been interpreted inconsistently and too stringently by local German Social Security authorities and courts. Out of 70,000 holocaust survivors who applied, more than 60,000 have been rejected. On June 2nd and June 3rd, 2009 the 13th and the 5th Senat of the German Federal Social Court ruled on the most important issues of interpretation of the ghetto pension law, potentially affecting tens of thousands of social security claims that had been denied on the basis of differing interpretations.
What did the Court rule upon?
A majority of denials of ZRBG pension claims were based on the criteria of “remuneration,” free will or “voluntary work,” and age limits applied by the pension institutions in deciding claims. The Court has now decided that the interpretation of “remuneration” should be broader than heretofore considered. It also expanded the description of “voluntary labor” and it confirmed the absence of age limits.
Remuneration
The Court ruled that the interpretation of “remuneration” should encompass other forms of
payment than currency, and that everything obtained from a work situation must be recognized as a form of “remuneration.” This could include food or any other benefits that workers received for their labor.
The court also found that such remuneration could have been paid to a third person rather than
directly to the worker, i.e. the ghetto Judenrat.
These are changes to former restrictively decided denials.
Voluntary Labor/Free Will
The court has also expanded the definition of “voluntary” labor, ruling that it could mean, for example, that a ghetto worker had the possibility to accept or decline work, or had had some input regarding his or her working conditions and circumstances.
Age Limits
The Court ruling confirmed that the ZRBG law did not carry any age limit. The only criterion relevant to a claim is the work of the applicant, irrelevant of age.
How can applicants re-open denied claims?
Applicants whose Ghetto Pension claims were denied do not need to request the re-opening of their claims in accordance with the court rulings of June 2009, nor do they have to contact the ZRBG offices in Germany to have their files reviewed.
However, applicants may contact the German Pension Board about the status of their claims and to inform the ZRBG office about changes of address, bank account etc.
Contact information for applicants depends on their current country of residence. Information on regional pension institutions is at www.claimscon.org/zrbgmain.
Where do applicants write if they wish to confirm the re-opening of their claim?
Applicants should contact the Social Security authority. In the case of previously rejected claims, contact the office which issued the claim denial.The correspondence should include claimant full name and current permanent mailing address and the claim number issued.
A contact list of German Social Security authorities is posted on the Claims Conference’s website at German Social Security - Where to Apply
Are there retroactive payments?
The Claims Conference has been pressing this issue since the court rulings in 2009 allowed re-evaluation of rejected applications. In March 2010,the National Pension Board announced that if applicants are found to be entitled to a pension in accordance with the court rulings, generally the payments will be backdated to January 1, 2005.
Are widows/widowers eligible to re-open the claim of their deceased spouse?
All widows/widowers of rejected applicants who have since passed away can apply for re-examination.
Are children of survivors eligible to re-open a deceased parent’s claim?
This is not clarified yet. Children should also write to the authorities who rejected the claims of their parents for re-examination, however it is not clear at this time if they are entitled to their parents’ claim.
Is there a deadline to request a claim re-examination?
There is no deadline specified at this time to request a claim review based on the new rulings of the Federal Social Court.
Can new applicants still apply?
There is no deadline to apply for German social security pensions or benefits.
LATEST UPDATE ON ZRBG GHETTO PENSION PROCESSING
According to the May 15, 2010 statistics from the German National Pension Board, the total number of cases that have been reviewed stands at 56,432 Ghetto Pension applications. Of these, 32,773 applications have been processed (up from the 30,366 indicated at April 15). 10,958 cases have been concluded - 6,651 approvals and 4,307 closed or withdrawn for a number of technical reasons. There are 2,491 provisional deferrals, awaiting the fulfillment of certain requirements, such as payment of voluntary contributions to meet the qualifying period or answers to questions from the processors. We are told that the reasons for a provisional deferral include that the victim was not in a ghetto, the ghetto was not in an incorporated or occupied area, the applicant did not regularly return to the ghetto, or the qualifying period (60 months of contribution and/or substitution periods) had not been met. No claim has been rejected to date.
Please note that the Ghetto Pension offices [“ZRBG”] are informing applicants that their application for a one-time payment of EUR 2000 under the so-called Ghetto Fund is being suspended until a decision is reached on their Ghetto Pension.
Ghetto pension and Ghetto Fund
Germany’s Ghetto Work Fund
In 2007, responding to five years of international and grassroots pressure spearheaded by the Claims Conference about the high rate of ghetto pension denials, the German government announced an Executive Directive establishing a humanitarian fund to acknowledge, through a one-time payment of 2,000 €, those Jewish victims of Nazi persecution who, though denied the social security payments, had worked voluntarily in a ghetto.
Are the Ghetto Pension and the Ghetto Fund connected?
Applicants who successfully receive on-going ZRBG pension payments are not eligible to receive the one-time 2,000 € humanitarian grant. However, those who receive the 2,000 € payment can apply to German social security for the Ghetto pension, and if approved, the 2.000 € will be deducted from the payments. They can also ask for a re-examination of a ZRBG claim that was denied.
Formally and administratively, the two programs are managed under different branches of the German government. The Federal Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs oversees Germany’s social security administration network and the ghetto pension.The Ghetto Fund, on the other hand, is administered by the Federal Ministry of Finance, through the Office for Central Services and Unresolved Property Issues (BADV).
Further Information
The Claims Conference will continue to make available information on the ghetto pension developments to Holocaust survivors through help centers, social service agencies and on our website at www.claimscon.org/ghettopension .
The "ZRBG 2009" Flyer prepared for distribution by Germany’s Deustche Rentenversicherung- National Pension Board - is available online and by clicking the following links for detailed information in: in German, English, Russian, Czech, Slovakian, Hungarian, French and Hebrew.
Assistance and Help Centers
The laws governing German Social Security are complex and claimants or appellants are urged to seek specialized legal assistance to file new claims or to re-open older ones. Specialized free legal assistance is available to survivors in several countries, as are the services of knowledgeable social welfare agencies. For contact addresses and to search by country or location, consult the Claims Conference’s website at http://www.claimscon.org/index.asp?url=ghettofund/notice-1207 or http://forms.claimscon.org/helpcenters/helpcenters.php
ZRBG "Ghetto Pension" Payments Protection in USA
All Holocaust compensation and restitution payments in the United States are protected by 1994 federal legislation that excludes them from calculations relating to eligibility for federal benefits. The legislation (h.r. 1873 or public law 103-286) stated that payments made to individuals because of their status as victims of Nazi persecution are to be excluded from income and resources in determining both eligibility for and the amount of benefits or services to be provided under any Federal or federally assisted program which provides benefits or services based on need such as, but not limited to, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, food stamps and Federally subsidized Housing programs. Additionally, Holocaust compensation payments are not taxable. See the Claims Conference website at Payment Benefits and Tax Exemptions.
Note that payments under German Social Security’s special ZRBG law ("Ghetto Pension") or one-time payments awarded to Holocaust survivors through the German government ("Ghetto Fund" ) fall under the exempt categories. For detailed analysis of this issue, see the webpage and Fact Sheet authored by the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program of Selfhelp Community Services, Inc. of New York. Go to http://wnylc.com/health/entry/65.
The Claims Conference is not involved in the administration, implementation or processing of applications for the Ghetto Pension or the Ghetto Fund.The information presented herein is intended for information purposes only and solely as a general guide. The information is not intended as legal advice. It is a summary of specific issues and does not represent a definitive or complete statement of the programs and policies of the agencies or governments mentioned. The information may not address the special needs, interests and circumstances of individual recipients. Individual situations differ and recipients are urged to seek individual advice. Individuals seeking specific information on a program are urged to contact the relevant program or to consult their social service agency or help center representative. To the best of our knowledge the information is correct as of the date of this document and this information may change subsequent to the said date. March 22, 2010