A student who wants to use a job not just as a pure source of money but also to gain first experience in their own field is best off looking for a job as a working student (Werkstudent). Here the term is regulated by law, so privileges and obligations go hand in hand if you want to stay covered by family health insurance as a working student. Especially with insurance, higher costs than necessary can otherwise arise, or in the worst case you can even drop out of family insurance. To prevent that, and so that you stay covered by family insurance as a working student, in this article we explain which restrictions you generally have to stick to.

Framework conditions for coverage under family members' insurance

Until the age of 25, a student actually hardly needs to worry about health insurance: § 10 of the 5th Social Code defines family insurance as a type of insurance that allows family members free co-insurance in a statutory health insurance plan. Anyone who wants to make use of it must be in vocational or school training, or currently completing a university degree.

As with all other jobs, the working student is also bound by certain earnings limits in order to stay covered by family insurance as a working student. In 2020 this is a regular monthly income of 455 €. This applies above all during the lecture period. In fact, in the lecture-free period a full two months can be used to earn more. This then no longer counts as regular earnings. Working hours are also limited to 20 hours a week, and in the semester breaks it's 40.

If a working student wants to be insured this way, the higher-earning parent must have statutory insurance. Exceptions apply, however, if the higher earner is not directly related to you or the parents have divorced. Private coverage via family insurance can only be arranged if the working student has their primary residence in Germany. In addition, no one may be self-employed or entirely exempt from the insurance obligation if the working student is covered by family insurance. Membership in another insurance plan prevents family insurance in this case.

What else to keep in mind, and more tips

It's important to know here that maintenance payments from parents count just as little toward earnings as scholarships or BAföG (the German government student aid). In addition, money can be saved if a so-called lump sum for income-related expenses is claimed. This happens in the respective income calculation for family insurance. With the help of this financial lever, by definition, all expenses are to be covered that were deducted from gross pay in order to secure the employment. The sum is quite high: in this way up to 83.33 € a month can be credited, which extrapolates to about 1,000 € a year. To avoid falling into mandatory student insurance as a working student, the above-mentioned income ceiling as well as the working time rules should always be observed. It's worth pulling out a notepad and calculating everything exactly. Furthermore, whenever the working student is covered by family insurance, he or she is obliged to independently provide information about changes in working life. That includes starting but also ending any job subject to pension insurance.