ARTICLE 20: Pension Insurance
(1) The German Democratic Republic shall introduce all necessary measures to adapt its pension law to the pension insurance law of the Federal Republic of Germany, which is based on the principle of wage and contribution-related benefits. Over a transitional period of five years account shall be taken of the principle of bona fide rights protection in respect of persons approaching pensionable age.
(2) The pension insurance fund shall use its resources exclusively to meet its obligations with regard to rehabilitation, invalidity, old age, and death. The existing supplementary and special pensions schemes shall be discontinued as of 1 July 1990. Accrued claims and entitlements shall be transferred to the pension insurance fund, and benefits on the basis of special arrangements shall be reviewed with a view to abolishing unjustified benefits and reducing excessive benefits. The additional expenditure incurred by the pension insurance fund because of such transfers shall be reimbursed from the budget.
(3) Upon conversion to Deutsche Mark current pensions from the pension insurance fund shall be fixed at a net replacement rate which, for a pensioner who has completed 45 insurance/working years and whose earnings were at all times in line with average earnings, shall be 70 per cent of average net earnings in the German Democratic Republic. For a greater or smaller number of insurance/working years, the percentage shall be correspondingly higher or lower. The basis for calculating the upgrading rate for individual pensions shall be the pension of an average wage-earner in the German Democratic Republic, graduated according to year of entry, who has paid full contributions to the voluntary supplementary insurance scheme of the German Democratic Republic, over and above his compulsory social insurance contributions. If there is no upgrading on this basis a pension shall be paid in Deutsche Mark which corresponds to the amount of the former pension in Marks of the German Democratic Republic. Survivors' pensions shall be calculated on the basis of the pension which the deceased would have received after conversion.
(4) Pensions from the pension insurance fund shall be adjusted in line with the development of net wages and salaries in the German Democratic Republic. [ . . . ]
ARTICLE 21: Health Insurance
(1) The German Democratic Republic shall introduce all necessary measures to adapt its health insurance law to that of the Federal Republic of Germany. [ . . . ]
ARTICLE 22: Public Health
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2) While provisionally continuing the present system, which is necessary to maintain public medical services, the German Democratic Republic shall gradually move towards the range of services offered in the Federal Republic of Germany with private providers, particularly by admitting registered doctors, dentists and pharmacists as well as independent providers of medicaments and remedial aids, and by admitting private providers of independent, non-profitmaking hospitals. [ . . . ]
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