Back-payments on a P-account: which part stays protected
Enter the back-payment, the number of months and other credits: the tool shows which part stays free under section 904 ZPO and which part may go to the creditor.
Protected part of the back-payment
€570
Above 500 euros it is checked month by month (section 904(3) ZPO); the enforcement court sets the amount.
| Share per month | €300 |
| Possibly attachable | €330 |
Applies to recurring social benefits and earned income. SGB II and XII benefits, asylum seeker benefits and child benefit are protected with no cap when paid late (section 904(1) ZPO).
Prepared by Radif Partners · How we calculate · 2026 table (Federal Law Gazette 2026 I No. 80) and ZPO checked on 28 October 2026
When a recurring payment reaches your German P-account late, such as a pension covering several months at once, it can burst the monthly allowance. Section 904 ZPO prevents that in three tiers. With no cap, back-payments of Grundsicherungsgeld (basic income support, früher Bürgergeld) and social assistance, of asylum seeker benefits, of child benefit and of other payments listed in section 902 sentence 1 no. 1(b), (c) and nos. 4 to 6 ZPO are protected. Other recurring social benefits, such as a pension or sickness benefit, and earned income are protected if the back-payment does not exceed €500; €420 therefore stays fully free. Above that limit, each month is checked to see whether its share would have produced an attachable balance back then. Example: €1,500 for three months in which €1,400 had already come in each month, with a €1,590 allowance: €570 is protected and €930 may be attachable. In such cases the enforcement court sets the amount on your application. Until you prove the back-payment, the bank may pay it to the creditor.
The problem: too much money in one month
The allowance on a P-account is a monthly amount. It works while income arrives regularly. But when an authority grants a benefit retrospectively or an employer pays outstanding wages late, several months of money land in a single one. Without a special rule much of it would be attachable, even though it would have been fully protected in the months it was meant for. Section 904 ZPO corrects that.
Three tiers of protection
Protected with no cap under subsection 1 are late payments in the groups of section 902 sentence 1 no. 1(b) and (c) and nos. 4 to 6: Social Code II or XII money or asylum seeker benefits for you or for people in your household you owe no maintenance to, child benefit and other payments for children, and payments a federal or state law declares non-attachable. The size of the back-payment does not matter here.
Protected up to €500 under subsection 2 are other recurring cash benefits under the Social Code and earned income within section 850(2) and (3) ZPO. That includes pensions, sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, wages and occupational pensions. If the back-payment stays within that limit, all of it is free.
Above €500 subsection 3 applies: the part stays protected that would not have produced an attachable balance in the month it relates to. You look back at each month concerned and ask how much room was left under the allowance at the time. If a lump sum covers a longer period, it is spread evenly over the months. The calculator above works the same way and assumes the same other credits every month.
| Back-payment | Months | Other credits per month | Protected | Possibly attachable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €300 | 1 | €1,500 | €300.00 | €0.00 |
| €500 | 2 | €1,500 | €500.00 | €0.00 |
| €900 | 3 | €1,400 | €570.00 | €330.00 |
| €1,500 | 3 | €1,400 | €570.00 | €930.00 |
| €2,400 | 6 | €1,200 | €2,340.00 | €60.00 |
| €3,000 | 2 | €1,590 | €0.00 | €3,000.00 |
The table shows how much the outcome depends on your other income. If you already received nearly the whole allowance in those months, you keep little of a large back-payment; if you had hardly any income then, you keep almost all of it. A higher allowance through dependants or child benefit widens the room. The figures illustrate the simplified method and do not replace the court’s decision.
Proof and the court
The bank cannot spot a back-payment by itself. Section 904(4) ZPO therefore borrows the certificate rules: until you prove it, the bank may pay the creditor; the paying body must certify on request; and the bank applies the certificate from the second business day after you present it. Details are on the P-account certificate page. For back-payments above €500, subsection 5 makes the enforcement court responsible. It sets the protected amount on your application by a formal decision, and that decision counts as a certificate.
Whatever part of a back-payment stays protected and is not spent in the current month can be carried into the following months like any other protected balance. Follow the effect in the small calculator.
Carried over after month 2
Carried over after month 2
€680
| Month 1: protected available | €1,590 |
| Month 2: protected available | €1,980 |
| Month 3: protected available | €2,270 |
| Month 4: protected available | €2,270 |
Pensions have their own page: pension garnishment. Which social benefits are fully protected even while paid on time is covered under social benefits and garnishment.