What Germany's Pflegereform Means for Care-Insurance Costs
Germany's statutory long-term care insurance, the Pflegeversicherung, is heading into a major rewrite. The federal cabinet has put a reform package known as the Pflegeneuordnungsgesetz onto the legislative track. The plan's stated purpose is to keep the care funds able to meet their financial obligations. Its central effect, as drafted, is to shift more of the bill onto selected groups.
Childless workers and the 0.3-point increase
The most direct change affects contributors without children. Their contribution rate rises from 4.2 percent to 4.5 percent of gross income, an increase of 0.3 percentage points. For someone earning 5,000 euros a month, the care-insurance payment climbs from 210 to 225 euros, an extra 15 euros per month.
This is not a new principle. The Federal Constitutional Court ruled in 2001 that childless people can be charged more because they do not have children who might later provide care. The reform keeps that logic but makes the gap wider. People receiving Bürgergeld do not pay the childless surcharge.
The income ceiling moves up
A second lever is the contribution assessment ceiling. In care insurance, contributions are deducted only up to a set income limit. That limit is currently 5,812.50 euros per month. The reform expects to raise it to about 6,375 euros. Workers earning between the old ceiling and the new one will see more of their income subjected to the care levy. The federal government puts the maximum extra burden at 17 euros per month.
Not everyone in that group is childless, and not every childless worker earns enough to hit the ceiling. The two increases overlap for some and not for others.
Mini-Jobs and working partners enter the levy net
From 2028, the basic care-insurance contribution applies to Mini-Jobs as well. Employers bear the full 3.6 percent levy alone. For marginal employment, that is a significant new cost on the business side.
Also from 2028, the draft introduces a 0.52 percent charge on the income of an employed partner. The provision extends the contribution base to couples in that arrangement, adding another stream of revenue to the care funds.
Benefits get harder to reach
The reform is not only about revenue. It also tightens the entry points into the system. The government plans to raise the threshold values used in the care assessment, which means access to care benefits would become more restrictive. In care grade 1, the lowest care level, the current draft removes the relief amount; there would be no monthly cash benefit for those recipients.
That tightening has drawn criticism. A commentary published by Apotheken Umschau describes the cabinet draft as an austerity package without a vision. The reform, it argues, saves money by restricting access rather than answering the basic question: how should Germany finance long-term care in an aging society? The draft leaves that funding question open.
The plan remains a cabinet draft. Parliamentary negotiations can still change rates, thresholds, and timelines. What is already clear is that the cost of long-term care, in one form or another, is shifting to the people and employers named in the bill.