Caring for relatives: 740 euro pension contribution to be maintained
Those who care for a relative at home receive pension contributions from the long-term care insurance fund under certain conditions – currently up to 740 euros per month. A draft law from the Ministry of Health had proposed paying only 70 percent of this amount in the future. The new Federal Minister of Health, Carsten Linnemann, declared over the weekend that he wants to prevent this cut. He does not want to save money on the pensions of family caregivers, he told Bild am Sonntag; the pension points are to be fully maintained.
Those affected are people who care for a person in need of care with a care level of 2 or higher for at least ten hours a week on at least two days, and who are not employed for more than 30 hours a week. For many families, this is the only pension entitlement that arises at all during this time. A reduction to 70 percent would not be immediately noticeable in the wallet, but only years later in one's own pension – and it would primarily affect women who combine caregiving and employment.
Nothing has been decided yet. The draft is currently undergoing internal government coordination; the background is an expected billion-euro deficit in the long-term care insurance fund, which is to be closed without general contribution increases. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz had already criticized the point in July, as had CSU politicians. The new Union parliamentary group leader, Thorsten Frei, however, sees no room for changes to the reform package. Until a law is passed, the current rules remain unchanged.
Anyone who is currently caring for someone or will be doing so soon should fill out the questionnaire for determining compulsory pension insurance at the long-term care insurance fund of the person in need of care. Without this notification, the long-term care insurance fund will not pay any pension contributions, even if all requirements are met. Those who are already providing care can check their annual pension information to see if the care periods are actually being credited. Missing periods can be added retrospectively by submitting an application for account clarification to the German Pension Insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung).