You pay €9 more care insurance if childless, cabinet plans
The federal cabinet approved a care insurance reform on Wednesday, 30 September. If parliament passes it, employees without children will pay more from 1 January 2027. Their extra surcharge rises by 0.3 percentage points to 0.9 percent, so their total care contribution goes from 4.2 to 4.5 percent of gross pay. The general rate stays at 3.6 percent.
The surcharge applies from the age of 23 and is paid entirely by the employee. On a gross salary of 3,000 euros, that means about 9 euros more per month. At 4,000 euros it is about 12 euros, and at 5,000 euros about 15 euros. Higher earners will also pay more because the income ceiling for contributions rises to 6,375 euros a month, 300 euros of which comes from the reform. From 2028, workers whose spouse or partner is insured free of charge through them would pay an extra 0.52 points, with exceptions for couples with a child under 12, partners caring for a severely dependent relative, and people above pension age.
The reform also cuts benefits. People who are newly assessed at care grade 1 will no longer receive the relief amount of 131 euros a month, while people who already get it keep it. Planned cuts to pension contributions for family carers were dropped. The government expects the package to bring in about 6.25 billion euros more.
This is not law yet. The Bundestag and the Bundesrat still have to approve it. What you can do: if you have children, make sure your employer has proof of this, so you are not charged the childless surcharge. From January, check your payslip to see whether the new rate has been applied correctly.