Employees
All information about your health insurance contributions
Are you employed as a worker and have an annual salary of less than €77,400 in 2026? Then you are compulsorily insured in the statutory health insurance and can be insured with SBK.
If you earn more than €77,400 annually in 2026, i.e., above the so-called annual income threshold, you can voluntarily insure yourself with SBK. This voluntary insurance usually begins on January 1 of the following year - provided your salary at that time also exceeds the applicable annual income threshold. In the case of a new job or an employer change, you can voluntarily insure yourself with SBK from that point onward.
Social security contributions for employees in 2026
As an employee, your gross salary and the SBK contribution rate form the basis for your monthly social security contributions, i.e., for health, long-term care, unemployment, and pension insurance.
Your income is taken into account up to a maximum of the so-called contribution assessment ceiling of the respective insurance. The contribution assessment ceiling is set uniformly by law each year.
Your employer pays half of the contribution on your behalf. An exception to this is the long-term care insurance surcharge for insured persons without children.
Contributions to health insurance
| General statutory contribution rate for employees Additional contribution of SBK Total contribution rate | 14,6 % 3,8 % 18,4 % |
| Contribution assessment ceiling | €5,812.50 € monthly €69,750 € annually |
| lat-rate contribution for marginally employed persons (Gross salary max. €556, the contribution is fully paid by the employer) | 13 % |
Contributions to long-term care insurance
| Base contribution rate | 3.6 %* |
| Employer contribution (all federal states except Saxony) | 1.8 % (1.3 % in Saxony) |
| Contribution Assessment Limit | €5,812.50 monthly €69,750 annually |
Contributions to unemployment insurance
| Contribution rate | 2,60 % |
| Contribution Assessment Limit | €8,450 monthly €101,400 anually |
Contributions to pension insurance
| Contribution rate | 18.60 % |
| Contribution Assessment Limit | €8,050 monthly €96,600 annually |
| Flat-rate contribution for low-paid employees: (For gross salary max. €556, employer pays the full contribution) | 15.00 % |
How to calculate your contributions to health and long-term care insurance
You can easily calculate your health insurance contribution based on your income using our contribution calculators.
Employer change
If you change employers, your health insurance coverage remains unchanged. Your new employer only needs to know that you are insured with us and will register you with SBK. If you have questions about this, simply call your personal SBK consultant.
Multiple employers
If you are employed by multiple employers, your earnings from each job are generally combined. However, your total income will only be considered up to the contribution assessment limit for each insurance. Each employer will calculate your contributions and pay them to us. Therefore, it’s important to inform each of your employers about all your jobs.
You are considered a low-paid employee if you have a mini-job with an income of up to €556 or if you are employed temporarily. However, this does not apply to apprentices or interns.
Minijobs: Minijobs are usually exempt from contributions to health, long-term care, and unemployment insurance. However, you must pay contributions to pension insurance. You can be exempted from pension insurance contributions by applying to your employer.
Temporary employment: If you are temporarily employed for no more than three months or 70 working days in one calendar year, you are generally exempt from contributions. The key requirement for this exemption is that the employment is contractually limited from the outset. In this case, the amount of your earnings doesn’t matter.
If you have multiple temporary jobs within a year, they will be added together. If the total exceeds three months of work, the same contribution rules apply as for regular employees.
During the entire parental leave, you remain insured as a member with us. If you are compulsorily insured with us, you do not pay health insurance contributions during parental leave. This also applies if you are voluntarily insured and your spouse is covered by statutory health insurance.
If you are voluntarily insured and not eligible for family insurance, for example if you are not married or your spouse is privately insured, you pay contributions for parental leave. In most cases, this is the minimum contribution of around €280 per month.
Further information on voluntary insurance can be found
If you need to organize short-term care for a close relative in need of care, you are entitled to ten days off. Alternatively, you can take a six-month leave to personally care for a close relative. Regardless of your choice, we ensure that you remain well insured during these periods.
As a working relative, from the day you are released from your employment, you can be co-insured with your spouse or life partner in health and long-term care insurance—without paying health insurance contributions yourself. For this, your spouse or life partner must be a member of a statutory health insurance fund.
If this is not the case, you will be voluntarily insured in your current statutory health and long-term care insurance. In most cases, you then pay the minimum contributions of around €280 for (long-term care) insured persons without children.
Further information on voluntary insurance can be found here.
Upon application, we pay subsidies equivalent to the minimum contribution for long-term care and health insurance. We also cover the contributions to unemployment insurance. Contributions to pension insurance are covered by us if the caregiver provides care for the relative for at least 14 hours per week, provided that this is not done on a professional basis.
re you planning up to one month of unpaid leave? Then you remain insured in health and long-term care insurance as an employee.
As a compulsorily insured employee, you do not pay health and long-term care insurance contributions during the first month of your unpaid leave. If you are voluntarily insured as an employee because your annual salary exceeds €77,400, your contribution remains unchanged during the first month of unpaid leave. This applies regardless of whether your employer pays a contribution subsidy during this period.
If the unpaid leave lasts longer than one month, you can be co-insured without contributions through your spouse. Alternatively, you can voluntarily insure yourself with us. Your contribution for voluntary insurance depends on your income and is approximately €280 per month.
More information on voluntary insurance can be found
During partial retirement, you work half your usual hours and receive half your regular income. You and your employer will continue to pay the usual social security contributions during this time. If your employer provides a top-up, no contributions will be due on this amount. However, if your income from the top-up exceeds your previous net salary, contributions will apply.
If you transition into retirement immediately after partial retirement, your contributions will be lower since you are no longer entitled to sick pay, and the reduced contribution rate of 17.8% will apply.
