Nursing Care Insurance

Optimal cover with SBK in the event of long-term care

All individuals who are either mandatorily or voluntarily insured under the statutory health insurance system are automatically covered by long-term care insurance. This ensures you are financially protected if you ever require outpatient or inpatient care.

Contributions to nursing care insurance

Your contribution amount is calculated based on your gross income. This also applies to the calculation of health insurance contributions. The contribution assessment ceiling is €5,812.50 per month. If your income is below this ceiling, you only pay contributions on your calculated gross income. If your gross income exceeds this ceiling, you do not pay long-term care insurance contributions on the portion above this limit.

For voluntarily insured persons (e.g., self-employed or non-working individuals), there is a minimum income threshold used to calculate contributions, even if actual income is lower. More information on contributions for voluntarily insured persons can be found here, and for self-employed persons here.

Structure of the nursing care contribution rate

The contribution rate for long-term care insurance consists of:

a basic contribution rate of 3.6%, and

any surcharge or reduction, depending on your personal situation.

For employees and pensioners, the basic contribution rate is shared equally between the employer (or pension insurance provider) and the insured person.

Surcharge for Insured Persons Without Children: The contribution increases for insured persons without children. From the month following their 23rd birthday, childless insured persons pay a surcharge of 0.6% on top of the basic contribution rate. This surcharge is permanently removed once you have at least one child.

Reductions for Parents with Multiple Children: For parents with several children under the age of 25, the contribution rate is reduced. For each second to fifth child under 25, a reduction of 0.25 percentage points is applied. This also applies if the children are foster, step, or adopted children, not only biological ones.

For employees, the employer always pays half of the basic contribution rate (1.8%), regardless of any surcharges or reductions.
In Saxony, the employer’s share is 1.3%.

Contribution Rates Overview

Number of Children	Reduction / Surcharge	Total Contribution Rate	Employee’s Share	Employer’s Share*
Insured persons without children	Surcharge of +0.6% on the basic rate of 3.6%	4.2 %	2.4 % (= 1.8 % + 0.6 %)	1.8 %
Insured persons with one or more children over 25	No surcharge or reduction	3.6 %	1.8 %	1.8 %
1 child under 25	No surcharge or reduction	3.6 %	1.8 %	1.8 %
2 children under 25	Reduction of -0.25 %	3.35 %	1,55 % (= 1.8 % - 0.25 %)	1.8 %
3 children under 25	Reduction of -0.5 %	3.1 %	1.3 % (= 1.8 % - 0.5 %)	1.8 %
4 children under 25	Reduction of -0.75 %	2.85 %	1.05 % (= 1.8 % - 0.75 %)	1.8 %
5 or more children under 25	Reduction of -1.0 %	2.6 %	0.8 % (= 1.8 % - 1 %)	1.8 %

* In Saxony, the employer’s share is 1.3%

Example:

With a gross monthly income of €2,500 and an employer’s share of 1.8% (1.3% in Saxony), the long-term care insurance contribution is calculated as follows:

For insured persons with children or under 23 years of age:
€2,500 × 3.6% = €90 total care insurance contribution per month
€2,500 × 1.8% = €45 employer’s share of the care insurance contribution
€90 − €45 = €45 employee’s share of the care insurance contribution

For insured persons without children aged 23 and older:
€2,500 × 4.2% = €105 total care insurance contribution per month
€2,500 × 1.8% = €45 employer’s share of the care insurance contribution
€105 − €45 = €60 employee’s share of the care insurance contribution

You must provide proof of your children under the age of 25 to your contribution-paying authority.

For employees, this is your employer’s HR department.

If you pay your contributions directly to SBK, you must provide the proof directly to SBK, this applies, for example, to the self-employed and students. You can easily do this using our online form in Meine SBK or by contacting your personal SBK consultant.

Online application

Do you receive a pension, company pension, or capital benefits?
Each of these contribution-paying authorities must store the proof and can only apply the deductions once this proof has been submitted.

Biological children

Adopted children

Stepchildren

Foster children

Step-parents are the spouses or registered partners of a biological parent. For stepchildren to be taken into account, the marriage or partnership must have been established before the stepchild reached adulthood or while they were still in school, vocational training, or university.

Foster parents must have taken a child into their household as a foster child, meaning the child lives with them in a family-like, long-term relationship similar to that of a biological child.

You should already have reported and provided proof of your parental status to your contribution-paying authority (e.g. your employer) or, if you are a self-payer, to your health insurance fund. This means you have already provided proof for one child and should not be paying a surcharge to the standard contribution rate.
If you have one child, you do not need to take any further action. Proof is only required from the second child onward.

Contribution reductions are only calculated for up to five children under the age of 25. There is no further reduction for additional children. However, if one child turns 25, another child under 25 can take their place. It is therefore advisable to provide proof for all children under 25.

The exemption from the surcharge applies for life. The reduction for multiple children applies only as long as those children are under 25 years of age.

In these cases, the federal government pays the contributions, so no child-related surcharges or reductions apply.

In this case, a flat-rate contribution rule applies, no child-related surcharges or reductions are taken into account.

No. The additional contribution for insured persons without children must be paid entirely by the insured person. The employer’s share is 1.8% (half of the basic contribution rate of 3.6%). In Saxony, the employer’s share is 1.3%.

No. The contribution reductions only benefit the insured person. The employer’s contribution remains unchanged. The employer’s share is 1.8% (half of the basic contribution rate of 3.6%).

Nursing Care Insurance

Contributions to nursing care insurance

Structure of the nursing care contribution rate

Example:

Frequently Asked Questions about the Contribution Rate Calculation

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