German care reform: what is planned and what still applies
The draft Care Reorganisation Act is before parliament. What the ministry has announced, what is still open, and why this site keeps calculating with 2026 law.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
What current 2026 law gives you
Allowance per month (current law)
€599
| Relief amount | €131 |
| Annual respite/short-term budget | €3,539 |
| per year in total | €12,803 |
The draft reform changes these only once it becomes law.
On 30 September 2026 the German federal cabinet adopted the draft Care Reorganisation Act (Pflegeneuordnungsgesetz, PNOG); the ministry’s first draft dates from 5 June 2026. According to the Federal Ministry of Health’s press release, a local support budget (Sozialraumbudget) would replace the relief amount for everyday support from care grade 2, a bridging budget would cover emergency services and short-term care, the care allowance and services in kind at grades 2 to 5 would rise, and assessment rules would change so that grades 1 to 3 are awarded more precisely. On the contribution side, the surcharge for childless members would rise to 0.9 % from 1 January 2027 and the contribution ceiling by €300 a month. The release gives no amounts for the allowance or budgets. Crucially, the draft is not law. Until it is published, the 2026 amounts apply, for example €599 of care allowance at grade 3 and the joint respite budget of €3,539.
Where the procedure stands
| Step | Date | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry draft | 5 June 2026 | draft for comment by associations |
| Cabinet decision | 30 September 2026 | start of the parliamentary procedure |
| Bundestag, Bundesrat | open | debate, changes possible |
| Publication in the Federal Law Gazette | open | only then does the new law apply |
This site deliberately keeps calculating with current law. A calculator using figures from a draft would raise false expectations: amounts, dates and whole benefits can change in parliament. Once the law is published, calculators and pages will be switched over, with a date.
What the ministry has announced
These points come from the press release of 30 September 2026. They describe the draft, not current law.
- Local support budget from grade 2 instead of the relief amount for everyday support; up to €300 a month, €3,600 a year, for people up to age 25.
- Bridging budget for emergency services in home care and residential short-term care; acute short-term care places from 2028.
- Higher allowance and services at grades 2 to 5, with no amounts given.
- Assessment: grades 1 to 3 to be awarded more precisely; existing grades protected.
- Care guidance: early and ongoing professional support for families caring at home.
- Indexation of benefits every year from 2029 in line with core inflation.
- Pension contributions for family carers continue in full.
- Contributions: childless surcharge of 0.9 % from 1 January 2027, contribution ceiling up by €300 a month, from 1 January 2028 a 0.52 % surcharge for co-insured spouses and partners.
What applies until publication
| Benefit at grade 3 | Current law 2026 | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Care allowance | €599 | s. 37 SGB XI |
| Services up to | €1,497 | s. 36 SGB XI |
| Relief amount | €131 | s. 45b SGB XI |
| Respite and short-term care per year | €3,539 | s. 42a SGB XI |
| total per year, family care only | €12,803 | calculator |
Carers today should use the 2026 benefits in full rather than wait. The annual respite budget lapses at year end, the relief amount can be claimed until the end of June of the following year, and a care grade application takes effect from the month it is made, whenever the new law arrives.
Why reform is coming
Pressure comes from two sides: the care insurance spends more than it takes in, and families pay ever more towards care homes. According to the vdek, the national first-year co-payment was €3,108 on 1 July 2025 and €3,364 a year later; the care part after the supplement rose from €1,583 to €1,775. The substitute health funds call for a cap on co-payments and for the states to pay investment and training costs. The ministry’s release does not say whether the draft does so.
What contributors should know
For employees without children the draft raises the contribution surcharge by 0.3 percentage points on 1 January 2027; on gross pay of €3,500 a month that is €10.50 more for the surcharge alone. Higher earners are also affected by the higher contribution ceiling, and from 1 January 2028 there would be a surcharge for co-insured spouses and partners. Expats working in Germany who have children abroad should make sure their employer has proof of parenthood, which already matters for the current surcharge. None of this applies before the law is published.
How to follow the reform
The Federal Ministry of Health publishes the procedure’s status on its page for the law, including the cabinet draft. Once parliament has decided and the law is published, this page will list the new amounts with a date and the calculators will switch over. Until then a 2026 care fund decision stays valid, and anyone applying now is assessed under current law.
What is still open
Above all the amounts: how high allowance, services and the bridging budget will be, what the local support budget looks like for adults, and how the new assessment rules shift the thresholds of grades 1 to 3. Also open is whether care home co-payments will be capped, which the vdek explicitly demands. This page will be updated once the published text is available.