What does employer supplementary health insurance give you?
In short
What does employer supplementary health insurance give you in Germany? Usually cover without health questions or waiting periods, often a health budget of EUR 300 to 1,500 a year. If your employer pays at most EUR 50 a month as a benefit in kind, it is free of tax and social security for you. The catch: cover ends with the job unless you continue it at your own cost.
Published monthly premiums of one employer budget plan in Germany, paid by the employer per employee.
Example
Typical range
Budget EUR 300 a year
EUR 13.90 a month
Budget EUR 1,500 a year
EUR 49.90 a month
Hospital module
EUR 21.07 a month
Check-up module
EUR 7.44 a month
As of October 2026, example values of one insurer, from 5 employees;
from 2027 premiums may differ by industry.
Other plans cost more or less; we obtain the exact offer for you.
Worked example
Employee with a EUR 300 budget and a fuel voucher
The employer pays EUR 13.90 a month for the company health plan and also gives a fuel voucher.
Company health plan premium
EUR 13.90
Fuel voucher EUR 40, total EUR 53.90
over EUR 50, everything taxable
Fuel voucher EUR 36, total EUR 49.90
under EUR 50, everything tax free
Use in the year: glasses EUR 250, cleaning EUR 90
budget pays up to EUR 300, depending on the rate
A slightly smaller voucher keeps the whole benefit tax free. The budget then covers almost all of the glasses and cleaning.
What you get as an employee
With employer supplementary health insurance, the company signs the contract and pays the premium. You are covered without paying yourself, usually without health questions and without a waiting period.
Budget plans are the most common: you get a fixed amount a year and use it for glasses, professional teeth cleaning, check-ups, alternative practitioners (Heilpraktiker) or medicines. Fixed modules such as hospital or dentures also exist.
Module
What it covers
Employer premium
Budget EUR 300 a year
glasses, check-ups, teeth cleaning, Heilpraktiker
example EUR 13.90 a month
Budget EUR 1,500 a year
the same with more room, dentures within the budget
example EUR 49.90 a month
Hospital
double room and chief physician, depending on plan
example EUR 21.07 a month
Check-ups
screenings beyond what statutory insurance pays
example EUR 7.44 a month
Tax: the EUR 50 limit
If your employer pays the premium as a benefit in kind (Sachbezug), it is free of tax and social security up to EUR 50 a month. This is a cliff, not an allowance: if all benefits in kind together exceed EUR 50 by even one cent, the whole amount becomes taxable.
The plan counts as a benefit in kind if your employer takes out the contract and pays the premium. If instead you get cash on condition that you sign a policy yourself, it is cash pay. That is set out in the Federal Ministry of Finance letter of 15 March 2022.
If the premium is paid through salary conversion, it is not paid on top of your wages (§ 8 (4) EStG), and the EUR 50 advantage is lost.
What happens when you change jobs
Employer supplementary health insurance ends when your employment ends. Many plans let you continue the cover privately, some without new health questions. You then pay the premium yourself, often based on your age at that time.
Check the plan rules (Versorgungsordnung) for whether and how long after leaving you can continue. During parental leave or long illness many plans keep you covered without premiums.
The limits, plainly
A budget of EUR 300 or 600 a year covers glasses and teeth cleaning but not major dental work. An implant with crown costs about EUR 1,400 to 3,500, a small budget does not go far.
Your employer chooses the plan, not you. If it cancels the group contract or switches insurer, your cover changes too.
When your own plan still makes sense
If you want high-end dentures or chief physician treatment and a single room, a private plan next to the employer cover can make sense. First check which modules your employer already pays so you do not insure anything twice.
If you have pre-existing conditions, the employer plan is often the only way in without health questions. Take it, even if the budget looks small.
Step by step
Ask HR for the plan rules (Versorgungsordnung).
Check which modules and which budget are included.
Add up all benefits in kind to see whether EUR 50 is enough.
Register family members if the plan allows it without questions.
Apply for continuation before you change jobs.
Checklist
Plan rules read
Budget and modules known
All benefits in kind at most EUR 50 a month
Continuation after leaving clarified
Own policies checked for overlaps
Common mistakes
Letting the budget lapse because nobody submits receipts
Cancelling your own plan although the employer plan pays less
Missing the deadline to continue after changing jobs
Paying through salary conversion and expecting tax freedom
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Do I pay tax on employer supplementary health insurance?
No, as long as all benefits in kind together stay at or below EUR 50 a month and the employer pays
on top of your salary.
Do I have to answer health questions?
Usually not.
Many group plans accept all employees without health questions or waiting periods,
some ask simplified questions.
Can I keep the cover if I leave?
Often yes, as a private contract at your own cost.
Whether new health questions apply is in the plan documents.
Can I add my family?
With some plans yes, partly without health questions within a deadline.
You usually pay their premium yourself.
Can I refuse the employer plan?
Yes.
You then give up the cover, but you usually do not get more salary instead.
Does it work for privately insured employees?
With many plans yes.
Whether it helps depends on what your private health insurance already pays.
