How am I insured during a voluntary social year (FSJ) in Germany?
In short
During a voluntary social year (FSJ) in Germany you are insured for health, long-term care, pension, unemployment and accidents. Under § 20 SGB IV the provider or placement pays all contributions, you pay nothing. If you receive pocket money, family health insurance is suspended. Under the model terms you stay covered by your parents' personal liability insurance.
Published amounts and premiums, as of October 2026.
Example
Typical range
Pocket money in the FSJ, legal cap 2026
at most about EUR 676 a month
Example of a church provider from 2026/2027: pocket money, meals, mobility
EUR 190 plus 345 plus 50, together EUR 585 a month
Social insurance in the same example, paid by the placement
about 39.5 percent, roughly EUR 231 a month
Private accident insurance, adults in office work, EUR 100,000 base sum
about EUR 60 to 180 a year
Own personal liability insurance for singles if the parents' policy does not apply
about EUR 40 to 120 a year
The cap follows from § 2 of the Youth Volunteer Services Act and the 2026 contribution ceiling.
The provider example comes from a published guide, other providers pay different amounts.
Accident and liability premiums are published price ranges; we obtain the exact quote.
Worked example
Volunteer, 19, FSJ with the church provider from the example
This is the month when the placement does not pay for accommodation.
Pocket money
EUR 190
Money for meals
EUR 345
Mobility allowance
EUR 50
Social insurance, paid by the placement
about EUR 231
Your own social insurance contribution
EUR 0
You receive EUR 585 a month and are fully insured without paying contributions yourself. Only accident cover in your free time is missing.
Social insurance: what the law says
The Youth Volunteer Services Act (Jugendfreiwilligendienstegesetz) defines who counts as a volunteer and what you may receive: pocket money, accommodation, meals, work clothing or money instead, and a mobility allowance. Pocket money may not exceed 8 percent of the monthly pension contribution ceiling, which is about EUR 676 in 2026.
Who pays the contributions? § 20 (3) sentence 1 no. 2 SGB IV says that for people in a voluntary social or ecological year the employer pays the entire social insurance contribution alone. In practice the placement or provider pays health, long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance in full.
Insurance
During the FSJ
Who pays
Health insurance
your own compulsory insurance if you receive pocket money
provider or placement
Long-term care insurance
compulsory
provider or placement
Pension insurance
compulsory
provider or placement
Unemployment insurance
compulsory
provider or placement
Statutory accident insurance
on duty and on the way there
provider or placement
Personal liability
through your parents under the model terms
parents, no extra premium
Health insurance: what happens to family insurance
If you receive pocket money, you cannot stay in your parents' family health insurance and are insured in your own right. Family insurance is suspended during this time and can resume after the FSJ if the conditions are still met. If the provider pays no pocket money, you stay in family insurance.
If the FSJ interrupts or delays your school or vocational training, family insurance is extended beyond your 25th birthday by the length of the service. This is set out in § 10 SGB V and matters if you go on to study.
Accident insurance: on duty yes, in your free time no
On duty and on the direct way to the placement and back you are covered by statutory accident insurance. Here too the placement or provider pays.
Statutory accident insurance does not pay for accidents in your free time. Cycling, climbing or football at the weekend is only protected privately. Private accident insurance costs adults with little physical work about EUR 60 to 180 a year.
Liability: on duty and in private
If you damage something at work, § 13 of the Youth Volunteer Services Act means you are only liable like an employee.
In private you stay in your parents' liability insurance. The model terms say so explicitly: if you do a voluntary social year before, during or straight after your training, cover continues. Check your parents' policy anyway, because some plans differ. Without it, your own personal liability insurance costs about EUR 40 to 120 a year.
Child benefit and money during the FSJ
Your parents keep receiving child benefit (Kindergeld) and the child allowance during the FSJ as long as you are under 25. The family benefits office asks for proof of the service.
The provider sets the pocket money, and most volunteers get clearly less than the cap. One church provider pays from the 2026/2027 course year, for example, EUR 190 pocket money, EUR 345 for meals and EUR 50 mobility allowance a month. The pocket money is tax free.
Step by step
Tell your health insurer before you start that you are beginning an FSJ with pocket money.
Give the placement your health insurer and pension insurance number.
Check with your parents that their liability insurance explicitly includes the FSJ.
Send proof of the service to the family benefits office so child benefit continues.
Decide whether you need private accident insurance for your free time.
After the FSJ, ask your health insurer whether family insurance resumes.
Checklist
Health insurer informed about the start of the FSJ
Parents' liability insurance includes the FSJ
Proof sent to the family benefits office
Free-time accidents covered privately if wanted
Documents on the length of the service kept
Common mistakes
Assuming family insurance simply continues with pocket money
Taking out your own liability policy for the service although the parents' policy applies
Believing statutory accident insurance also pays at the weekend
Not keeping the FSJ certificate for the extended family insurance later
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Do I pay social insurance contributions during the FSJ?
No.
Under § 20 SGB IV the employer pays the entire contribution alone,
in the FSJ that is the provider or placement.
How am I insured for health during the FSJ?
With pocket money you are compulsorily insured in your own right and family insurance is suspended.
Only without pocket money do you stay in family insurance.
Am I covered by my parents' liability insurance during the FSJ?
Under the model terms yes, if the FSJ falls before, during or after your training.
Check your parents' policy.
Do my parents keep getting child benefit?
Yes, as long as you are under 25.
The family benefits office asks for proof of the service.
How much pocket money is there in the FSJ?
The provider decides.
The legal cap for 2026 is about EUR 676 a month, many pay much less.
What applies to the Federal Volunteer Service?
The same for social insurance: the employer pays the entire contribution alone,
