How much does German care insurance pay for respite care (Verhinderungspflege)?
In short
From care grade 2, German long-term care insurance pays up to EUR 3,539 per calendar year for respite care (Verhinderungspflege), for up to eight weeks. Since 1 July 2025 this budget is shared with short-term care. How much does it pay if close relatives step in without doing it professionally? Usually up to twice the monthly care allowance, EUR 694 to 1,980, plus proven costs.
What replacement care costs and how much the fund covers, from statutory amounts and published examples.
Example
Typical range
Joint annual budget for respite and short-term care, grades 2 to 5
up to EUR 3,539 per calendar year
Neighbour or acquaintance, by the hour
about EUR 15 to 24 per hour
Home care service, full day, published example
about EUR 130 per day
Close relatives not working as carers, grades 2 to 5
usually up to EUR 694 to 1,980, plus proven costs
As of November 2026.
You agree hourly rates with private helpers freely;
the range comes from a published survey and a worked example.
The split in the example below is a guide value from our quoting practice.
Worked example
Mother with care grade 3, daughter goes on holiday for two weeks
A home care service steps in for full days, and a neighbour helps by the hour during the rest of the year.
Joint annual budget
EUR 3,539
Care service, 14 days at EUR 130
EUR 1,820
Remaining budget
EUR 1,719
Neighbour at EUR 15 per hour
about 114 hours
Care allowance during the 14 days
half, first and last day in full
The holiday is paid for, and the neighbour can help about two hours a week. But nothing is left for short-term care after a hospital stay.
When the care fund pays
Respite care, in German Verhinderungspflege, covers a stand-in when the person who normally cares for someone at home cannot do it: because of holidays, illness or any other reason. You need care grade 2 or higher. The care fund (Pflegekasse) reimburses the proven cost of the replacement care.
There is no longer a waiting period. Until 30 June 2025 home care had to run for six months first; that rule was dropped on 1 July 2025. The law does not require you to apply in advance, but a short call to the Pflegekasse before a longer stand-in avoids disputes later.
One budget for respite and short-term care
Since 1 July 2025 respite care no longer has its own amount. It shares a joint annual budget of up to EUR 3,539 with short-term care in a care home (Kurzzeitpflege). Whatever you spend on one is missing for the other.
In practice that means planning the year. If you use most of the budget for a stand-in in spring, little is left for a short-term care place in autumn, for example after a hospital stay.
Who may provide the replacement care
A home care service, a paid helper, neighbours, friends or relatives. For professionals and for people who are not closely related, the fund pays up to the full annual budget.
For relatives up to the second degree, such as children, grandchildren or siblings, and for people living in the same household, the amount is lower if they do not care professionally. Then the fund usually pays up to twice the monthly care allowance. Proven costs such as travel or lost earnings are added, together at most up to the annual budget.
Care grade
Care allowance per month
Stand-in by close relatives, usually up to
2
EUR 347
EUR 694 plus proven costs
3
EUR 599
EUR 1,198 plus proven costs
4
EUR 800
EUR 1,600 plus proven costs
5
EUR 990
EUR 1,980 plus proven costs
By the hour or by the day
If the stand-in covers less than eight hours on a day, for example for a doctor's appointment or a free afternoon, the care allowance continues in full and the hours do not count towards the eight weeks.
For full days of respite care the fund pays only half the care allowance, for up to eight weeks a year. The first and the last day are paid in full.
Claiming and deadlines
After the stand-in you send a reimbursement claim with receipts: the invoice of the care service, or for private helpers a receipt with dates, hours and hourly rate. Since 2026 the deadline is the end of the following year. A stand-in in November 2026 must be claimed by 31 December 2027 at the latest.
The forms are in German. Keep copies of every claim and of the statements care providers give you, so you always know how much of the budget is left.
What the care reform might change
Nothing is decided yet. On 30 September 2026 the federal cabinet adopted a draft care reform law (Pflegeneuordnungsgesetz). It plans to bundle home care benefits into budgets, including a bridging budget from care grade 2 when a carer is unexpectedly unavailable. The government has not published amounts for it.
Until a law is enacted, the joint annual budget of EUR 3,539 applies as described on this page.
Step by step
Check that care grade 2 or higher applies and care takes place at home.
Decide who stands in: care service, private helper or close relatives.
For relatives, document travel costs and lost earnings from the start.
Have dates, hours and costs written down and signed.
Claim reimbursement with receipts by the end of the following year.
Keep track of the remaining budget in case short-term care is needed.
Checklist
Care grade 2 to 5 and care at home
Receipts with date, hours and hourly rate
Under eight hours a day: care allowance stays in full
Remaining joint annual budget known
Deadline at the end of the following year in your calendar
Common mistakes
Letting the annual budget lapse because nobody claims it
Claiming only an hourly rate for relatives and forgetting travel costs
Using the whole budget in spring and having nothing left for short-term care
Collecting receipts years later and missing the deadline
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Do I have to apply for respite care in advance?
Not by law.
You claim reimbursement with receipts afterwards, by the end of the following year.
Asking the Pflegekasse beforehand is still sensible.
Is there respite care with care grade 1?
No, the entitlement starts at care grade 2.
Is the care allowance reduced during respite care?
For full days half of it continues, for up to eight weeks.
For stand-ins of less than eight hours a day it stays in full.
Can I pay my son or daughter for standing in?
Yes.
If they do not care professionally, the fund usually reimburses up to twice the care allowance,
plus proven travel costs or lost earnings, up to the annual budget.
What happens to unused money at the end of the year?
The joint budget applies per calendar year.
What you do not use for respite or short-term care is not added to the next year.
Do I need a special form?
Many care funds have their own claim form.
Ask yours for it and attach clear receipts with dates, hours and amounts.
Will the care reform abolish respite care?
Nothing is decided.
The cabinet draft of 30 September 2026 plans to bundle benefits into budgets.
