What happens to my insurance during parental leave in Germany?
In short
What happens to my insurance during parental leave in Germany? Compulsorily insured people stay in statutory health insurance and pay nothing on parental allowance. Privately insured people keep paying, but without the employer's share, often twice their usual amount. The pension fund credits 36 months of child-raising time. Liability, contents and car policies continue; life and pension policies can be paused.
Contributions during parental leave by type of insurance, 2026 values.
Example
Typical range
Compulsory statutory, parental allowance, no other income
EUR 0 health contribution
Voluntary statutory, minimum base EUR 1,316.67, with child
up to about EUR 278 a month
Private, EUR 600 monthly premium
so far about EUR 300 own share, during leave EUR 600
Parental allowance
EUR 300 to 1,800 a month
The minimum is calculated with the 2026 figures,
the average additional contribution of 2.9 percent and a care rate of 3.6 percent.
The private premium of EUR 600 is a guide value from our quoting practice.
Worked example
Employee, privately insured, 12 months of parental leave
How the missing employer subsidy adds up if you draw no salary during the leave.
Monthly private health premium
EUR 600
Employer subsidy so far
EUR 300
Own share during parental leave
EUR 600
Extra cost over 12 months
EUR 3,600
About EUR 3,600 more a year, which you should plan for before the birth.
Health insurance: it depends on how you are insured
If you are compulsorily insured in statutory health insurance, your membership continues while you receive parental allowance or take parental leave (Elternzeit). Only the allowance itself is contribution-free: if you work part-time during the leave, you pay contributions on that pay as usual.
Privately insured people are hit hardest. The employer's subsidy depends on salary; with no salary, you pay the whole premium yourself. In most cases you cannot switch to statutory insurance while receiving parental allowance.
Voluntary members of a statutory insurer also keep paying during parental leave, depending on the case the minimum or nothing at all. Ask your insurer before applying for parental allowance.
Type of insurance
During parental leave
Contribution
Compulsory statutory
membership continues
EUR 0 on parental allowance, part-time pay is charged
Family cover
unchanged
EUR 0
Voluntary statutory
stays insured
minimum or none, depending on the case
Private
policy continues
full premium without subsidy
Pension and unemployment insurance continue during parental leave
The statutory pension insurance credits 36 calendar months of child-raising time for each child, without you paying contributions. If you raise another child at the same time, the period is extended.
You remain insured against unemployment while raising a child under three, provided you were insured before. If both parents raise the child, this applies to the parent to whom the child-raising time is assigned.
Private policies during parental leave: what continues and what can pause
Liability, contents, car and legal expenses insurance continue unchanged, and they should. For liability, just check that you have a family tariff so the baby is covered.
Life and private pension policies can be made premium-free at any time, effective at the end of the current insurance period. This only works if the minimum benefit agreed in the contract is reached; otherwise the insurer pays out the surrender value.
For disability insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung), a deferral is usually better than making it premium-free: many insurers let you pause payments for a few months while cover continues. A company pension may be continued with your own contributions.
What your type of insurance means for parental allowance
Parental allowance is 67 percent of your income before the birth, at least EUR 300 and at most EUR 1,800 a month. For low incomes the rate rises up to 100 percent, for high incomes it falls to 65 percent.
Voluntary and private members often receive slightly more parental allowance because no flat deduction for social contributions is made from their pre-birth net income. They have to pay their health premium out of it, though.
When you need to change nothing during parental leave
If you have compulsory or family cover and do not work on the side, nothing changes in your health insurance. If your private policies continue without strain, there is nothing to defer or pause either.
Step by step
Check how you are health-insured: compulsory, family, voluntary or private.
Ask your insurer before applying for parental allowance which contribution applies.
Switch your liability policy to a family tariff if not done yet.
Review life, pension and disability policies: keep paying, defer or pause.
Decide with your employer whether to continue your company pension yourself.
Checklist
Health insurance during parental leave clarified
Private premium without subsidy budgeted
Liability policy on a family tariff
Disability deferral checked instead of cancellation
Company pension continuation decided
Common mistakes
Cancelling disability insurance during parental leave to save money
Forgetting that private patients lose the employer subsidy
Starting part-time work during the leave without considering new contributions
Assuming voluntary members are contribution-free like compulsory members
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Do I pay health contributions during parental leave?
Not on the parental allowance if you are compulsorily insured.
Voluntary members pay the minimum or nothing depending on the case;
private patients pay the full premium.
Does my employer keep paying the private health subsidy?
No, the subsidy is tied to salary.
Without salary you pay the full premium yourself.
Do I earn pension credits during parental leave?
Yes, 36 months of child-raising time are credited per child without contributions.
Can I pause my life insurance during parental leave?
Yes, by making it premium-free at the end of the insurance period if the agreed minimum benefit is
reached.
Some insurers also offer a deferral.
What happens to my company pension?
Without salary no contributions flow,
but you have the right to continue it with your own contributions.
