What changes for care grade 1 (Pflegegrad 1) in 2027?
In short
What changes for care grade 1 (Pflegegrad 1) in 2027? Nothing is law yet. The cabinet draft of 30 September 2026 would drop the EUR 131 monthly relief amount in care grade 1 and raise the entry threshold from 12.5 to 15 points. Parliament still has to vote, and until the law is published today's rules apply.
Amounts for 2026 from the Federal Ministry of Health overview, plans for 2027 from the cabinet draft of 30 September 2026.
Example
Typical range
Relief amount, care grade 1, 2026
up to EUR 131 a month, up to EUR 1,572 a year
Care supplies for consumption, 2026
up to EUR 42 a month
Home adaptation, per measure
up to EUR 4,180
Community budget in the draft, grades 2 to 5 only
EUR 175 a month, EUR 300 under age 25
Relief amount, care grade 1, draft from 2027
EUR 0
The 2026 amounts are current law.
Everything about 2027 comes from the government draft of 30 September 2026 and may still change in
parliament.
As of 14 October 2026.
Worked example
Care grade 1 since 2025, household help twice a month
How a woman with care grade 1 who has only partly used her relief amount should plan.
Relief amount 2026 (12 × EUR 131)
EUR 1,572
Claimed by October
EUR 900
Remaining balance for 2026
EUR 672
Care grade 1 under the draft from 2027
no relief amount
She should plan to spend the EUR 672 on approved help by the end of 2026, because the draft no longer provides a relief amount in care grade 1 from 2027.
Care grade 1 today and the plans for 2027
You get care grade 1 (Pflegegrad 1) if the assessment gives you at least 12.5 of 100 points. There is no care allowance (Pflegegeld) in this grade. The main money is the relief amount (Entlastungsbetrag) of up to EUR 131 a month for approved everyday help, such as a household helper.
The table compares care grade 1 benefits in 2026 with the cabinet draft of the care reform act (Pflegeneuordnungsgesetz) of 30 September 2026.
Benefit in care grade 1
2026 (current law)
Draft from 2027
Relief amount (Entlastungsbetrag)
up to EUR 131 a month
dropped
Care supplies for consumption
up to EUR 42 a month
no longer a separate benefit
Home adaptation
up to EUR 4,180 per measure
stays
Technical care aids
costs covered, co-payment max EUR 25
stay
Advice
care counselling and care courses
care companion from 1 January 2029
Points threshold
from 12.5 points
from 15 points
Care grade 1 is not being abolished
Many headlines claim care grade 1 disappears in 2027. That is not what the draft says. Care grade 1 stays as a grade, with home adaptation grants, technical aids, care courses and advice. What would go is the flexible monthly money for everyday help.
At the same time the bar rises: new applicants would need 15 instead of 12.5 points for care grade 1 and 30 instead of 27 for grade 2. People with mild limitations are therefore more likely to get no grade at all from 2027.
How binding the draft is
A cabinet draft is the federal government's proposal. The Bundestag can change it and the Bundesrat comments on it. Everything on this page about 2027 reflects the cabinet draft of 30 September 2026.
The planned start is 1 January 2027. Until the law is published in the Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt), the current care grade 1 amounts apply. We will update this page once parliament has decided.
If you already have care grade 1
Under the draft, an existing care grade stays until your next assessment. A new assessment may not take away your care grade just because of the higher point thresholds.
The draft no longer provides the care grade 1 relief amount from 2027. If you have care grade 1 today, try to use your 2026 balance for approved help this year.
Is it worth applying in 2026?
If you need everyday help now and would reach 12.5 points, applying for care grade 1 this year costs you nothing. Under the draft, the law on the day of your application decides your grade, so a 2026 application would be assessed under the old thresholds.
If you already have care grade 1 and your health has worsened, do not postpone an application for a higher grade. From grade 2 there is care allowance, and the draft sets the community budget there at EUR 175 instead of the current EUR 131 a month.
What it means for private care insurance
Many private daily care allowance policies (Pflegetagegeld) pay little or nothing in care grade 1 and only start properly from grade 2. If thresholds rise, new cases reach a grade later, and policies tied to the statutory grade pay later too.
Check whether your policy is linked to the statutory care grade and from which grade it pays. Buying private cover just for care grade 1 is not worth it: the big costs arise from grade 2 and in a care home.
Step by step
Find your care fund decision (Bescheid) and check your grade and its date.
Ask your care fund (Pflegekasse) for your remaining relief amount balance.
Book and claim approved everyday help in 2026.
If your health has worsened, apply for a higher grade now.
Check the final rules once the Bundestag has voted.
Checklist
Care grade and recognition date known
Remaining 2026 balance requested from the care fund
Approved provider for everyday help found
Application for a higher grade considered if you need more help
Private care policy checked for what it pays in care grade 1
Common mistakes
Treating the draft as passed law
Believing care grade 1 is abolished completely
Saving the 2026 balance for 2027
Postponing a needed application for a higher grade
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Is care grade 1 abolished in 2027?
No.
Under the draft care grade 1 stays.
What would go is the EUR 131 monthly relief amount.
Has the care reform been passed?
No.
The cabinet approved the draft on 30 September 2026.
The Bundestag and Bundesrat still have to deal with it, and current law applies until then.
Will I lose my care grade because of the new points?
Not just because of the new points.
Under the draft an existing grade stays until your next assessment.
What is the community budget (Sozialraumbudget)?
The planned successor of the relief amount: EUR 175 a month, EUR 300 under 25,
but only from care grade 2 and only for approved support services.
Will I still get grants for adapting my home?
Yes, up to EUR 4,180 per measure applies today,
and under the draft this grant remains in care grade 1.
Does this reform apply if I have private long-term care insurance?
Compulsory private care insurance follows the same statutory benefits and care grades,
