Who pays the childless surcharge in German long-term care insurance?
In short
Who pays the childless surcharge in German long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung)? You alone, not your employer or the pension fund (§§ 58 and 59 SGB XI). It applies to members without children from the month after their 23rd birthday: 0.6 percentage points more, so 4.2 instead of 3.6 per cent in 2026. As an employee you pay 2.4 per cent and your employer 1.8 per cent.
What the childless surcharge costs a month in 2026, worked out at 0.6 per cent of contributory income.
Example
Typical range
Employee, 2,000 euros gross
12 euros a month, 144 euros a year
Employee, 3,500 euros gross
21 euros a month, 252 euros a year
Income at the ceiling, 5,812.50 euros
about 34.88 euros a month
Pensioner with a 1,500 euro pension
9 euros a month
Statutory values, as of October 2026: contribution rate 3.6 per cent, surcharge 0.6 points,
contribution ceiling 5,812.50 euros a month.
Worked example
Employee, 34, childless, 3,500 euros gross
How the care contribution is split between her and the employer, place of work outside Saxony.
Total contribution 4.2 per cent
147 euros
Employer 1.8 per cent
63 euros
Employee 1.8 per cent
63 euros
Childless surcharge 0.6 per cent, alone
21 euros
She pays 84 euros a month, her employer 63 euros. With one child the 21 euro surcharge would disappear.
Who pays the surcharge and who does not
Employees and employers normally share the long-term care contribution half and half. The childless surcharge (Kinderlosenzuschlag), however, is paid by the employee alone (§ 58 (1) SGB XI, Social Code Book XI). The same goes for pensioners, voluntary members and everyone else: the member pays the surcharge (§ 59 (5) SGB XI).
It is deducted automatically: from wages for employees, from the pension for pensioners. If you pay contributions yourself, for example as a self-employed member of statutory health insurance, the surcharge is included.
Who is exempt from the childless surcharge
Only childless members from the month after their 23rd birthday pay it. Also exempt under § 55 (3) SGB XI: anyone born before 1 January 1940, people doing military or civilian service and recipients of basic income support.
Parents never pay it, even when their children are long grown up. Adoptive parents, step parents and foster parents count too, but adoptive and step parents only if the child had not passed certain age limits when the family came together (§ 55 (4) SGB XI).
Person
Employee's own share in 2026
Childless, aged 23 or over
2.4 per cent (1.8 plus 0.6)
One child, any age
1.8 per cent
Two children under 25
1.55 per cent
Three children under 25
1.3 per cent
Childless, under 23
1.8 per cent
Reductions for parents of several children
Since July 2023 parents of several children pay less. From the second to the fifth child the rate falls by 0.25 points per child as long as that child is under 25 (§ 55 (3) SGB XI). The reduction only lowers the share you pay yourself (§ 59a SGB XI); the employer's share stays the same.
You must prove your children to your employer, or to the care fund (Pflegekasse) if you pay yourself (§ 55 (3a) SGB XI). If you do so within six months of the birth, the lower rate applies from the month of birth; later, only from the following month.
The Saxony exception
Saxony did not abolish a public holiday when long-term care insurance was introduced. Employees working there therefore pay 1 percentage point more than the employer (§ 58 (3) SGB XI): 2.3 per cent instead of 1.8, or 2.9 per cent if childless. The employer pays 1.3 per cent.
The childless surcharge itself is the same in Saxony: 0.6 points, paid by you alone.
Does private care insurance replace the surcharge?
No. The childless surcharge is part of statutory long-term care insurance and cannot be avoided with any private contract. Private supplementary care insurance (Pflegezusatzversicherung) only closes the gap between statutory benefits and real care costs.
Childless people often have nobody who will later provide care or help with care home fees, so private provision is more often worthwhile for them. At NAMMERT, Norman Nammert acts as an insurance broker and compares care tariffs; the insurer pays his commission.
Step by step
Find the care contribution (Pflegeversicherung) on your payslip.
Check whether the surcharge is deducted correctly.
Prove children to your employer or care fund with a birth certificate.
With several children under 25, check the reduction.
Plan your own care provision separately.
Checklist
Parenthood proven
Number of children under 25 reported
Birth reported within six months
Saxony exception considered
Private care provision checked
Common mistakes
Assuming the employer pays half the surcharge
Not submitting proof of a child and overpaying for months
Thinking parents start paying once the children are adults; they stay exempt, only the multi child reduction ends at 25
Treating the surcharge as a penalty instead of planning your own care provision
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does my employer share the childless surcharge?
No, you pay it alone.
The employer pays only its share of the normal contribution.
Do pensioners pay the childless surcharge?
Yes, childless pensioners pay 4.2 per cent of their pension, entirely themselves.
Do I pay it if my children are over 25?
No.
Parents are exempt for good.
Only the reduction for several children ends at 25.
Are step parents exempt?
Yes, if the child was young enough when you came together and was taken into the household.
What is the maximum surcharge?
In 2026 about 34.88 euros a month, because income only counts up to 5,812.50 euros.
Does the surcharge exist in private compulsory care insurance?
The surcharge is set for statutory care insurance.
Private policies are priced by tariff and entry age; check your own policy.
