The assessment limits for social security contributions are being raised for millions of citizens. The increase is already certain. Medium-sized businesses are hit particularly hard – “fatal for the business location”.
Berlin – In the coming year, millions of employees will have to prepare for significantly higher payments for health and pension insurance. The Federal Cabinet’s decision on Wednesday is likely to have noticeable consequences, especially for the middle class. Because the assessment limits for social security contributions are being raised. This means: For employees with higher incomes, it will be more expensive from 2026. In addition, switching to private health insurance is only possible if you have a higher monthly income.
The assessment basis will be higher: millions of employees will be affected
In Germany, those with statutory health insurance pay a fixed percentage of their income into health and pension insurance, but only up to a certain upper limit. This is exactly what the contribution assessment limit is about: if it increases, the monthly payments will also be higher. On Wednesday, the cabinet approved a regulation from SPD Labor Minister Bärbel Bas, according to which the contribution assessment limit in statutory pension insurance will be raised from the current 8,050 euros to 8,450 euros per month, reported Bild already in advance. In statutory health and nursing care insurance, the limit increases from 5,512.50 euros to 5,812.50 euros per month.
This is how much the contributions increase:
- In the future, pension insurance will cover income of up to 8,450 euros instead of the previous 8,050 euros – this affects around 2.1 million high earners, i.e. around 9.6 percent of full-time employees.
- A higher limit also applies to health and nursing care insurance: it increases from 5,512.50 euros to 5,812.50 euros. In the future, switching to private health insurance will only be possible from a monthly income of 6,450 euros (previously 6,150 euros). This means that around 5.5 million employees will have to pay more from January.
- For singles with an income between 6,000 and 8,000 euros, this means an additional burden of around 33 euros per month, and for a salary of 8,500 euros or more this means an additional burden of around 75 euros.
The CDU criticizes the increase, which would hit medium-sized businesses “to the core”.
The contribution assessment limits are set annually and are based on wage developments in 2024. Average wages have therefore increased by 5.16 percent, according to the Time to the Federal Ministry of Labor (BMAS). The increase in the contribution assessment limits therefore represents an adjustment to this wage development.
The update ensures that insured people continue to contribute to the financing of social security in accordance with their income development, it is said. Pensions are also adjusted annually to reflect wage increases. The ministry emphasizes that the increase in the contribution assessment limits only affects those whose income was already above these limits. This doesn’t change anything for the majority of insured people.
However, the State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Gitta Connemann (CDU), warned in advance of the increase, saying the draft would be “fatal for the business location”. Medium-sized businesses would be particularly burdened by rising additional wage costs, she criticizes, and the increase would therefore hit “to the core”.
In order to save costs: Health insurance companies want to be reimbursed for services provided to recipients of citizens’ benefit
Just a few days ago, the statutory health insurance companies put pressure on the federal government to prevent premium increases. “It is not yet too late to keep contributions stable,” said the head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds, Oliver Blatt German press agency. Due to the “enormous” increases in spending, he expects additional contributions to increase. Because: “Nothing has happened at the political level to avert this.”
Background: Statutory health insurance companies are under considerable cost pressure. The next important date for insured persons is October 15th: On this day, the health insurance estimators present their forecast of the financial situation. The focus is on whether the health insurance companies have to increase their additional contributions again in order to close the gap in the budget of around four billion euros.
“It is also not too late for statutory health insurance to be reimbursed with cost-covering federal funds for the tasks it takes on for the state,” says Blatt. Around ten billion euros could be saved every year if health insurance companies were reimbursed for their health care costs for citizens’ benefit recipients.
