The Federal Council has cleared the way for higher social care contributions. The federal states’ chamber voted on the ordinance to adjust the contribution rate in the social long-term care insurance in 2025 on Friday.
With the decision, the federal government is increasing the contribution rate to 3.6 percent as of January 1, 2025, by 0.2 percentage points. The higher contributions would result in additional revenues of around 3.7 billion euros for the social long-term care insurance, according to the federal government. In the long term, the contribution would rise in line with the development of wages and employment. The increase would ensure the financing of already planned benefits of the social long-term care insurance as of 2025.
The social long-term care insurance is facing great challenges due to the demographic change, it is said in the justification of the ordinance. Already, a growing number of care recipients are being recorded, while the number of contributors is still declining. The fact that the number of people in need of care increased more rapidly in the years 2022 and 2023 than expected is an additional challenge. The Corona pandemic is also still having a negative financial impact. All of this would lead to higher expenses for the long-term care insurance, which cannot be financed with the current contribution rate.