Germany plans to increase elder care contributions for childfree adults
Germany's Health Ministry has drafted a bill that would raise elder care contributions for childfree adults by 0.7 percentage points, bringing their total to 2.5% of monthly income. The proposal, reported by German media group RND, would affect all full-time workers over 23. Health Minister Nina Warken has not yet submitted the draft to the cabinet.
Germany's Federal Health Minister Nina Warken has prepared a draft bill that would raise elder care contributions for childfree adults by 0.7 percentage points over a period of years, according to a report from German media group RND.
Under the proposal, childfree adults would pay 2.5% of their monthly income, while their employers would contribute 1.8%. Adults with one child would pay 1.8%, those with two children 1.55%, and those with three or more children 1.3%. The measure would affect all full-time workers over the age of 23.
Warken, a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), has not yet submitted the draft to the cabinet, and it remains unclear when she will do so. Her ministry had originally said it would present a proposal for elder care reform in mid-May.
The draft bill comes as Germany's long-term care insurance system faces financial strain. On May 19, the German Medical Service warned that long-term care insurance could face insolvency without reform, and the government has been weighing options to stabilize the system amid a persistently low birthrate and an aging population.