How this is worked out

German social insurance has four branches, and each is a fixed percentage of your gross pay up to a ceiling. Above the ceiling you pay nothing more — which is why high earners have a lower effective rate.

The 2026 rates

Branch	Total	You pay
Rentenversicherung (pension)	18.6%	9.3%
Arbeitslosenversicherung (unemployment)	2.6%	1.3%
Krankenversicherung (health)	14.6% + your fund's Zusatzbeitrag	half of both
Pflegeversicherung (care)	3.6% base	1.8%, adjusted for children

The 2026 ceilings, monthly: 5,812.50 for health and care, 8,450 for pension and unemployment. East and West Germany have used the same figures since 2025.

Children change your care contribution, and nobody tells you this. If you have no children and are 23 or over, you pay an extra 0.6 percentage points. From the second child onwards you pay 0.25 points less per child, up to the fifth — but only while each child is under 25. A parent of four pays 1.05% where a childless colleague pays 2.4%. On a 4,500 salary that is a difference of about 60 a month, for identical work.

Saxony is different. For historical reasons — Saxony kept a public holiday the other states gave up — employees there pay 0.5 points more of the care insurance and employers 0.5 points less.

A worked example

On 4,500 a month gross, one child, a 2.9% Zusatzbeitrag, outside Saxony:

Pension: 418.50
Health: 418.50
Care: 81.00
Unemployment: 58.50
Total off your pay: about 976.50 — 21.7% of gross

Your employer pays roughly another 976 on top. Your real cost to the company is about 5,476, which is worth knowing when you negotiate.

Now raise the salary to 9,000. Contributions do not double — health and care stop at 5,812.50 and pension at 8,450 — so they rise to about 1,660, or 18.4% of gross. The effective rate falls as pay rises.

What this doesn't cover

Income tax is not included. This is social insurance only. Lohnsteuer, Solidaritätszuschlag and church tax come off as well, and they depend on your tax class, marital status and other income. Your actual net pay will be considerably lower than the figure shown here.
Assumes statutory health insurance (GKV). If you are privately insured the health and care lines work completely differently.
The Zusatzbeitrag shown is the 2026 statutory average of 2.9%. Your own fund's rate is on your payslip and many funds charge more.
Assumes standard employment. Minijob, Midijob, working students, civil servants and the self-employed all follow different rules.
Figures are the 2026 values from the Sozialversicherungsrechengrößen- verordnung. They normally change every January.

Common questions

Why does my employer's contribution matter to me?

Because it is part of what you cost, and therefore part of what is being negotiated even though you never see it. Roughly speaking, an employer paying you 4,500 is spending about 5,476. It also explains why gross salaries in Germany look high relative to what lands in the account.

Should I switch to a cheaper Krankenkasse?

The difference between the cheapest and dearest Zusatzbeitrag is often around one percentage point, which on a 4,500 salary is roughly 25 a month for you. Not nothing, but worth weighing against what each fund actually covers. Switching is generally straightforward after twelve months with a fund.

What happens above the ceiling?

Nothing more is deducted for that branch. Every euro above 8,450 a month is free of pension and unemployment contributions, and every euro above 5,812.50 is free of health and care contributions. Your pension entitlement also stops growing at that point.

German Social Contributions Calculator

How this is worked out

A worked example

What this doesn't cover

Common questions

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