Receiving Pflegegeld

€347 for Pflegegrad 2, €599 for grade 3, €800 for grade 4 and €990 for grade 5, each per month. At Pflegegrad 1 there is no Pflegegeld. These amounts are set out in § 37 SGB XI with the note “as of 1 January 2025”: they were raised by 4.5% on 1 January 2025 and remain unchanged in 2026. The next scheduled adjustment under § 30 SGB XI is planned for 1 January 2028. Different figures online almost always date from before then.

Whatever you want. Pflegegeld is a free cash benefit: it is not earmarked, it does not have to be accounted for or evidenced, and the Pflegekasse does not ask about it. It is common to pass it on to the relatives providing care or to use it for everyday help, but you are under no obligation to do either. It is also tax-free and is paid monthly in advance. What the fund does check, however, is the advisory visit – not how the money is used, but that home care receives professional support.

A regular visit to your home by an approved care service, a recognised advice centre or a care professional commissioned by the fund. It is compulsory if you draw only Pflegegeld: every six months for Pflegegrad 2 and 3, every three months for grades 4 and 5. The consequence of missing it is spelt out expressly in the law: under § 37 Abs. 6 SGB XI the Pflegekasse must “appropriately reduce and, in the event of repetition, withdraw” the Pflegegeld. The appointment costs you nothing and is billed directly to the fund – so there is no reason to let it lapse. Pflegegrad 1 also carries an entitlement to advice every six months, though there as a right rather than an obligation.

Yes, and this is one of the most important and least used options. The combination benefit under § 38 SGB XI allows both to be mixed: if you use the benefit in kind only partly, you continue to receive Pflegegeld on a proportional basis. So anyone who draws on 40% of the in-kind benefit amount through a care service is paid 60% of the Pflegegeld. This is particularly useful for families where relatives take on most of the care, but a service helps, for example, with washing in the mornings. The choice of benefit type is binding for six months and can be changed afterwards.

No – and this worry keeps many families from using relief services at all. During respite care and short-term care, half of the Pflegegeld continues to be paid for the duration of the benefit; it does not stop altogether. With day care nothing changes at all: § 41 SGB XI states that semi-inpatient day and night care may be used “in addition”, “without this being offset against these entitlements”. So anyone who uses day care two days a week keeps the full Pflegegeld.

Pflegegeld is tax-free. Even when it is passed on to caring relatives, it remains tax-free in the usual home-care situation, because it is not earned income – this may be different if someone provides care on a commercial basis. The rules on offsetting against other social benefits differ from benefit to benefit; if you also receive basic income support, Wohngeld (housing benefit) or similar benefits, ask the office concerned specifically rather than assuming a general rule. For caring relatives themselves, compulsory pension insurance may also apply – under certain conditions the Pflegekasse then pays contributions, which in the long run can be worth more than the Pflegegeld itself.

From the month the application is submitted, as soon as the Pflegegrad has been established – so also retroactively for the period between the application and the official notice (Bescheid). After that, it is paid monthly in advance. The same applies if you move to a higher Pflegegrad: the higher amount is paid from the month of the application for a higher care grade. It is therefore worth submitting both the first application and an application for a higher care grade straight away, rather than waiting until all documents are together – the application is informal and can be made by phone.

The difference is considerable: from grade 2 to 3 it is €252 more per month, from 3 to 4 a further €201, from 4 to 5 another €190. The other benefits also increase – the benefit in kind, day care, the grant for full-time residential care. There is no waiting period for an application for a higher care grade: you can file it at any time, even shortly after a notice, if the condition has permanently worsened. Keep a care diary for one to two weeks beforehand and gather new medical findings – that is the difference between a successful and a refused application.