Employer contribution: meaning and amount explained

Unlike statutory health insurance, private health insurance has no uniform contribution. Everyone pays an individually calculated premium. The employer contribution is the employer's share of this premium, set out in law. The legal basis is § 257 SGB V for health insurance and § 61 SGB XI for long-term care insurance. Under § 249 SGB V, employers and employees in principle each pay half of the contribution.

The employer pays half of the actual premium, capped at half of the calculated maximum contribution of statutory health insurance. What counts is the Beitragsbemessungsgrenze of €5,812.50 per month, the general contribution rate and the average Zusatzbeitrag (i)ZusatzbeitragThe additional contribution each statutory health insurance fund charges on top of the general rate. Its level differs from fund to fund.More about Zusatzbeitrag →. For 2026, this results in a maximum share of €508.59 for health insurance, plus up to €104.63 for long-term care insurance. For 2027, the Federal Cabinet has approved a monthly Beitragsbemessungsgrenze (i)BBG · BeitragsbemessungsgrenzeThe contribution ceiling of statutory health and long-term care insurance. Income above this amount is not used to calculate contributions.More about BBG → of €6,375. The maximum share is therefore expected to rise to €557.81 for health insurance and €114.75 for long-term care insurance. If half of your premium is below this amount, the employer pays exactly half. Only above the cap does the employee pay the extra amount.

If the maximum employer contribution has not yet been used up, the employer also contributes to the premiums of a spouse and children who are privately insured with you, as long as the relevant maximum amount is not exceeded.

During periods of pure wage replacement benefits, the contribution does not apply, for example during parental leave without salary or while you receive Krankentagegeld (i)KrankentagegeldPrivate sick pay: a daily allowance from private insurance while you are unable to work. It replaces lost income from an agreed day of illness.More about Krankentagegeld →, parental allowance or maternity benefit. Under certain circumstances, part of it can be covered through a privately insured spouse. If you have several employers, the contribution is split in proportion to your earnings from each, and the total stays at the maximum amount.

Self-employed people receive no employer contribution and pay the premium in full themselves, but they can claim it for tax purposes as provident expenses. Civil servants are outside this system, because their public employer covers part of the costs through the Beihilfe. The amount of the contribution always depends on the premium and the maximum limit, not on the number of children.