Care assistance

If you meet the requirements for entitlement to Care assistance and have been diagnosed with care level 2 or higher, the social welfare office can pay one or more of the following benefits, for example:

• Care allowance for home care
• outpatient care via care services
• partial inpatient day or night care
• . or night care
• Short-term care
• Preventive care
• Care aids
• A placement in a nursing home
• An allowance

Important: Home care always takes precedence over residential care. You can receive benefits in a nursing home if care at home is not possible or is not an option due to your individual situation.

When you apply for Care assistance, the social welfare office will check the amount of support based on your care needs, assets and income. There are statutory income limits for this. The income limit is the individual amount that you and any relatives living in the same household should have available each month for living expenses. The income of first-degree relatives (e.g. children) is also taken into account if they have a high income.

Income limit for outpatient care

The following points are taken into account to determine the individual income limit for outpatient care:

• Basic amount (currently 1.126 euros/status: January 2024)
• If applicable, a family supplement (currently 395 euros/as of January 2024) per relative living in the household
• Costs for rent (excluding electricity), heating and hot water
• If applicable, contributions to health and long-term care insurance for voluntarily and privately insured persons
• If applicable, own or joint assets

If the own income or the joint household income is below the income limit, the social welfare office pays the full amount of Care assistance. If the income is higher than the income limit, only part of the costs will be covered.

Important: So-called spare assets are not taken into account for the calculation. This also includes, for example, an appropriate residential property that you live in and that is to be occupied by relatives after your death, an appropriate vehicle, a cash amount of €10,000 each for you and your spouse or partner and appropriate provisions for your own funeral and grave care.

Income limit for inpatient care

If you and your partner both live in a care facility, your entire income and assets will be used to cover the costs of the home. You will be left with a monthly allowance, a monthly clothing allowance and the protected assets. This also applies to single people.

If only one partner lives in a care home, the person living at home must contribute to the costs of the home. They must be left with enough money to cover their living expenses. How much this amount is will be determined by the social welfare office on a case-by-case basis.

You apply for Care assistance at your local social welfare office. They will check whether you need financial help and are in need of care.

To apply, you will need:

• An expert opinion from the care insurance fund confirming your need for care and care level. If you are not insured, the social welfare office will arrange a care assessment itself.
• Proof of income and assets

Important: It makes sense to submit the application as quickly as possible if there is not enough money for the care. The social welfare office will only pay from the time it learns of your situation. If you have already incurred debts, these will not be covered, with the exception of rent debts.

Persons in need of care in care levels 2 to 5 can receive Care assistance if the requirements for this are met. People in need of care in care grade 1 may be entitled to care aids and measures to improve the living environment. In addition, they also receive a maximum monthly relief amount of 125 euros.

The application is free of charge.

Once you have submitted your application to the social welfare office, they will check whether you meet the requirements for Care assistance. Sometimes your caseworker will ask for further evidence.

You will receive a decision by post approving or rejecting your application. You can appeal against the decision.

The amount of Care assistance depends on the income and assets of the person in need of care and the person with whom the person in need of care lives in partnership or who is liable to pay maintenance.

An application for Care assistance will be rejected if one or more requirements are not met. This is the case, for example, if you cannot prove that you are dependent on care or if you have sufficient income. It is best to ask your case worker directly about the reasons for the rejection of your application.

If the income and assets of the parents in need of care are not sufficient to provide care, adult children can be required by the social welfare office to provide maintenance - but only if their gross income exceeds 100,000 euros per year.

The social welfare office can only oblige parents of children in need of care to make maintenance payments if their joint gross income exceeds 100,000 euros per year.

In principle, only persons who are first-degree relatives of the applicant, i.e. parents or children, are liable to pay maintenance for social assistance and thus also for Care assistance. Grandparents, grandchildren or even children-in-law do not have to contribute to the maintenance with their income and assets.