Care assistance

Care assistance is a state supplement to statutory long-term care insurance and for people who do not have long-term care insurance. You can apply for Care assistance if your health impairs your independence and abilities and you therefore need help from others.

The prerequisite for receiving this social benefit is that you do not receive any or sufficient benefits from long-term care insurance and your income and assets are not sufficient to cover the costs of care yourself. 

Important: Care assistance is only paid if you are not entitled to benefits from other social insurance providers, such as the health or accident insurance fund.

The application for Care assistance will be checked by your local social welfare office.

You can apply for Care assistance if one or more of the following conditions apply to you.

• Your care needs are particularly high and you incur care costs that are not covered by long-term care insurance.
• You only need care for a short period of time, probably less than 6 months. In this case, the long-term care insurance fund will not issue a care level and there is no entitlement to long-term care insurance benefits.
• You have no long-term care insurance or no entitlement. Insured persons are entitled to long-term care insurance benefits if they have been insured for 2 years within the last 10 years prior to submitting their application.
• Your spouse (also applies to civil partners) and other dependants (e.g. children) are unable to cover the costs of care themselves.

Important: Care assistance is handled differently from state to state. Seek advice if you are unsure which income or assets may be used to calculate your entitlement to Care assistance.

Which documents you need for your application varies from person to person. As a rule, you will need the following documents:

• 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

Under certain circumstances, the social welfare office may request further documents.

There are no deadlines for applying for Care assistance. However, it is advisable to submit the application as soon as possible if there is not enough money for care. The social welfare office only pays from the time it learns of your situation.

The processing time for your application varies depending on the individual case. Your social welfare office will endeavor to inform you as quickly as possible. It is therefore important that you submit your documents in full.

Applying for Care assistance is free of charge.