Overview
- Austrian state social ministers, led by Martina Rüscher, have proposed allowing Länder to use residents' 13th and 14th pension payments and capital income to help finance nursing‑home places.
- A statutory barrier exists because paragraph 105 of the Allgemeines Sozialversicherungsgesetz protects special payments and the Pflegeregress was abolished in 2018, so any access to those payments would need a legal change.
- Senior groups and parts of the political opposition oppose the proposal as a back‑door return of asset recourse, and Social Minister Korinna Schumann has said she will put the issue on the care commission's agenda.
- In Germany, a leaked Bundesarbeitsministerium draft would raise Beitragsbemessungsgrenzen for 2027, which could increase social contributions for high earners by as much as about €102 per month but it still needs cabinet and Bundesrat approval.
- Protections under German social‑assistance law keep at least €10,000 per adult in protected savings and a minimum pocket money for residents, and the next steps to watch are the Austrian Pflegegipfel and Germany's cabinet and Bundesrat decisions that will determine if these cost shifts proceed.