Overview

• Higher assessment caps in 2026 would rise to €8,450 per month for pension and unemployment insurance and to €5,812.50 for statutory health and nursing care, with the insurance threshold set at €6,450.
• The Labor Ministry cites a fixed calculation tied to 2024 wage growth of 5.16%, stating there is no normative discretion in setting the values.
• Illustrative calculations show affected employees would take home about €37 less per month from the pension cap shift and roughly €24 less from the health cap change at current rates.
• Employers’ groups and the taxpayers’ association warn of heavier burdens, some CDU figures call the move understandable given wages, and left parties urge broader solidarity reforms such as a citizens’ insurance.
• The ceilings debate unfolds alongside plans for an Aktivrente and a Bürgergeld overhaul, with Minister Bärbel Bas backing tougher sanctions on refusals to cooperate but rejecting total benefit cuts on constitutional grounds, and with warnings of a possible double hit from rising health-insurance surcharges.