Sources and method – Family carers

These 15 topic pages are based primarily on statutory texts (gesetze-im-internet.de), official announcements by the Federal Ministry of Health on the benefit amounts of long-term care insurance and publications by the BMAS and the Deutsche Rentenversicherung. The "Sources" field of each topic page lists the specific references.

Why this module is separate from "Seniors"

The Wegweiser module Seniors covers benefits and rights from the point of view of the person in need of care – for example how a care level (Pflegegrad) is applied for or what an advance healthcare directive and a power of attorney for care provision regulate. This module "Family carers" covers only the rights of the carer: leave from work, protection against dismissal and your own cover in the pension and accident insurance. Where the two perspectives meet (in particular in the care level assessment and the benefits of long-term care insurance), the pages refer to each other instead of duplicating content.

Reforms that are decisive for this module

Two statutory changes shape the current legal position in particular: the announcement of the benefit amounts of long-term care insurance as of 1 January 2025 (an increase of 4.5 % compared with 2024, including for care allowance, benefits in kind and the relief amount) and the Pflegeunterstützungs- und -entlastungsgesetz (PUEG, Care Support and Relief Act), which on 1 July 2025 merged, among other things, the previously separate budgets for respite care and short-term care into one joint annual amount. According to the available sources, both changes were still unchanged and in force in September 2026.

Sources

1. Gesetze im Internet (gesetze-im-internet.de), Federal Ministry of Justice and Federal Office of Justice, retrieved September 2026: consolidated versions of PflegeZG, FPfZG, SGB VI (§ 3, § 15), SGB VII (§ 2), SGB XI (§§ 7a, 7c, 14, 15, 18, 18c, 19, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 45, 45b), SGB XII (§ 94), SGB V (§ 23), SGB IV (§ 16), SGG (§ 84), TzBfG (§ 8), KSchG (§ 4), BGB (§§ 528, 1601 ff.). Basis for all sections cited in the text.
2. Announcement of the redetermination of the benefit amounts of long-term care insurance from 1 January 2025 (SGB11§30Bek 2025), Federal Ministry of Health, published on gesetze-im-internet.de and bundesgesundheitsministerium.de. Basis for the euro amounts given for care allowance (§ 37 SGB XI), benefits in kind (§ 36 SGB XI) and relief amount (§ 45b SGB XI).
3. Pflegeunterstützungs- und -entlastungsgesetz (PUEG) and accompanying overviews by the Federal Ministry of Health on the changes to respite care and short-term care that came into force on 1 July 2025 (§§ 39, 42 SGB XI), retrieved September 2026.
4. Bundesamt für Familie und zivilgesellschaftliche Aufgaben (BAFzA, Federal Office for Family Affairs and Civil Society Functions), information on the interest-free loan during care leave and family care leave, retrieved September 2026 (bafza.de). Basis for the BAFzA's responsibility (not the KfW's) for this loan.
5. Deutsche Rentenversicherung, joint legal instruction on § 3 SGB VI and information material on pension insurance for carers, retrieved September 2026 (rvrecht.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de, deutsche-rentenversicherung.de). Basis for the conditions for contribution payments by the care insurance fund.
6. Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs), FAQ and information material on the Angehörigen-Entlastungsgesetz (Relatives Relief Act), as of 2026 (bmas.de). Basis for the presentation of the €100,000 threshold for parental maintenance (§ 94 Abs. 1a SGB XII).

Where information is expressly marked as uncertain

For some figures and detailed rules, no single, unambiguous official primary source could be found or independently cross-checked during the research. This applies in particular to:

• the exact current daily maximum amount of care support allowance (Pflegeunterstützungsgeld, § 44a SGB XI) – the calculation follows the principles of child sickness benefit; the exact, annually adjusted maximum amount is deliberately not stated and should be requested from the care insurance fund;
• the exact amount of €3,539 per year for the joint annual amount for respite care and short-term care since the PUEG reform on 1.7.2025 – this is based on several consistent but not individually officially verified secondary sources in this research;
• the exact weekly employment limit above which the care insurance fund's contribution payment to the pension insurance for carers (§ 3 SGB VI) lapses or is reduced;
• the exact conditions (duration, frequency, co-payment) of preventive and rehabilitation services for family carers under § 23 SGB V and § 15 SGB VI, which are handled differently depending on the funding body;
• the regional availability and accessibility of care support centres (Pflegestützpunkte), which varies greatly from federal state to federal state and from municipality to municipality.

In all these cases the relevant topic page expressly names the uncertainty instead of presenting a figure or assessment as settled law.

Corrections to common assumptions

During the research, several common but incorrect assumptions were corrected: the interest-free loan for family care leave is granted by the Bundesamt für Familie und zivilgesellschaftliche Aufgaben (BAFzA), not by the KfW. Accident insurance for carers derives from § 2 Abs. 1 Nr. 17 SGB VII, not from § 19 SGB VII (§ 19 SGB XI merely defines the term "carer" (Pflegeperson) in long-term care insurance law). Preventive services (spa treatment) for family carers are provided through the statutory health insurance fund (§ 23 SGB V); the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, by contrast, funds rehabilitation services (§ 15 SGB VI), but not preventive services.

What this platform does – and what it does not

• Figures, deadlines, amounts and legal bases come from the sources named. Nothing was added that is not supported there. Where a figure could not be reliably verified, this is stated on the relevant page rather than guessed.
• These pages cover the rights of the carer. For claims of the person in need of care themselves, see the Wegweiser module Seniors – content was deliberately not duplicated.
• Long-term care insurance benefit amounts are adjusted periodically by the legislator (most recently on 1.1.2025). Always check current euro amounts with the responsible care insurance fund before making binding plans.
• Social and employment law relating to care is evolving; courts have yet to clarify some questions. The information does not replace legal advice in an individual case.
• Deadlines are often short and run from delivery or announcement. If in doubt, immediately consult an advice centre, the care insurance fund or a lawyer – see Advice and contact points.