How high is the personal contribution in a nursing home?

As at: June 2026

The answer first. Statutory long-term-care insurance is a partial cover: it pays a fixed amount per care level (Pflegegrad), not the full cost. Whatever exceeds that is the personal contribution. If pension and savings are not enough, the welfare office’s assistance with care (Hilfe zur Pflege) steps in. The facility will tell you the exact amount — it differs from home to home and from region to region.

The personal contribution is made up of several parts: the care-related share — the same for care levels 2 to 5 within a given home, and therefore called the “facility-uniform personal contribution” —, the cost of board and lodging, and the investment cost for the building. Only the care-related part is reduced by the insurance’s benefits; board, lodging and investment costs are borne by the resident in principle. This split explains why two homes with a similar level of care can issue quite different bills.

It helps to picture the bill as split into two sides. On one side stand the benefits that come from outside — the fixed amount from the care insurance per care level and, in case of need, assistance with care. On the other side stand the costs the home invoices. The personal contribution is nothing other than the gap between the two. Whoever knows this gap can calmly check whether pension and ongoing income carry it — and from what point further steps become necessary at all. Have the individual items set out separately by the facility; that makes the bill comprehensible and comparable.

The care-related personal contribution has risen noticeably in recent years, chiefly because of higher wages in care. At the same time, the insurance’s staggered relief surcharges soften it: the longer the stay in the home lasts, the higher the subsidy towards this share. In long stays in particular, this staggering has a marked effect. The exact rates change from time to time; the facility and the care fund will calculate them precisely for your case — do not rely on general figures from the internet.

If income and usable assets do not cover the personal contribution over the long term, there is an entitlement to assistance with care under the Social Code (SGB XII). The welfare office assesses income and assets but leaves a protected amount (Schonvermögen) untouched. In some federal states there is, in addition, a care-housing allowance (Pflegewohngeld) for the investment costs. Important for relatives: adult children are only drawn upon for their parents’ care costs above a high, statutorily fixed income threshold — which leaves the great majority out of it. That reassurance takes much of the pressure off many families.

It is also important to know that assistance with care must be brought to the welfare office’s attention — it does not come of its own accord. It takes effect from the moment the welfare office learns of the need — not retroactively — which is why it is worth not postponing the notification to the welfare office. Which documents are needed for it, how high the protected amount is in your case, and whether supplementary benefits apply in your federal state are best clarified directly there. We prepare these steps with you, but do not make the social-law decision in their place.

The family home only comes into view when pension, care insurance and savings cannot carry the personal contribution over the long term. Even then there are calm paths — a loan from the welfare office secured against the land register, letting, or an orderly sale at the right moment. A rushed emergency sale is almost never necessary. How these paths look in detail is set out in the further articles of this guide.

Picture a typical situation: a parent moves into a home after a hospital stay, the daughter holds a power of attorney, and the first nursing-home bill looks alarmingly high. Set in order, it is a series of calm steps. First, one can clarify the fixed amount the care fund contributes, depending on the care level. Then the actual personal contribution becomes visible — that is, only the part that remains open after this subsidy. In the third step, it is checked what pension and ongoing income cover of it. If a gap remains, it is not closed off the cuff with the house, but first with assistance with care. Only when usable assets, too, cannot cover the gap over the long term does the property come into view at all. Each of these steps has its own time; none demands that the house be decided on the first day.

Our task is to put the figures and the sequence in order, not to take a decision off your hands. We bring together the items of the nursing-home bill, the care fund’s benefits and the ongoing income clearly, so that the actual gap becomes visible. We name the places where binding information must be obtained — the facility for the costs, the care fund for the benefits, the welfare office for assistance with care and the protected amount, and, for tax questions, those entitled to advise. Where representation is needed, we clarify with you whether a power of attorney or a guardianship exists, and refer its legal assessment to those entitled to advise. And we keep an eye on ensuring that a financial question does not turn into a rushed sale. What we deliberately do not do is replace legal, tax or social-welfare advice; we prepare the matter and accompany you, while the decision remains yours.

This article provides orientation and does not replace legal, tax or social-welfare advice. Specific amounts and entitlements are clarified by the facility, the care fund and the welfare office.