Change in social security contributions and standardised national contribution assessment limits 2025
In 2025, there will be a major change in the contribution assessment ceilings for pension and unemployment insurance: the last different contribution ceilings in eastern and western Germany have finally been abandoned and uniform national values now apply in all insurance branches.
The average additional contribution in statutory health insurance will rise to 2.5% - a significant increase of 0.8 percentage points.
Contribution assessment limits
There will be significant changes to the income thresholds for 2025 compared to 2024:
The income threshold for health and long-term care insurance will rise to EUR 5,512.50 per month or EUR 66,150.00 per year in 2025.
The nationwide standardised compulsory insurance limit for statutory health insurance (annual income limit) will rise to EUR 73,800.00 in 2025 (equivalent to EUR 6150.00 per month).
The contribution assessment ceiling for pension and unemployment insurance will rise to a uniform EUR 8,050.00 per month (EUR 96,600.00 per year), meaning that for the first time 35 years after German reunification, there will no longer be a difference between East and West Germany.
The 2025 contributions at a glance:
The contribution rates will remain largely unchanged, with only a few notable increases:
Long-term care insurance: 3.6% (plus 0.6% for childless employees; minus 0.25 percentage points per child from the second child onwards)
Pension insurance: 18.6%
Unemployment insurance: 2.6%
Health insurance: 14.6% general rate plus an average supplementary contribution of 2.5%.
In Detail:
Long-term care insurance
The contribution to long-term care insurance will change again in 2025 for the first time after 18 months of stability and will rise to 3.6%; it will be borne equally by employers and employees.
The additional contribution to be borne solely by childless employees over the age of 23 is 0.6%.
From the second to the fifth child, however, there is a reduction of 0.25% per child as usual.
The special case in the federal state of Saxony remains: Employees there continue to pay a higher share of the long-term care insurance contribution (2.3% if the employee has one child; employers 1.3%) because the ‘Day of Repentance and Prayer’ holiday was retained there in 1995. Childless employees pay 2.9%.
Health insurance
The general contribution rate for health insurance remains unchanged at 14.6%.
The additional contributions vary depending on the health insurance fund. They generally range between 1.8% and 4.4%. The average supplementary contribution for 2025 is now 2.5% (previously only 1.7% in 2024). As in the previous year, the employer bears half of the contribution.
Pension insurance
The pension insurance contribution remains unchanged compared to the previous year at 18.6%.
Unemployment insurance
The contribution to unemployment insurance remains unchanged at 2.6%.
Accident insurance
The contribution amount for accident insurance is calculated individually for each company by the employers’ liability insurance associations. The average contribution to accident insurance is 1.3%.
U1 and U2 allocations
The U1 (compensation for continued remuneration in the event of illness) and U2 (compensation for maternity leave) contributions are determined by the respective health insurance funds and therefore vary. There are also different levels of cover, with different contribution amounts.
Insolvency benefit levy
No statutory ordinance was issued for 2025 to deviate from the statutory levy rate. The insolvency money levy (‘U3 levy’) will therefore rise from 0.06% to the 0.15% stipulated by law in Section 360 SGB III.
Practical advice
We will be happy to advise you on whether and how exactly benefits in addition to a fixed salary and/or bonus payments in EUR can be useful.
For example, a traditional company pension plan funded via salary deferral is often attractive; where the employer saves social‑insurance contributions, a statutory employer subsidy (generally 15% of the deferred amount) applies.
Benefits granted in addition to salary that receive tax/social‑security relief—such as public transport subsidies (including the Deutschlandticket), employer‑paid childcare for non‑school‑age children, and subsidised meals—are popular and financially attractive. Mobility benefits such as company cars (with preferential taxation for EVs) and discounted “job bikes” are likewise common, as are workplace sports and health programmes.
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