Employees only pay contributions to statutory pension, unemployment and health insurance up to a certain salary. Where the limits are.
You know it from your pay slip: month after month, part of your salary does not go into your account, but into the various social insurance policies such as pension or health insurance.
However, these contributions are only levied up to a certain income limit. This so-called contribution assessment limit changes every year. We will show you what the calculation size depends on, where it currently lies for the various insurance companies and what the compulsory insurance limit is all about.
The contribution assessment limit determines the level of your income up to which you have to pay contributions for statutory social insurance. It also decides on the maximum social security contribution.
The part of the income that exceeds this limit is irrelevant for the calculation of the contributions. From this amount you do not have to pay any further social security contributions.
But be careful: If your income exceeds the contribution assessment limit, this does not mean that you no longer have to pay into social insurance such as pension or unemployment insurance. The only exception is health and nursing care insurance.
If your income is high enough, you can choose whether you would like to be privately insured instead of legally insured. The so-called annual salary limit, also known as the compulsory insurance limit, regulates when this is possible (more on this below).
The federal government adjusts the calculation figures every year in the social security calculation scale – depending on how gross wages and salaries have developed. If the average income increases, the contribution assessment limit also increases and vice versa.
There are two different values for the contribution assessment limit: one for statutory pension and unemployment insurance and one for statutory health and nursing care insurance.
For statutory pension insurance The following contribution assessment limits apply:
- 2025: 8,050 euros/month nationwide (96,600 euros/year)
- 2024: 7,550 euros/month (90,600 euros/year) in the west, 7,450 euros/month (89,400 euros/year) in the east
For the miners’ pension insurance, in which employees in the mining industry are insured, The following contribution assessment limits apply:
- 2025: 9,900 euros/month (118,800 euros/year) nationwide
- 2024: 9,300 euros/month (111,600 euros/year) in the west, 9,200 euros/month (110,400 euros/year) in the east
The same contribution assessment limit applies to unemployment insurance as to pension insurance:
- 2025: 8,050 euros/month nationwide (96,600 euros/year)
- 2024: 7,550 euros/month (90,600 euros/year) in the west, 7,450 euros/month (89,400 euros/year) in the east
The contribution assessment limit for health and nursing care insurance remains the same in the East as in the West:
- 2025: 5,512.50 euros/month (66,150 euros/year)
- 2024: 5,175 euros/month (62,100 euros/year)
The reference figure represents the average salary in Germany from the previous calendar year. It is used in social security for various calculations.
In 2025, the monthly reference amount nationwide will be 3,745 euros. In 2024, pension and unemployment insurance still had different values for East and West: in the West the reference figure was 3,535 euros per month, in the East 3,465 euros. The West value has long been applicable nationwide in health and nursing care insurance.
How high your social security contributions are depends on the amount of your gross wages or salary. They are based on a percentage that is usually shared equally between the employer and the employee. Only when it comes to long-term care insurance are employees without children asked to pay more.
The following contribution rates apply for 2025:
- Statutory pension insurance: 18.6 percent
- Miners’ pension insurance: 24.7 percent
- Unemployment insurance: 2.6 percent
- Statutory health insurance: 14.6 percent
- Nursing care insurance: 3.6 percent (for those without children plus 0.6 percent)
Statutory health insurance companies also charge an additional contribution, which they can determine themselves. In 2024, dozens of health insurance funds increased the contribution. Read which ones here. There will be increases again in 2025, as the average statutory additional contribution rises from 1.7 percent to 2.5 percent.
Good to know: If your fund changes, you can make use of your special right of termination. Read here exactly how to do this.
When it comes to health and nursing care insurance, once you reach a certain income you have the choice between statutory health insurance (GKV) and private health insurance (PKV). How much you have to earn for this is determined by the annual salary limit (JAEG), as it is called in technical jargon. The more common term for this is the compulsory insurance limit.
In 2025, this limit will be 6,150 euros per month or 73,800 euros per year. In 2024 it was still 69,300 euros per year or 5,775 euros per month. Like the contribution assessment limit, the compulsory insurance limit also depends on the wage level of the previous year.
If your income is below the compulsory insurance limit, you are automatically compulsorily insured with statutory health insurance. If you are privately insured and fall below the compulsory insurance limit again, you can switch back to the statutory health insurance fund.
