Statutory insurance: What contribution assessment limit applies to you in 2025?

Employees only pay contributions to statutory pension, unemployment and health insurance up to a certain salary. Where are the boundaries.

You know it from your payslip: 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 raised up to a certain income limit. This so-called donation assessment limit changes every year. We will show you what the amount of the calculation depends on, where the different insurance companies currently have it and what the compulsory insurance limit is about.

The contribution assessment limit determines the level of your income up to which you must 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 not relevant for calculating the contributions. From this amount you no longer have to pay social security contributions.

But be careful: If your income is higher than 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 covered by private insurance instead of legal insurance. The annual salary limit, also known as the compulsory insurance limit, will govern when this is possible (more on this below).

die Federal Government changes calculation variables each year in the social security calculation scale – depending on how total wages and salaries have evolved. If the average income increases, the contribution assessment limit will also increase 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 insurance and nursing care.

For statutory pension insurance The following donation 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 insurancewhich includes insured mining workers, The following donation 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 care and nursing insurance remains the same in East and 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 across the country 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. Western Value has long been relevant across the country in health care and nursing insurance.

The amount of your social security contributions depends on the level of your gross salary or wages. They are based on a percentage that is usually divided equally between the employer and the employee. Only when it comes to long-term care insurance are childless workers asked to pay more.

The following grant levels 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 and 0.6 percent)

Statutory health insurance companies also charge an additional contribution, which they can verify for themselves. In 2024, dozens of health insurance funds increased their contributions. Read which ones here. There will be another increase in 2025, as the average statutory additional contribution rises from 1.7 per cent to 2.5 per cent.

Good to know: If your property changes, you can use your special right to terminate it. Read here exactly how to do this.

When it comes to health and nursing care insurance, once you reach a certain income you have a choice between statutory health insurance (GKV) and private health insurance (PKV). How much you need to earn for this is determined by the annual salary limit (JAEG), as it is called in technical jargon. The most common term for this is 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 is also dependent on the previous year’s salary level.

If your income is below the compulsory insurance level, you automatically have statutory health insurance. If you have private insurance and fall below the compulsory insurance level again, you can switch back to the statutory health insurance fund.