Parental leave
Health insurance on parental leave
Usually free of contributions, but not for everyone.
If you are compulsorily insured, you remain a member of your insurer during parental leave and normally pay no contribution. If you are voluntarily or privately insured, it can get expensive. It is best to clarify this before the birth.
Author: Jan Ortgies · As of 11 November 2026 · If a switch comes about through our comparison, we receive a fee from the new insurer, not from you.
Compulsorily insured
If you are compulsorily insured
- Membership continues
- Your membership continues as long as you receive maternity pay or parental allowance or are on parental leave. This also applies if the parental allowance has ended but the leave continues.
- Free of contributions
- You pay no contributions on parental allowance and maternity pay. If you have no earnings from work besides, you are normally free of contributions. Interest or rental income does not count for compulsorily insured members.
- Part-time work during leave
- If you work during parental leave, contributions are due on those earnings. Up to €603 a month (2026) it is a mini-job; above that, up to €2,000, a midi-job with a reduced share. How the midi-job is calculated →
- Sickness benefit
- Entitlement to sickness benefit is suspended during parental leave. Exceptions: you were already signed off sick before the leave began, or you work part-time during the leave in a job subject to insurance.
- Notification
- Your employer reports the parental leave to the insurer. To be safe, ask the insurer whether the report has arrived.
Voluntarily insured
If you are a voluntary member
- Normally the minimum contribution
- As a voluntary member you normally pay at least the minimum contribution during parental leave: in 2026 around €270 a month for health and long-term care insurance, calculated with the average additional contribution. The parental allowance itself remains free of contributions.
- When you pay nothing
- If you were previously exempt from compulsory insurance as an employee because of your salary, you pay nothing following maternity pay, provided you could be family-insured without the voluntary membership. That requires your spouse to be publicly insured themselves and your income to be no more than €565 a month (2026). Apply for this explicitly with your insurer.
- Spouse privately insured
- Then you are not free of contributions. If your own income is lower, the insurer attributes half of your joint income to you, up to a maximum of €2,906.25 a month (2026). That can mean up to around €596 in contributions for health and long-term care insurance. There are deductions for joint children. The Federal Social Court confirmed this practice in 2024. Have your contribution calculated before the birth.
- Not married
- Under the insurers’ rules only the income of spouses and registered civil partners is counted. If you live together unmarried, your partner’s income does not count. Without income of your own it then normally stays at the minimum contribution. Ask your insurer about your case.
- Other income
- For voluntary members, investment and rental income also count. Declare them in full. If you work part-time during the leave for more than €603 and below the compulsory insurance threshold, you normally become compulsorily insured and pay only on those earnings.
Private or family-insured
If you are privately or family-insured
- Family-insured
- If you were already covered free of charge through family insurance before the leave, you stay so. From 2028, covering a spouse costs a surcharge; the law provides an exception for parents of children under twelve.
- Privately insured
- You stay privately insured and pay the premium alone during the leave, including the part your employer used to subsidise. You cannot move into your publicly insured spouse’s family insurance during maternity protection and parental leave if you were not last publicly insured.
Your child
Insuring your child and maternity pay
- Family insurance
- Children are covered free of charge in the public system. Register your child with your insurer after the birth, using the birth certificate.
- Exception
- If you are married and one parent is privately insured, regularly has a total income above €6,450 a month (2026) and more than the publicly insured parent, the child is not covered free of charge. You can then insure the child voluntarily in the public system or privately; both cost a contribution of their own. You have three months after the birth to join voluntarily.
- Maternity pay
- If you are employed and a member yourself, the insurer pays at most €13 per calendar day; your employer tops it up to your net pay. If you are privately or family-insured, you do not get it from the insurer but, on application, a one-off payment of up to €210 from the Federal Office for Social Security. You apply to the insurer with the certificate of the expected date of birth.
- Switching insurer
- During parental leave the normal switching rules apply. In contribution-free time you save nothing by it, but you do for the time afterwards. Finish pending applications, such as for maternity pay, first.
Other situations
Other life situations
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Am I insured free of charge during parental leave?
What do I pay as a voluntary member during parental leave?
Do I have to report parental leave to my insurer?
Can I switch insurer during parental leave?
How is my child insured?
What does your help cost?
This page is general information based on our own research, without guarantee, and does not replace professional advice, nor information from your insurer, the employment agency or the job centre. Amounts are guide values for the year stated. Your individual case may differ.
Sources: § 192 SGB V · § 224 SGB V · § 226 SGB V · § 240 SGB V · § 10 SGB V · § 24i SGB V · § 49 SGB V · Familienportal: work and insurance during parental leave (German) · BSG B 12 KR 2/22 R · GKV-Spitzenverband: contribution rules for self-payers (German)
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