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Zukunftspakt Pflege: what has been decided and what has not
Key facts at a glance
- Nothing has been decided for 2026 – but since 5 June 2026 there has been a draft bill for a Care Reorganisation Act
- The basis is a set of expert key points dated 11 December 2025 from the Zukunftspakt Pflege (“future pact for care”)
- The proposal is to bundle benefits into two large budgets
- The draft abolishes the separate entitlement to consumable care aids (Section 40 (2) SGB XI) on 1 January 2027 – the funds are absorbed into the new budgets
- The changeover is to be expenditure-neutral – no additional money is added
“Care reform 2026” is a frequent headline at the moment, usually combined with promises. This article separates what has been decided from what has been proposed – and shows what the proposals would mean for the monthly budget for care aids.
What applies in 2026
In short: the same as in 2025. The benefit amounts were raised on 1 January 2025; no further increase was decided for 2026. The budget for consumable care aids also remains unchanged at 42 euros a month, regulated in Section 40 (2) SGB XI.
So if you read that there will be more from 2026 – that is not correct.
What the Zukunftspakt is
Two expert working groups, “Care” and “Financing”, have drawn up expert key points for a structural and financing reform of long-term care insurance. The paper is dated 11 December 2025 and is published by the Federal Ministry of Health.
The proposals have since become a draft: on 5 June 2026, the Federal Ministry of Health published the draft bill for a Care Reorganisation Act (PNOG). There was no cabinet decision at the time of writing; it is certainly not yet law. According to Article 7 of the draft, the Act is to come into force on 1 January 2027.
The reason is serious: around six million people are entitled to long-term care insurance benefits, expenditure is rising, and so are the personal contributions. The paper expressly names as goals limiting the development of personal contributions and improving the revenue side.
The proposal most likely to affect you
Under the heading “Simple and low-bureaucracy use”, the paper proposes bundling several individual benefits into two budgets. There are two variants that differ in their scope – but in both the same basic principle applies:
- a benefits-in-kind budget for care benefits in kind, respite care and other services
- a relief budget as a flexibly usable cash benefit for people in need of care who are looked after at home
On the relief budget it says literally that with the cash benefit “for example, services in the case of necessary respite care, but also care aids intended for consumption, could be purchased directly”.
What this would mean for the 42 euros
This is the point missing from most summaries. What the key points paper still formulated as a financing idea appears in the draft bill as a concrete amendment (Article 1 number 33):
“a) After paragraph 1 sentence 4, the following sentence is inserted: ‘Care aids intended for consumption are excluded from the entitlement under sentence 1.’ b) Paragraph 2 is deleted.”
In plain language: paragraph 2 is the 42-euro rule. It would be deleted without replacement. The explanatory memorandum to the draft describes disinfectants or face masks as “readily available on the general market”; the previous expenditure would be “integrated expenditure-neutrally into the benefits-in-kind budget under Section 36 and the relief budget under Section 37”. Gloves, disinfectants and bed protection pads would therefore in future be co-financed from a larger pot – partly as a cash benefit with which people shop themselves. As a further reason, the draft cites “potential for abuse” said to have been identified in the procurement of consumable care aids.
“Expenditure-neutral” is the decisive word here. It means: the total stays the same, it is merely distributed differently. Anyone who currently uses the 42 euros in full should follow further developments closely.
What else is in the paper
- an emergency budget for unforeseeable situations
- prevention-oriented professional guidance and support for people in need of care
- measures to dampen expenditure dynamics and on the revenue side
- several options for limiting personal contributions
- a study on day and night care
The paper also expressly examines the consequences for social assistance for care – i.e. for those who depend on social welfare.
How to put this into perspective
Three questions help with every report on care reform:
- Decided or proposed? A key points paper is not a law – and neither is a draft bill. It can still change considerably in the process.
- From when? The draft names 1 January 2027. Until then, current law applies in full.
- Is money being added? If it says “expenditure-neutral”, then no.
Frequently asked questions
Will the care allowance rise in 2026?
Not as things stand. The last increase took place on 1 January 2025.
Do I have to do anything now?
No. As long as no law has been passed, nothing changes in your entitlements. However, anyone who has not yet used the entitlement to care aids should claim it now – it applies monthly, cannot be made up for later and is up for debate in its current form.
Will the care package disappear?
As a separate entitlement with a fixed monthly amount: according to the draft bill, yes, on 1 January 2027. The products themselves would remain financeable from the new budgets. Whether it turns out that way is decided by the legislative process – we will update this article as soon as there is news.
Where can I find the original text?
The key points paper is available for download from the Federal Ministry of Health – linked under “Sources”.
Your next step
As long as the current rule applies, it applies in full: up to 42 euros a month, no personal contribution, from care level 1. We handle the application to your long-term care insurance fund.
Read on: Care package: €42 a month · What does the health insurance fund pay?
Sources
- Expert key points for a sustainable structural and financing reform of long-term care insurance, expert working groups in the Zukunftspakt Pflege, 11 December 2025 (in German)
- Draft bill for an Act on the Reorganisation of Long-Term Care Insurance (Care Reorganisation Act – PNOG), Federal Ministry of Health, 5 June 2026 – Article 1 number 33, Article 7 (in German)
- Section 40 SGB XI – care aids, legal text at the Federal Office of Justice (in German)
Note. This article gives a general overview and does not replace legal or social advice. The changes described are in a draft bill, not in current law; whether and in what form they become law was open at the time of writing. The text was summarised from the sources listed above with the help of artificial intelligence and editorially reviewed. Translated from German. Status: September 2026.