Proposed Increase in Social Contributions for High-income Workers Starting in 2026

Annually, the earnings limit for social security contributions is adjusted based on wage growth. For workers, this means they are obligated to make contributions up to a certain income level.

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2025 September 14 . 8:49 PM

1 min read

Planned increases in social contributions for highly compensated workers, effective from 2026

In a bid to address the financial strains faced by health and pension insurers, both SPD health expert Christos Pantazis and Janosch Dahmen, the health policy spokesman of the Greens, have advocated for significant changes.

Last June, Christos Pantazis suggested that high earners should pay more into the statutory health insurance. He specifically proposed an increase in the contribution assessment ceiling by around 2,500 euros. This increase, according to Pantazis, is intended to stabilise the strained financial situation of the insurers.

Similarly, Dahmen has suggested an increase in the contribution assessment ceiling for pension insurance, moving it step by step towards the level of statutory pension insurance.

It's worth noting that the contribution assessment ceiling in both health and pension insurance is the maximum amount of gross income up to which contributions are levied. For pension insurance, income above this ceiling is not taken into account for the calculation of contributions.

The planned regulation primarily affects individual insurance types such as certain non-health insurance lines in the financial and insurance sectors. However, due to data protection and sensitive health data requirements under GDPR, health insurances and some life insurances are exempt from mandatory data sharing regulations under FiDA.

The development of wages and salaries is observed to determine the relevant values of the key figures of social security. As these discussions unfold, it will be interesting to see how these proposed changes will impact the overall financial health of the health and pension insurance sectors.