The 2027 additional contribution: what is known and what is not
On paper 2.9 % on average, per the estimate of 14 October 2026; nobody yet knows your own fund’s rate for 2027.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
What a rate increase costs you
Extra a year, your share
€68
| Extra a month | €6 |
| Employer pays on top | €6 |
| Contributory (2027 ceiling) | €3,800 |
| Points | 0.30 |
For 2027 the estimating group (Schätzerkreis) at the Federal Office for Social Security forecast on 14 October 2026 that health funds will spend 378.1 billion euros, 2.2 % more than in 2026. Allocations from the central health fund cover 318.3 billion of that; the gap of 59.8 billion, divided by members’ contributory income of 2,067.6 billion, gives 2.89 % on paper, rounded to 2.9 % as in 2026. The Federal Health Ministry sets this average in the Federal Gazette by 1 November (section 242a of Book V of the Social Code). It is only a benchmark: what you pay is decided by your fund’s board, usually in December. Today 57 open funds charge more than 2.9 % and 14 less, and the simple mean of all rates is 3.4 %. Each tenth of a point costs an employee on €3,800 gross about €23 a year.
From the estimate to the rate on your payslip
The 2027 contribution goes through four stages, and only the first has happened. On 14 October 2026 the estimating group, made up of experts from the Health Ministry, the Federal Office for Social Security and the GKV-Spitzenverband (the funds’ umbrella body), forecast income and spending for 2027 (estimate table). By 1 November the ministry publishes the average additional rate in the Federal Gazette. In December each fund’s board sets its own rate. On 1 January those rates apply, and only on that day do they appear in the GKV-Spitzenverband list.
| Item in the estimate table | 2027 |
|---|---|
| Spending by health funds | €378.1 bn |
| Allocations from the central health fund | €318.3 bn |
| Gap to be covered by additional rates | €59.8 bn |
| Contributory income of all members | €2,067.6 bn |
| Rate on paper (gap ÷ income) | 2.89 % |
The paper figure of 2.89 % is rounded to one decimal. That it stays at 2.9 % in 2027 owes something to legislation: the contribution stabilisation act of July 2026 raises the 2027 contribution ceiling by an extra amount and increases the flat contribution employers pay for minijobbers. Both bring the funds money without the rate going up.
The average is not your rate
The official average is a planning figure. It sets what is paid for people on basic income support and feeds into the formula for midijobs. Your payslip follows your own fund’s rate, and funds differ widely: open funds today range from 2.18 % to 4.39 %. 57 of 71 are above 2.9 % and 14 below. The simple mean of all rates is 3.4 %; weighted by members it would differ, because big funds would count more, but the list does not publish membership numbers.
For 2027 that means a fund already well above average may have priced in its deficit, while one far below may have catching up to do. There is no reliable forecast for individual funds, and we do not make one.
What each rise means in euros
The calculator above shows the rise for your income. The table gives a sense of scale, employee share with one child, 2027 thresholds:
| Gross pay a month | +0.2 points, a year | +0.5 points, a year |
|---|---|---|
| €2,500 | €30 | €75 |
| €3,800 | €46 | €114 |
| €5,000 | €60 | €150 |
| €6,375 | €77 | €191 |
Above the contribution ceiling of €6,375 a month the rise stops growing. Pensioners pay half, like employees, but two months later (section 247 SGB V); self-employed voluntary members carry the whole rise, so the table’s figures double for them.
Your take-home pay usually falls by a little less. Health and care contributions reduce wage tax through the so-called Vorsorgepauschale, the flat allowance payroll uses for insurance costs, so part of the rise comes back as slightly lower tax. How much depends on your tax class and income; our calculator deliberately shows the contribution before that effect, exactly as it appears on the payslip line for health insurance. For the employer every rise is a real extra cost of the same size, which is why payroll teams watch December closely.
What you can do now
No need to rush, but be ready. If you have been with your fund for at least twelve months you can switch at any time; choose a new fund in October and it covers you from January, without waiting for your old fund’s board. If you joined more recently, wait for the decision: once your fund raises its rate, the special termination right applies and you have until the end of the month in which the higher rate starts. The page on switching fund works out the exact date.
Your fund against the average rate
More than at the average, a year
€89
| BARMER rate | 3.29 % |
| Average rate 2026 | 2.9 % |
| Your monthly share at your fund | €408 |
What nobody knows yet
Three things are open today. First, each fund’s 2027 rate. Second, the final thresholds: the Labour Ministry’s ordinance has been adopted by the cabinet but still needs the Bundesrat (BMAS). Third, the Care Reorganisation Act, which would raise the childless surcharge and move the care insurance ceiling; it is a draft and is not calculated here. As soon as anything is settled, this page recalculates; we read the fund list every morning.
If you read forecasts on comparison portals, check what they rest on. An “expected average” for 2027 above the official figure is a guess about how the boards of 91 funds will act, not an official number. Only two things are solid: the official average the ministry sets, and your own fund’s rate once it has been decided and approved. Everything in between is speculation, and nobody should base a switch that ties them for twelve months on speculation.