AOK Niedersachsen: additional rate and cost by family situation

AOK Niedersachsen charges 2.98 %; with three children under 25 you pay €228 a year less than with one.

Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate

excluding one-off payments

Year

Your contribution at AOK Niedersachsen, 2026

€402

a month · additional rate 2.98 %

Contributory income€3,800
Health insurance (14.6 % + 2.98 %), your share€334
of which AOK Niedersachsen additional rate€57
Long-term care€68
You pay a month€402
Employer adds€402
A year (your share)€4,829

Cheapest fund open in Lower Saxony: BKK firmus (2.18 %). You would pay €182 less a year. Rank 9 of 50.

Chosen today: new fund from 1 January 2027, provided you have been a member for at least twelve months.

Step-by-step calculation
  1. Income €3,800 → contributory €3,800 (ceiling 2026: €5,813 a month).
  2. Health: 14.6 % general or reduced rate plus 2.98 % AOK Niedersachsen additional rate, split half and half with the employer.
  3. Care: 3.6 %.

Estimate under Books V and XI of the Social Code. Your fund’s or employer’s calculation is binding. How we calculate

All 50 funds you can join in Lower Saxony, in euros

#FundAdd. rateYou pay/monthvs today/year
1BKK firmus · regional2.18 %€387−€182
2BKK Public · regional2.50 %€393−€109
2TUI BKK2.50 %€393−€109
4hkk2.59 %€395−€89
5Audi BKK2.60 %€395−€87
6Techniker Krankenkasse (TK)2.69 %€397−€66
7WMF BKK2.85 %€400−€30
8HEK2.89 %€401−€21

Minus = you pay less a year than at AOK Niedersachsen. Company funds open only to their own staff are left out.

AOK Niedersachsen, officially “AOK - Die Gesundheitskasse für Niedersachsen”, is listed by the GKV-Spitzenverband as open in Lower Saxony only and charges an additional contribution (Zusatzbeitrag) of 2.98 %. That puts it 4th among the 11 regional AOK funds, level with AOK Hessen. Anyone living or working between the Emsland and the Harz pays €402 a month for health and care insurance on €3,800 gross with one child. The number of children moves the amount more than some choices of fund: childless members aged 23 and over pay €425, parents of three children under 25 only €383, because a care discount applies from the second child. The city-state AOK in Bremen charges 3.29 %, which at that pay is €71 a year more. Among the 50 funds open in Lower Saxony, the AOK ranks 9.

Family and fund: what really moves the contribution

At AOK Niedersachsen, as at every fund, the care share depends on whether you are a parent. For families in Lower Saxony a third child therefore matters more than switching to a cheaper fund, and childless members pay more every year wherever they are insured. The table shows your own share on €3,800 gross.

AOK Niedersachsen, €3,800 gross, 2026
Family situationYou pay a montha year
childless, 23 or over€425€5,103
one child€402€4,829
three children under 25€383€4,601
five children under 25€364€4,373

Lower Saxony, Bremen and the neighbouring AOKs

Lower Saxony surrounds Bremen and borders five more states with regional funds of their own. If you live near a border, say in Osnabrück with a job in Westphalia or in Wolfsburg with a job in Saxony-Anhalt, you can choose between two AOKs. The differences in euros:

€3,800 gross, one child
AOKAdditional rateYou pay a monthvs AOK Niedersachsen a year
AOK Sachsen-Anhalt2.89 %€401−€21
AOK Niedersachsen2.98 %€402·
AOK Hessen2.98 %€402−€0
AOK NordWest2.99 %€403+€2
AOK Bremen/Bremerhaven3.29 %€408+€71

Pensioners at AOK Niedersachsen pay €198 a month on a €1,600 state pension, self-employed members €617 on €3,000 profit, students €144. Every fund open in Lower Saxony and in Bremen is in the ranking by state.

Proving your children and switching fund

For the child discount to apply, your parenthood and the children’s ages must be proven, to the employer if you are employed or to the care fund if you pay yourself; an automated reporting procedure increasingly handles this (section 55(3a) SGB XI). Switching fund changes nothing here. A switch takes effect at the end of the month after next, and children covered free of charge move with you.

What members ask

How much less do I pay at AOK Niedersachsen with several children?

From the second child under 25 your care share falls by 0.25 % per child, up to the fifth. On €3,800 gross you pay €402 with one child, €383 with three and €364 with five each month. The discount is the same at every fund; the children must be proven to whoever pays in your contributions.

I live in Lower Saxony and work in Bremen. Which AOK can I join?

Both. AOK Niedersachsen is open to you through your home, AOK Bremen/Bremerhaven through your workplace. Today the Bremen fund charges 3.29 % and the Lower Saxony fund 2.98 %; on €3,800 gross that is €71 a year apart. You can also join any nationwide fund.

Does switching from AOK Niedersachsen to the cheapest fund pay?

On €3,800 gross, BKK firmus at 2.18 % saves €182 a year, at the contribution ceiling €279. Whether that justifies a move also depends on service and local offices, which no list measures. Check first that the cheaper fund is actually open in your state, which the ranking above does for you.

What do childless AOK Niedersachsen members pay?

From your 23rd birthday a 0.6 % care surcharge applies, paid by you alone. On €3,800 gross you then pay €425 a month instead of €402. Parents whose children are over 25 are not childless and do not pay the surcharge.

Continue with

List of all rates

All 91 funds with a rate, filter by state and type, your cost in euros and every change since recording began.

Care insurance contribution

3.6 % base rate, 0.6 points more if childless, 0.25 points less per child from the second: your care contribution in euros.

AOK NordWest

2.99 % additional rate in Westphalia-Lippe and Schleswig-Holstein; AOK Rheinland/Hamburg is dearer.

Laws and official data

Written by

Publisher of a contribution calculator for German statutory health insurance · every fund's Zusatzbeitrag

Updated on · Editorial policy · Contact

Legal position 2026, read on