Zusatzbeitrag 2027: How Much More Will You Pay for German Health Insurance, and Should You Switch?

The short answer: stable on paper, dearer in practice

For most employees the 2027 increase depends almost entirely on their own Krankenkasse, not the national average. The estimated average stays at 2.9%, but funds already charge 3.13% on average, and higher earners face a ceiling that rises by €562.50 a month. Individual 2027 rates arrive in November and December.

On 14 October 2026 the GKV-Schätzerkreis, the official panel that forecasts the finances of Germany’s statutory health insurance (GKV), put the average Zusatzbeitrag needed to cover costs in 2027 at 2.9%. That is the same figure as for 2026. The health ministry (BMG) uses this forecast to set the official average, which it must publish by 1 November 2026. As of 23 October 2026 that figure has not been published.

The headline of “stable contributions” hides three things. First, the 2.9% is a benchmark, not a price: the BMG says funds were actually charging 3.13% on average at the end of June 2026. Second, the income ceiling on which contributions are charged (the Beitragsbemessungsgrenze) is planned to rise from €5,812.50 to €6,375 a month, so anyone above the old ceiling pays more even at an unchanged rate. Third, childless people face a higher care insurance surcharge under a bill now in parliament.

What is the average Zusatzbeitrag 2027?

The forecast average Zusatzbeitrag for 2027 is 2.9%, unchanged from 2026. The Schätzerkreis expects health fund revenue of about €320.7 billion against GKV spending of about €378.1 billion. The official figure from the BMG is due by 1 November 2026.

Every statutory health insurance member pays the general rate of 14.6% of gross pay, split equally with the employer, plus a fund-specific Zusatzbeitrag that is also split half and half for employees. The “average Zusatzbeitrag” is the rate that would, in theory, close the gap between what the central health fund (Gesundheitsfonds) pays out to funds and what they spend.

According to reporting on the Schätzerkreis results, GKV spending is forecast at about €370.1 billion in 2026 and €378.1 billion in 2027, while health fund revenue rises from about €312.2 billion to €320.7 billion. The Ersatzkassen association vdek puts spending growth for 2027 at about 2.2% and fund revenue growth at about 2.7%, a sharp slowdown from 2026.

That slowdown is not natural: it rests on the GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz, a savings law the Bundestag passed in July 2026. Without it, the BMG had projected an average of about 3.8% for 2027. The ministry has described the law’s relief as about €19 billion (BMG, September 2026); later reporting cites relief of up to €15 billion for funds in 2027.

Why are funds already charging more than 2.9%?

Funds charged an average 3.13% at the end of June 2026, 0.23 points above the 2.9% benchmark, because many are rebuilding reserves. Reserves were about €7.5 billion at mid-2026, roughly the legal minimum, and the GKV-Spitzenverband warns some funds will still be short at year end.

The BMG’s half-year report says many funds set rates above the cost-covering average to refill their reserves after deficits in 2024 and 2025. Fund reserves stood at about €7.5 billion, around 0.2 of a month’s spending, which is back at the statutory minimum on average. Funds that are still below the minimum must keep charging more.

GKV-Spitzenverband chair Oliver Blatt has warned that some funds will not have their minimum reserves filled by the turn of the year, and that a planned pharma “location clause” could cost up to €1.3 billion, adding pressure on rates. The vdek’s Ulrike Elsner said the stability “rests on shaky ground”.

A members-weighted average across 71 funds calculated by the comparison site krankenkasseninfo.de comes to about 3.14% for 2026 (an unofficial approximation). The Greens’ health spokesman Janosch Dahmen expects at least 3.1% in 2027. Both point the same way: the realistic starting point for 2027 is above 3%, not 2.9%.

Zusatzbeitrag by fund: TK, Barmer, DAK, AOK and hkk compared

Among the large funds, hkk charges 2.59% and TK and AOK Bayern 2.69%, while IKK classic charges 3.85% and KKH 3.78% (as of 23 October 2026). Across all 92 funds the range is 2.18% (BKK firmus) to 4.39% (BKK24). 2027 rates are not yet announced.

Large national funds differ by more than a full percentage point. TK, Germany’s biggest fund, charges 2.69% (a total rate of 17.29%), Barmer 3.29% and DAK-Gesundheit 3.20%. Regional AOKs range from 2.47% (AOK Rheinland-Pfalz/Saarland) to 3.50% (AOK Nordost). Knappschaft charges 4.30%.

How much more will you pay in 2027? Worked examples

If your fund’s rate stays at 2.9%, employees earning up to €5,812.50 a month pay nothing extra in 2027; at €6,375 or more they pay €49.22 a month (€590.63 a year) more because of the higher ceiling. Each 0.1-point rise in your fund’s rate costs an employee on €4,000 another €24 a year.

Employees pay half the general rate (7.3%) plus half their fund’s Zusatzbeitrag, on gross pay up to the ceiling. At a 2.9% Zusatzbeitrag the employee share is 8.75%. The table compares 2026 with 2027 at three scenarios: rate unchanged at 2.9%, a 3.13% fund (today’s actual average) and 3.8%, the BMG’s projection without the savings law.

Read the last two columns as the total change from 2026 to 2027, including the ceiling effect. For example, an employee on €4,000 whose fund moves from 2.9% to 3.8% pays 0.45% of €4,000 more, which is €18 a month or €216 a year. Your employer pays the same extra amount again.

Try your own numbers in the Krankenkassenbeitrag 2027 calculator on this page. If you are on or near the minimum wage, see how social contributions affect take-home pay in our Germany minimum wage 2027 analysis.

Beitragsbemessungsgrenze 2027: why higher earners pay more

The health and care insurance ceiling is planned to rise 9.7%, from €5,812.50 to €6,375 a month (€76,500 a year) in 2027. About €300 of the €562.50 increase is an extra step from the savings law on top of normal wage indexing. The Bundesrat still has to approve it.

The federal cabinet adopted the 2027 social insurance values in October 2026. The health ceiling (Beitragsbemessungsgrenze) rises to €6,375 a month and the compulsory insurance threshold (Versicherungspflichtgrenze), above which employees may choose private insurance, rises from €77,400 to €84,150 a year. The government says the health limits rise by an additional €300 a month because of the GKV savings law.

For someone at or above the new ceiling, that alone adds €590.63 a year to the employee share at a 2.9% rate. The private insurers’ association PKV-Verband estimates the extra €300 step costs about 6.3 million employees at least €4.2 billion a year (an industry estimate).

Pflegeversicherung 2027: what changes for childless people?

Under a bill approved by the cabinet on 30 September 2026, the childless surcharge in care insurance would rise from 0.6% to 0.9% on 1 January 2027, costing a childless employee on €4,000 about €12 a month (€144 a year) more. The general care rate stays at 3.6%. Parliament has not yet passed it.

The Pflegeneuordnungsgesetz would lift the total care contribution for childless members from 4.2% to 4.5%. The surcharge is paid by the employee alone. The government expects a care insurance deficit of about €7.6 billion in 2027 without action. From 2028 the draft also plans a 0.52% surcharge for co-insured spouses.

Combined with the higher ceiling, the effect stacks for high earners. A childless employee at or above the 2027 ceiling would pay 2.7% (1.8% half of the general rate plus 0.9%) of €6,375, which is €172.13 a month, versus 2.4% of €5,812.50 (€139.50) in 2026: €391.50 a year more for care insurance. Add the health effect and that employee pays about €982 more in 2027 even if their Krankenkasse does not raise its rate (KalQLater calculation; the split of the care rate differs in Saxony).

Why does the Krankenkassenbeitrag keep rising?

Spending is growing far faster than income: GKV spending rose 7.1% in the first half of 2026 while contribution income rose 4.1%. Hospital treatment, the biggest item at €59.6 billion in six months, grew 9.4% per insured person, according to the BMG.

• Hospitals Up €5.1 billion in the first half of 2026. The BMG points to a temporary 3.25% billing surcharge and €1.64 billion in federally funded payments to hospitals.
• Drugs Up 5.1% (€1.5 billion), with specialist outpatient drug costs up 26.7%.
• Doctors and sick pay Outpatient doctor spending rose 6.0% and Krankengeld 7.4%.
• Thin reserves After deficits in 2024 and 2025 funds have to rebuild reserves, which is why actual rates sit above the cost-covering average.

The vdek data show the full contribution rate (general rate plus average Zusatzbeitrag) climbing from 15.7% in 2016 to 17.5% in 2026, a record. The BMG’s stated aim with the savings law is to “couple spending to income again” and break the contribution spiral.

Should you switch your Krankenkasse in 2027? What it saves

Switching from IKK classic (3.85%) to hkk (2.59%) saves an employee on €4,000 about €302 a year at current rates; moving from the most expensive fund overall to the cheapest saves €530. Core medical benefits are set by law, so the difference is mainly price, extras and service.

Most statutory benefits are set by law and are the same at every fund, so for many people the Zusatzbeitrag is the main difference. Consumer advocates at the Verbraucherzentrale still advise checking extras such as bonus programmes, optional tariffs and service before moving, because the cheapest fund is not automatically the best fit.

Savings are the employee half of the difference: (old rate − new rate) ÷ 2 × gross pay up to the ceiling. Self-employed members pay the full Zusatzbeitrag themselves, so their saving is twice as large.

How to switch your Krankenkasse: steps and deadlines

If your fund raises its Zusatzbeitrag on 1 January 2027, you can switch using the Sonderkündigungsrecht until 31 January 2027; your new fund starts on 1 April 2027. You apply only to the new fund, which cancels the old one electronically. Without an increase, the normal 12-month minimum membership applies.

1. 1
   Check your fund’s 2027 rate yourself

   Since late July 2026 funds no longer have to write to members about an increase, according to the Verbraucherzentrale. Check the GKV-Spitzenverband fund list or your January payslip.

2. 2
   Compare funds open where you live

   Use the official GKV-Spitzenverband list. Regional AOKs and some BKKs only accept residents of certain states.

3. 3
   Apply to the new fund only

   You do not need to cancel your old fund. Join the new one and state that you are using the special termination right because of the increase; the new fund handles the cancellation electronically.

4. 4
   Meet the deadline

   The Sonderkündigungsrecht runs until the end of the month in which the higher rate first applies. For an increase on 1 January 2027, that is 31 January 2027.

5. 5
   Tell your employer

   Tell your employer informally which fund you chose. The employer registers you with the new fund electronically; there is no paper membership certificate any more.

6. 6
   Expect two months’ notice

   Notice is two full months to the end of a month. Switch in January and your new membership starts on 1 April 2027; you pay the old fund’s higher rate until 31 March.

What do the self-employed pay in 2027?

Voluntarily insured self-employed people pay the full rate themselves: 14.6% plus the Zusatzbeitrag, or the reduced 14.0% plus the Zusatzbeitrag if they have no entitlement to sick pay. At €4,000 a month and a 2.9% Zusatzbeitrag that is €700 a month (general rate) or €676 (reduced rate).

Because there is no employer half, every change in the Zusatzbeitrag hits the self-employed twice as hard. A 0.6-point gap between two funds costs a freelancer on €4,000 €24 a month or €288 a year. The higher 2027 ceiling also applies, so a self-employed member earning €6,375 or more pays up to 17.5% of €6,375, or €1,115.63 a month in health contributions at a 2.9% rate.

Self-employed members are subject to a minimum assessment base and income-based rules that our calculator does not model. Check your fund’s contribution notice (Beitragsbescheid) for your exact figure.

Claims vs evidence: Krankenkassenbeitrag 2027

Frequently asked questions

How we built this analysis

• Average Zusatzbeitrag history 2015–2026 comes from vdek tables of officially set average rates; the 2027 value is the GKV-Schätzerkreis estimate of 14 October 2026 as published by vdek, pending the BMG’s official figure due by 1 November 2026.
• Fund rates are taken from the GKV-Spitzenverband Krankenkassenliste (PDF and web list), Stand 23 October 2026. Zusatzbeitrag = fund’s total rate − 14.6%.
• Employee share = (7.3% + Zusatzbeitrag ÷ 2) × min(gross monthly pay, ceiling), times 12 for annual figures. Ceilings: €5,812.50 (2026) and €6,375 (2027, planned). Example: €4,000 × (7.3% + 1.45%) = €350.00 a month; at 3.8% it is €4,000 × 9.2% = €368.00, so +€18.00 a month, +€216 a year.
• Ceiling effect at 2.9%: 6,375 × 8.75% = €557.8125 vs 5,812.50 × 8.75% = €508.59375; difference €49.22 a month, €590.63 a year. Care insurance for a childless employee: 6,375 × 2.7% = €172.125 vs 5,812.50 × 2.4% = €139.50; difference €391.50 a year.
• Switching savings = (old rate − new rate) ÷ 2 × gross up to the 2027 ceiling × 12. Example: (3.85% − 2.59%) ÷ 2 = 0.63% × €4,000 = €25.20 a month, €302.40 a year.
• Spending drivers use the BMG’s first-half 2026 financial report and annex (growth per insured person versus H1 2025).

Limitations

The 2027 average Zusatzbeitrag is an estimate until the BMG publishes it, and no large fund has published its 2027 rate as of 23 October 2026, so all 2027 figures are scenarios. The 2027 ceiling still needs Bundesrat approval, and the care insurance surcharge change still needs to pass parliament. Calculations ignore income tax effects (contributions are largely tax-deductible), Midijob rules, the self-employed minimum assessment base and the different care rate split in Saxony. Fund comparisons cover price only, not service or extra benefits. This article is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice.

Spotted an error? See our corrections policy. Read how we work in our methodology and editorial standards.

Sources

1. Bundesministerium für Gesundheit (BMG)
   Finanzentwicklung der GKV im 1. Halbjahr 20263.13% actual average, €2.6bn surplus, reserves, spending growth, savings law (4 Sep 2026)
2. Bundesministerium für Gesundheit (BMG)
   Anlage: Finanzentwicklung der GKV im 1. Halbjahr 2026Spending by category and growth per insured person
3. GKV-Spitzenverband
   Krankenkassenliste (PDF), Stand 23.10.2026Zusatzbeitrag of all 92 funds; lowest 2.18%, highest 4.39%
4. GKV-Spitzenverband
   Krankenkassenliste (web)AOK and Barmer rates
5. GKV-Spitzenverband
   ZusatzbeitragssatzBMG sets average by 1 November; Sonderkündigungsrecht
6. Die Bundesregierung
   Beitragsbemessungsgrenzen 2027 (Kabinettsbeschluss)Ceiling €6,375/month, threshold €84,150/year, extra €300 step, Bundesrat approval
7. Deutsche Rentenversicherung
   Beitragsbemessungsgrenzen 2027 sollen steigenCabinet decision of 7 Oct 2026
8. vdek (Verband der Ersatzkassen)
   Pressemitteilung: GKV-Schätzerkreis Prognose 2026/2027 (14 Oct 2026)2.9% for 2027; revenue +2.7%, spending +2.2%
9. vdek
   GKV-Beitragssätze, Arbeitgeber- und Mitgliederanteile 2016–2026Average Zusatzbeitrag history (with 2010–2024 table)
10. Verbraucherzentrale
    Zusatzbeitrag der Krankenkasse: Sonderkündigung und Wechsel möglichSwitching rules, deadlines, end of information duty (Stand 19 Aug 2026)
11. Techniker Krankenkasse
    Kassenwahlrecht: Wechsel der Krankenkasse wurde 2021 vereinfacht12-month binding, electronic employer process
12. Techniker Krankenkasse
    Höhe der TK-BeitragssätzeTK 2.69%, reduced rate 14.0%, care rate 3.6%
13. Cash. (cash-online.de)
    Zusatzbeitrag 2027: Lücke zwischen Prognose und Realität bei KrankenkassenSchätzerkreis revenue and spending figures, range 2.18–4.39%
14. Apotheken Umschau
    Durchschnittlicher Zusatzbeitrag bleibt 2027 stabil – trotzdem drohen ErhöhungenGKV-Spitzenverband warnings, €1.3bn location clause (15 Oct 2026)
15. leinetal24 / beck-aktuell
    Pflegereform 2027: Kinderlose zahlen höheren BeitragssatzChildless surcharge 0.6% → 0.9%, cabinet 30 Sep 2026; confirmed by beck-aktuell