Two funds, two jobs
Two systems need keeping apart. The care fund (Pflegekasse, SGB XI) covers everyday support: personal care, help in the household, companionship. The health insurance fund (SGB V) covers medical services at home, such as medication support or wound care as medical home care on a doctor's prescription (as of July 2026). This article is about the first pillar: the care fund's benefits.
Almost all of these benefits require a recognised care grade. Our article Applying for a care grade: step by step describes how to get there.
The main benefit types
Care allowance (Pflegegeld)
Where relatives provide the care themselves, the care fund pays the person a monthly care allowance. Its level depends on the care grade; your care fund will tell you the current amounts. Recipients also get a regular mandatory advisory visit that gives family caregivers professional backing.
In-kind care services (Pflegesachleistungen)
Where a home care service takes over, the law speaks of in-kind care services. The service settles directly with the care fund, for example for basic care or household support; you receive no invoice for this share and simply agree with the service which visits are needed.
Combination benefit
Allowance and in-kind services can be mixed: if the care service covers part and relatives the rest, a proportionate share of the allowance is still paid. So the help fits the family's everyday life.
The relief amount (Entlastungsbetrag)
Every care grade also comes with a monthly, earmarked relief amount, for instance for companionship and relief services. Unused amounts can be saved up within certain time limits; your care fund explains the details.
Respite care and short-term care
If the private caregiver is temporarily unavailable through holiday or illness, respite care steps in. Short-term care covers temporary residential stays, for example after a hospital discharge. Since a legal reform, both benefits share a joint annual budget that can be used flexibly (as of July 2026). Read more in our article Respite care: a break for family caregivers.
Care aids and home adaptations
The care fund also contributes to consumable care aids and can grant subsidies for adapting the home, a barrier-free bathroom conversion for example. Here too: apply before you build or buy.
How to find out what you are entitled to
Checklist: clarifying your entitlements
- Check the care grade: is there one yet, and does it still match the actual situation?
- Ask the care fund for a current overview of benefits with the applicable amounts
- Decide who provides the care: relatives, a care service, or both (combination benefit)
- Check the relief amount: is it being used, or is it quietly expiring?
- Plan respite care before exhaustion arrives
- Use advice services: the care fund, a care support centre, or a local home care service