The contribution assessment ceiling is good news for high earners: from a certain salary onward, social security contributions stop rising. If you earn €10,000 gross per month, you only pay pension contributions on €8,450 – the rest is contribution-free. Compared to a proportional calculation, that saves you around €145 per month.
The current thresholds for 2026: for pension and unemployment insurance, the ceiling is a nationwide €8,450 per month (€101,400 per year) – East and West have been aligned since 2025. For health and long-term care insurance, it's €5,812.50. Important: the mandatory insurance threshold (€6,450 per month, or €77,400 per year) determines whether you can switch to private health insurance.
But watch out: the cap has downsides too! Your pension entitlements are capped as well. Whether you earn €8,450 or €15,000, you acquire a maximum of around 1.95 earnings points per year. That means a pension gap in old age that you should close privately. For every €1,000 of monthly gross pay above the ceiling, you miss out on around €10 in monthly pension per year of contributions.