The German government’s chief care representative, Katrin Staffler (CSU), has rejected the proposals put forward by Federal Minister of Health Nina Warken (CDU) regarding the elimination of the €100,000 income cap for children supporting elderly dependents. Staffler told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” that she believes completely scrapping the limit would be misguided. She argued that the children are already placed under stress due to their parents’ need for assistance, stressing the importance of a fair burden distribution. While acknowledging the need to discuss the appropriate level of the exempted income, she declined to specify a concrete figure, stating she did not wish to preempt the coalition’s debate.
The current “Relatives Relief Act” of 2020 stipulates that children earning less than €100,000 gross annually do not have to pay for their parents’ care if the parents are reliant on social welfare. Warken’s draft law for care reform explicitly calls for the “withdrawal” of this rule, a move intended to ease the burden on municipalities. However, Federal Minister of Labour Bärbel Bas (SPD) is responsible for handling relevant structural changes.
In addition to her critique of the current limit, Staffler urged Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) to propose a reform for a state-subsidized system of private care provision. She criticized the existing “Care Bahr” scheme, which currently offers a maximum subsidy of just €5 per month, labeling it a “flop.” Staffler insisted that there must be an attractive tax incentive for private care savings and called upon the Ministry of Finance to take the lead in this matter.
Finally, Staffler indicated that they would examine the socialist’s demand for a financial balancing act between private and statutory care insurance. She announced, “We will look at this again and continue discussions with the relevant ministries, as there are constitutional concerns.” The CSU politician added that any reform would be pointless if it were overturned by the courts in the end.
