Caregiver
Caregiver is a term from German social security law.
Definition and meaning
The legal definition of the term carer can be found in § 19 SGB XI . According to this, caregivers are people who are not gainfully employed, i. H. Volunteer to regularly care for someone in need of care (care level 1) on at least two days a week (and a total of at least ten hours a week) in their home environment. Caregiving is not considered to be gainful if the caregiver receives a maximum of the care allowance for the care level as remuneration.
Since only those persons are caregivers in the sense relevant here who do not care for gainfully, caregivers are not employees. You do not have to be registered with social security and do not require a work permit or any other permits or registrations required for employment relationships.
A caregiver does not have to demonstrate any training in nursing or any other area and does not need to have specialist nursing skills. Mostly it concerns with caregivers to families belonging to (spouse, u-law children. Ä.) Or relatives of the patient. Caregiving relatives are often mentioned here ; but also neighbors, friends, acquaintances or other helpers can be caregivers.
Services
The person in need of care and the caregivers receive certain benefits from the long-term care insurance , as well as other social security benefits and tax benefits.
Care allowance
The person in need of care is entitled to the care allowance in accordance with Section 37 (1) SGB XI. The cash benefit is intended to strengthen the independence and self-determination of the person in need of care, who can use the cash benefit to design his or her care assistants. The care allowance enables the person in need of care, caring relatives or other caregivers to receive material recognition for the care provided with great commitment and willingness to make sacrifices in the home.
The person in need of care can also split the care and the care allowance between more than one person (e.g. personal care by the spouse and the household care associated with care by a person outside the family). The person in need of care has these amounts and pays them to the carer (s). He does not have to prove the use of the funds in detail.
The care allowance is only paid if the person in need of care regularly allows a counseling visit. If the person in need of care is hospitalized or during inpatient rehabilitation, the care allowance will continue to be paid for the first four weeks. If the inpatient stay lasts longer than four weeks, the payment of the care allowance is interrupted until the person in need of care is back home. During a short-term care half of the allowance is for eight weeks and in the respite care continue to be paid for six weeks. After the death of the person in need of care, the care allowance is paid out until the end of the corresponding month.
The care allowance is monthly (in €)
| at care level | since January 1, 2017 |
| 2 | 316 |
| 3 | 545 |
| 4th | 728 |
| 5 | 901 |
People with care level 1 are only entitled to an earmarked relief amount according to § 45b (until December 31, 2016, additional care and relief benefits ) of € 125. Transitional regulations also apply here.
Protection of carers in the statutory pension insurance
In order to promote voluntary care and to provide social security for caregivers, who often have to reduce or even give up their previous employment for care, the legislature has introduced compulsory pension insurance for carers in Section 3 Clause 1 No. 1a SGB VI . The prerequisite for the commencement of the compulsory insurance is that the caregiver cares for at least 10 hours a week on at least 2 days and that the person in need of care receives benefits from the long-term care insurance. The compulsory pension insurance begins at the earliest when the person in need of care begins to receive care benefits.
If the total time required for care, calculated in the care report by the medical service of the health insurance , reaches at least 10 hours per week on at least 2 days, the care fund will act ex officio and check whether the other requirements for the pension insurance obligation of the carer are met.
If a carer is employed or self-employed in addition to caring, this is not detrimental to the status of "carer". However, no compulsory pension insurance when the activity is carried on more than 30 hours a week or when the caregiver enters as a caregiver, retirement or pension concerns.
The amount of these pension insurance contributions paid by the long-term care fund was graduated according to the care level until December 31, 2016 , and from January 1, 2017 according to the care level . It depends on the weekly number of hours and is redefined every year. The contributions are paid by the care fund of the person in need of care to the pension insurance of the carer. As part of the protection of the acquis, current contributory income from January 1, 2017 will continue to be determined in accordance with the law applicable until December 31, 2016, if this is higher than under the new law.
When calculating the pension, the care periods reported to the pension insurance agency are taken into account as contribution periods and increase the pension accordingly. The contribution times also serve to meet the waiting period .
Accident insurance
According to Section 2, Paragraph 1, No. 17 of Book VII of the Social Code, caregivers are legally insured against accidents, so that they can make use of the corresponding accident insurance benefits if they suffer an accident while performing the care work. This also applies if the caregivers care for less than 14 hours a week. The insured activity includes care activities in the area of personal hygiene and - insofar as these activities mainly benefit those in need of care - care activities in the areas of nutrition, mobility and domestic care. The accident insurance institutions in the municipal area are responsible. Contributions are not levied.
Voluntary unemployment insurance
Since February 1, 2006, according to Section 28a of Book III of the Social Code, carers who care for at least 14 hours per week can apply for unemployment insurance. The caregiver has to pay the voluntary insurance contributions. The monthly fee is 8.75 euros in the west and 6.72 euros in the east (as of 2012).
Nursing courses
According to § 45 SGB XI, caregivers and other interested parties can take part in nursing courses that the nursing insurance funds offer free of charge.
Tax allowance
For the care of family members and other persons who are not only temporarily helpless, the carer can claim a flat tax allowance of € 924 per year ( flat-rate care amount ), provided that they have not received any income for the care ( Section 33b (6) EStG). This applies regardless of the long-term care insurance benefits for the person requiring care.
A person is helpless in this sense if he constantly needs outside help for a series of frequently and regularly recurring tasks to secure his personal existence during the course of each day. These prerequisites are also met if help is required in the form of monitoring or instructions for the aforementioned activities or if help does not have to be provided continuously, but constant readiness to provide help is required.
If higher expenses arise, these can be claimed instead of the lump sum as an extraordinary charge according to § 33 EStG, taking into account the reasonable charge.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ § 14 SGB XI
- ^ Draft for the Long-Term Care Insurance Act, Federal Council printed paper 505/93, page 112
- ↑ Care benefit in kind or care allowance: which benefit type suits you? on Konsumentzentrale.de; Status: July 25, 2017 Accessed March 23, 2018
- ↑ What you can use relief services for in care. on verbrauchzentrale.de; As of January 23, 2018 Accessed March 23, 2018
- ↑ Pension for carers: Your commitment is worth it. on deutscherentenversicherung.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 23, 2018
- ^ Fifth report on the situation of the older generation in the Federal Republic of Germany. Potential of old age in the economy and society. The contribution of older people to the cohesion of generations , Berlin 2005. p. 30 ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth
- ↑ § 349a SGB III
- ↑ 3.0% of a tenth of the monthly reference value , §§ 341, 345b SGB III
