The compulsory insurance threshold for 2026 is €77,400 per year, which is €6,450 per month, and it applies to employees, not to students. For students, a different rule applies: anyone enrolled at a state or state-recognised university is compulsorily insured by statutory health insurance, as long as no priority insurance applies. What counts is therefore enrolment, age and working hours, not the amount of your income or salary.
Key points at a glance
- The compulsory insurance threshold (annual earnings limit) is €77,400 per year in 2026, which is €6,450 per month.
- Students are insured through the compulsory student health insurance (KVdS). It ends with the semester in which you are de-registered, and at the latest at the end of the semester in which you turn 30.
- As a working student, you remain exempt from health insurance contributions as long as you work at most 20 hours per week during the lecture period. The amount you earn does not matter.
- For family insurance in 2026, the income limit is €565 per month, or €603 for a minijob.
- Figures for 2027 are coming, some already decided and some only planned.
What is the compulsory insurance threshold, and who does it apply to?
The compulsory insurance threshold, also called the annual earnings limit (Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze), matters for employees. If your annual salary is below €77,400 (2026), you must have statutory health insurance. While you are a student, it is generally not the benchmark for you, because your compulsory insurance is linked to your enrolment.
| Limit | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory insurance threshold (annual earnings limit) | €77,400 per year, €6,450 per month | €84,150 per year (planned, Bundesrat decision pending) |
| Contribution assessment ceiling for health and long-term care insurance | €5,812.50 per month, €69,750 per year | €6,375 per month (planned, Bundesrat decision pending) |
| Working student | At most 20 hours per week during the lecture period | Rule continues to apply |
| Family insurance, income limit | €565 per month | €590 (planned) |
| Family insurance with a minijob | €603 per month | €633 (planned) |
| Minijob limit | €603 per month | €633 per month (decided) |
The 2026 figures can be found in the calculation parameters of the German Pension Insurance.
Who is compulsorily insured as a student, and for how long?
Compulsory insurance applies to anyone enrolled at a state or state-recognised university (§ 5 para. 1 no. 9 SGB V). This does not apply if you are already compulsorily insured as an employee or family-insured. An overview of the obligations, options and special cases is given in the article on which health insurance applies during your studies (in German). Compulsory insurance begins with the semester. If you enrol later, it begins on the day of enrolment.
Membership ends at the end of the semester for which you were last enrolled, provided you have been de-registered by then. It also ends at the end of the semester up to whose end you turn 30. Beyond age 30, it only continues if the type of training or family or personal reasons justify it. For universities that are not state-recognised, and for dual and part-time degree programmes, it generally does not apply. If in doubt, your health insurer will clarify.
The basic contribution is €87.38 per month, the same nationwide and independent of BAföG receipt. Long-term care insurance and your insurer’s supplementary contribution are added. How a statutory insurer performs during student life is shown in the article on experiences with the statutory health insurer (in German). The legal basis is § 5 SGB V, and the Verbraucherzentrale gives an overview of the options.
From when does private health insurance become relevant for working students?
The working student privilege applies as long as your studies take up more of your time. If you work at most 20 hours per week on an ongoing basis, you remain exempt from health, long-term care and unemployment insurance. Pension insurance remains compulsory. You then stay insured through the compulsory student insurance. If you regularly work more than 20 hours, you are generally treated as an employee.
Up to 26 weeks per year above 20 hours are harmless if the additional work falls only at weekends, in the evening, at night or in the semester holidays, and is unforeseeable or fixed-term from the start.
Example: Lea, 24, works as a working student for 15 hours per week at the minimum wage of €13.90. That is about 65 hours per month and around €904 gross. She is below the 20-hour limit and remains exempt from health insurance. Because her total income is above €667.50, she has no entitlement to family insurance, and her insurance remains the KVdS. A private policy would only be possible for her through an exemption, which she would have to apply for within three months of the start of compulsory insurance. More on this is in the article on PKV for working students (in German). Costs and benefits of a private policy are covered in private health insurance for students (in German).
Which income limit applies to family insurance?
Contribution-free family insurance depends on your total income: €565 per month (2026), or €603 if you are only marginally employed. Employees can additionally deduct the income-related lump sum of €102.50, so up to €667.50 is possible. BAföG, child benefit and maintenance do not count as income.
The age limit is 23 years if you are not employed, and 25 years for school training or studies. For children of a privately insured parent, the compulsory insurance threshold does matter: if that parent’s gross income is above the threshold (2026: €6,450 per month), the children are not family-insured. The legal basis is § 10 SGB V. Anyone who has switched to private insurance after an exemption can no longer use this option for the duration of that exemption.
What happens after your studies when you become an employee?
Then the compulsory insurance threshold applies. With an annual employment income below €77,400 (2026), statutory insurance is compulsory. Above it, it is not. If you were privately insured, you can terminate the private policy within three months, retroactively to the start of the obligation. The termination is void if the start of the obligation is not proven within two months of the insurer’s written request.
If the compulsory student insurance ends and no other insurance applies, your membership with the fund continues automatically as voluntary insurance. A minimum assessment base of €1,318.33 per month applies. In 2026, the minimum contribution for health and long-term care insurance without a child is about €270 to €277 per month, depending on your fund’s supplementary contribution. What the fund does not cover is shown in the article on gaps in statutory health insurance (in German).
Frequently asked questions
What is the compulsory insurance threshold for students?
There is no separate threshold for students. The compulsory insurance threshold for 2026 is €77,400 per year and applies to employees. As a student, you are compulsorily insured through your enrolment, as long as no priority insurance applies.
When can I switch to private insurance as a working student?
Through an exemption from compulsory insurance, which you apply for within three months of the start of compulsory insurance. The job alone changes nothing. Up to 20 hours per week, you remain exempt from health insurance and insured through the KVdS.
What are the requirements for the KVdS?
You are enrolled at a state or state-recognised university, you are not compulsorily insured elsewhere with priority, and you do not regularly work more than 20 hours per week during the lecture period. Otherwise you are generally treated as an employee. Membership ends with the semester of de-registration or the semester in which you turn 30.
Am I obliged to insure myself as a student?
If you are enrolled at a state or state-recognised university, you are generally compulsorily insured through statutory health insurance. To enrol, you must show that you are statutorily insured or exempt and have other cover. The university usually requires a confirmation from a statutory health insurer.
What you should do now
- Check whether you are enrolled at a state or state-recognised university and whether any priority insurance applies.
- If you have a part-time job, keep an eye on the 20 hours per week during the lecture period.
- If you are family-insured, compare your income with the family insurance limit.
- Plan your career entry: as an employee, the compulsory insurance threshold applies.
If you want to talk through your situation, you will find the route to advice on the Academycon homepage. The process of an advice session is described in advice on private health insurance for students (in German).
You can find reviews of us on ProvenExpert, Trustlocal and Trustindex. Academycon was mentioned, among other places, in a press release by CNN Money Switzerland. An overview of all mentions is on the press page (in German).
Related articles
- Health insurance for students: obligation, options, special cases (in German)
- Statutory health insurance during your studies: experiences, costs, limits (in German)
- What statutory health insurance does not pay: the main gaps (in German)
- Private health insurance for students: costs and benefits (in German)
- Health insurance as a student over 30: obligation, costs and routes (in German)
- Additional contributions 2026 for all health insurers and what students pay (in German)
- Student health insurance 2026 in figures (in German)
- Compulsory insurance threshold, glossary entry (in German)
- Exemption from compulsory insurance, glossary entry (in German)
Last updated: October 2026. This guide is general information, not individual advice. The German version is authoritative.
