Since 1 July 2025, respite care and short-term care have been merged into a single combined annual amount of up to EUR 3,539 per calendar year (Section 42a SGB XI). 2026 is the first full calendar year under this rule: for the first time, the budget can be planned from January to December in one piece. This is exactly what relatives research before they pick up the phone. What are we entitled to? How do we split the amount? Who handles the billing? Care services that answer those three questions properly on their own website are present at the moment of decision. This article shows how to turn that into a predictable enquiry channel - without drifting into legal advice.
Key takeaways
- Since 1 July 2025, respite and short-term care share a combined annual amount of up to EUR 3,539 per calendar year from care level 2 (Section 42a SGB XI). Each is capped at eight weeks, and the six-month qualifying period has been dropped (Federal Ministry of Health).
- 75 percent (Stiftung ZQP) feel poorly informed about statutory entitlements, while 96 percent (Stiftung ZQP) want reliable information when the need arises. 5.69 million people need care, 86 percent of them at home (Federal Statistical Office).
- Instead of one catch-all page, give each service its own guide page: respite care, short-term care, relief amount, each with its own slug, a worked example, six FAQ entries and exactly one FAQPage schema. A changed amount is then updated in one place.
- Two deadlines get mixed up: the relief amount of EUR 131 per month (Section 45b SGB XI) is a separate entitlement carrying over to 30 June of the next year, while respite care reimbursement must be claimed by the end of the following calendar year (Section 39 (1) SGB XI).
- Promises such as you are entitled to EUR 3,539 do not belong on the page: the binding decision rests with the care insurance fund, and lower limits apply when close relatives provide substitute care (Section 39 (3) SGB XI). Point to counselling under Section 7a SGB XI.
- A guide page becomes an enquiry channel through a contact offer right after the worked example, a clickable phone number and the advisory visit under Section 37 (3) SGB XI as an occasion. The annual update pass across three pages takes under half a day (project experience).
What the relief budget 2026 actually means
Until mid-2025, respite care and short-term care were two separate pots with their own amounts and transfer rules that few people understood without counselling. Since 1 July 2025, a combined entitlement applies instead: people with at least care level 2 are entitled to respite care and short-term care benefits amounting to a total of up to EUR 3,539 per calendar year (Section 42a SGB XI). Beneficiaries decide for themselves how to split the amount between the two services, according to their needs.
Two further changes matter even more in everyday life. Respite care has been raised to a maximum of eight weeks per calendar year (Section 39 (1) SGB XI), putting it on par with short-term care, which is likewise capped at eight weeks per calendar year (Section 42 (2) SGB XI). And the six-month qualifying period for respite care has been abolished (Federal Ministry of Health). Anyone caring today who falls ill tomorrow no longer has to prove six months of prior care. During both services, half the care allowance continues to be paid for up to eight weeks (Federal Ministry of Health).
One budget instead of two pots
EUR 3,539 per calendar year for respite and short-term care combined (Section 42a SGB XI). The split follows the needs of the beneficiaries rather than rigid sub-amounts.
Eight weeks per service
Respite care for a maximum of eight weeks per calendar year (Section 39 (1) SGB XI), short-term care likewise capped at eight weeks (Section 42 (2) SGB XI). Same time frame, one budget.
No qualifying period
The six-month qualifying period for respite care has been abolished (Federal Ministry of Health). The entitlement exists from care level 2 without a waiting time.
Half the care allowance runs on
For up to eight weeks, half the care allowance continues during respite and short-term care (Federal Ministry of Health). At care level 3 that is roughly EUR 300 per month (Section 37 (1) SGB XI).
Deadline: 31 Dec of the following year
Reimbursement requires that the claim, with proof of costs, is filed by the end of the calendar year following the one in which the respite care took place (Section 39 (1) SGB XI). Respite care from 2026 therefore by 31 December 2027.
Duty to provide a statement
Care providers must hand over a written overview of the expenses without delay and clearly indicate which amount is to be billed against the combined annual amount (Section 42a (3) SGB XI).
Why relatives research first
The audience is large and growing. In December 2023, around 5.69 million people in Germany needed care, an increase of 730,000 people or 15 percent compared with December 2021 (Federal Statistical Office). 86 percent of them, roughly 4.9 million people, were cared for at home (Federal Statistical Office). About 3.1 million received only the care allowance and were generally looked after by relatives, while a further 1.1 million were cared for together with home care services (Federal Statistical Office). These caring relatives are precisely the people who need respite care in the first place.
And they feel poorly informed. In a representative population survey by the ZQP Foundation with 2,003 respondents, 75 percent said they felt less well or poorly informed about the benefits that people in need of care and their relatives are legally entitled to (ZQP Foundation). Even among those with personal care experience, 63 percent felt inadequately informed (ZQP Foundation). Interest is high all the same: 71 percent follow care topics in the media, rising to 86 percent among those over 60 (ZQP Foundation). The shortfall is not attention - it is understandable answers in the right place.
The need for reliable information is close to universal. For 96 percent of respondents it is important or very important to receive reliable information about the quality of professional care services when the need arises (ZQP Foundation). The most suitable basis for a decision is seen in the accounts of other affected people (53 percent) and one's own impression (38 percent), while only 5 percent would happily rely on a rating from an official body (ZQP Foundation). A care service that prepares that first impression before any contact happens is working exactly along this line.
The figures at a glance
One guide page per service instead of a catch-all page
The most common mistake is the catch-all page: a single subpage headed Care benefits, on which respite care, short-term care, the relief amount, the care allowance and benefits in kind sit side by side in one long block of text. It is convenient to maintain and weak in effect. Someone searching for respite care costs lands on a page that is 80 percent about other topics, and bounces. Search engines and AI answer systems have the same problem: they need a page that answers one question completely, not five questions halfway.
The structure that carries is a dedicated, permanently maintained guide page per service: one for respite care, one for short-term care, one for the relief amount. Each with its own slug, its own heading, its own worked example and its own FAQ block. These pages do not replace your service pages, they feed them: the guide answers the knowledge question, the service page answers the provider question. How to separate both levels cleanly without creating duplicates is described in detail in the article on website structure for care services.
| Aspect | Catch-all care benefits page | Guide page per service |
|---|---|---|
| Search intent | Several questions half answered | One question answered completely |
| Entry point | User hunts through body text | Heading matches the question directly |
| Amounts and deadlines | Mentioned once, often outdated | With date of record and source per page |
| Worked example | No room, too many benefits | One concrete example per page |
| FAQ and schema | One block for everything, blurred | Six questions on this service only |
| Updating | All or nothing, high effort | Touch only the page concerned |
| Contact route | Footer only | Consultation slot inside the text |
Amounts and deadlines with a date of record
A guide about sums of money is only as good as its date. Amounts in long-term care insurance change: on 1 January 2025, benefits were raised by 4.5 percent, with the relief amount rising from EUR 125 to EUR 131 per month (Federal Ministry of Health). Anyone still showing EUR 125 on their website is documenting how long nobody has looked. Relatives notice, and so do search systems that weight freshness.
The safeguard is unspectacular and effective: every figure gets a visible date of record and a source. Not as a footnote in the imprint, but right at the section. A line such as As of 22 July 2026, source: Section 42a SGB XI costs one line and does two jobs at once. It makes the statement verifiable, and it forces your own editorial team to set a date that someone can check later.
- Every amount carries a date of record and a section reference, e.g. EUR 3,539 (Section 42a SGB XI, as of 22 July 2026)
- Deadlines are written out as concrete dates, not as by the following year
- The relief amount is clearly separated from the combined annual amount: EUR 131 per month under Section 45b SGB XI is a separate entitlement
- The differing carry-over rules are named rather than blended together
- Percentages and figures from statistics carry the source directly after the number
- A pointer to the responsible care insurance fund sits wherever binding information is at stake
Two deadlines that are easily confused
Worked examples in everyday language
Legal sections convince nobody, worked examples do. A good example names a care level, an occasion, a duration and an amount - and shows what is left over. Three examples cover most of the situations that arrive on a guide page. What matters is the note that these are worked examples and that the actual amount depends on the individual case.
Example 1: The daughter's holiday
Care level 3, the caring daughter is away for two weeks. A care service provides the substitute care for EUR 2,000. That leaves EUR 1,539 of the combined annual amount for the rest of the year (Section 42a SGB XI). Half the care allowance continues, so at care level 3 roughly EUR 300 of EUR 599 per month (Section 37 (1) SGB XI).
Example 2: After hospital
Following inpatient treatment, home care is temporarily not sufficient. Short-term care is intended for this situation and is capped at eight weeks per calendar year (Section 42 (1) and (2) SGB XI). It is paid from the same annual amount - whatever is used here is missing later for respite care.
Example 3: The separate pot
The relief amount of EUR 131 per month is a separate entitlement and does not count against the annual amount (Section 45b SGB XI). Over twelve months that is up to EUR 1,572 for day and night care, short-term care, everyday support services or home care services.
Example 1 can be adopted almost unchanged for your own region, example 2 ideally points to your own service overview, example 3 belongs on the relief amount page. For day care offerings, a dedicated variant with an occupancy angle is worth it, as a day care website needs one anyway.
The boundary: service advice yes, legal information no
This is where it gets delicate, and where many websites take the easy route. A care service may and should inform people about its own services. It should not, however, create the impression of issuing binding social law information that costs money if it turns out to be wrong. The binding decision on an entitlement is made by the care insurance fund. That separation belongs visibly on every guide page, in a sentence that survives skim reading.
The wording that works in practice is plain: We advise on our services and how they are billed. Binding information about your individual entitlement comes from your care insurance fund. It is honest, it costs no trust, and it takes weight off your shoulders. It is complemented by a pointer to the independent care counselling under Section 7a SGB XI, for which the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds has issued nationally binding guidelines, last amended by resolution of 9 January 2024 (National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds). Pointing to that independent counselling reads as confident rather than salesy.
Wordings better avoided
With the combined annual amount we are simplifying access and enabling people in need of care and those caring for them to choose flexibly between short-term care and respite care benefits.
From the guide page to the enquiry
A guide page that only informs is a brochure. The difference between a brochure and an enquiry channel comes down to three elements: internal linking, a contact offer inside the text, and an occasion that fits the moment of reading. The consultation slot belongs where the question arises - after the worked example, not only in the footer, which barely anyone reaches on a smartphone.
- Link from the guide page to the matching service page, using descriptive anchor text rather than click here
- Place a contact offer directly after the worked example: consultation slot or callback, whichever suits
- Offer the counselling visit under Section 37 (3) SGB XI as a concrete, low-threshold occasion
- Point to the independent care counselling under Section 7a SGB XI without hiding your own contact route
- Render the phone number as a clickable link, not as an image or plain text
- Keep the form short: name, callback time, request - every additional mandatory field costs enquiries
The counselling visit is the underrated lever here. People in care levels 2 to 5 who receive the care allowance are required to call up a counselling session in their own home once every six months; for care levels 4 and 5, an additional quarterly session is possible (Section 37 (3) SGB XI). People in care level 1 are also entitled to one every six months, and those receiving benefits in kind may likewise use the counselling twice a year (Section 37 (3) SGB XI). Up to and including 31 March 2027, every second session may take place by video conference on request, though the first must be held in the person's own home (Section 37 (3) SGB XI). That is a recurring, statutory contact point - and it can be initiated straight from the guide page via online appointment booking.
For the page to be found at all, it has to be anchored regionally. Respite care is a local search: relatives look for respite care plus a town name. What that requires in terms of local SEO for care services applies regardless of the guide topic - and pays into every further page as well.
FAQ block and structured data
Every guide page needs an FAQ block with the questions that actually get asked on the phone. Six questions is a good benchmark: enough for substance, few enough to keep current. Technically they are marked up as FAQPage schema so that search engines and AI answer systems can read the question-answer pairs cleanly instead of guessing them from body text.
- Six questions per page, phrased as on the phone: What will respite care actually cost me?
- Answers of two to four sentences, with amount, section reference and caveat in the same paragraph
- Only one FAQPage schema per page, otherwise duplicate markup appears
- Do not include a question that exists only in the schema and not visibly on the page
- Use qualifying wording: as a rule, depending on the individual case, subject to documentation
- End the answer where the next sensible step sits: consultation slot or care insurance fund
The side effect is visibility in AI answers. Answer systems preferentially cite sources that answer a question clearly, with a date and with evidence - which is exactly what a well-maintained guide page does anyway. The specific prerequisites are set out in the article on care services in AI search and ChatGPT. What remains essential: the page must also be accessible, because a relevant share of the audience is older and reads with magnification or a screen reader.
The maintenance routine for the content
Guide pages about cash benefits are not a one-off investment. They are a subscription. Amounts get adjusted, deadlines shift, sections are recast - most recently the Nursing Competence Act intervened at several points on 1 January 2026, including the billing deadline for respite care. Anyone wanting to trace the effects on their own service texts systematically will find the method in the article on the Nursing Competence Act 2026.
| Trigger | What to check | Rhythm |
|---|---|---|
| Turn of the year | Amounts, date of record, deadline dates in the text | Every January |
| Benefit adjustment | All amounts and worked examples on all guide pages | As required |
| Change in the law | Section references, week and deadline figures, FAQ answers | As required |
| New phone questions | Extend or rephrase the FAQ block | Quarterly |
| Internal links | Check references to service pages for currency | Every six months |
| Contact routes | Test form, callback and phone link | Every six months |
To put the effort in perspective: with a clean structure, the turn-of-year pass across three guide pages takes less than half a day (project experience). The effort rises precisely when the content is glued onto a catch-all page and every change has side effects. Whether you solve that internally or cover it through website maintenance is a question of capacity - that someone does it is not.
Implementation order for the first 90 days
You do not have to build everything at once. The order below prioritises by effect per effort: first the page with the greatest demand, then the follow-on routes, then the routine. In this sequence, a workable state is reached after about three months, and from there it only needs to be carried forward.
- Weeks 1 to 2: create the respite care guide page - amount, eight weeks, abolition of the qualifying period, deadline of 31 Dec of the following year, one worked example, six FAQs, date of record
- Weeks 3 to 4: short-term care guide page on the same pattern, with a clear note on the shared annual amount
- Weeks 5 to 6: relief amount guide page - EUR 131 per month, separate pot, carry-over until 30 June of the following year
- Week 7: place the boundary statement on all three pages and point to care counselling under Section 7a SGB XI
- Week 8: add the contact offer inside the text - consultation slot or callback, directly after the worked example
- Weeks 9 to 10: set the internal links to the service pages, check regional signals
- Week 11: ship the FAQPage schema and check for duplicates
- Week 12: schedule the update routine and assign responsibility within the team
Once the three guide pages are in place, it is worth looking at adjacent audiences using the same principle: one page per question, maintained and evidenced. It works for referrers in hospitals just as it does for applicants - see the articles on the intensive care website for referral partners and on nursing assistant training 2027 on the career page. For home care itself, the website for home care services is the natural follow-on; anyone planning the structure from scratch will find the framework in the care website. We are happy to discuss the specifics in a personal conversation.
Sources and studies