Social security contributions for employees increased
Social security contributions for employees have risen in recent years - but have fallen for employers. The Left Party in the Bundestag drew attention to this with reference to an answer from the federal government, which was made available to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Berlin.
According to this, the percentage contributions to social insurance for employees rose by 1.3 percentage points to 16.9% between 2002 and 2022. Employer contributions fell by 1.6 percentage points to 21.8% over the same period. The values fluctuated within this period - with 17.1 percent at the top for employees in 2011 and 23.9 percent for employers in 2003.
The Left Party MP Matthias Birkwald, who had asked the question, said that the contributions were a heavy burden, especially for people with low and medium incomes, also in view of inflation.
"This is also due to the fact that they have to pay a higher percentage of their income than people with high and very high incomes," said Birkwald. The politician cited the different contribution assessment thresholds as the reason for this. Income above this level is not subject to contributions. Birkwald called for high incomes to be charged as equally as possible.
This limit is currently 4987.50 euros for statutory health and long-term care insurance and 7100 (east) and 7300 euros (west) for pension and unemployment insurance. The Left Party is calling for the contribution assessment ceiling for health and long-term care insurance to be abolished.
The Left Party also highlighted the impact of these changes on social affairs, arguing that the increased contributions disproportionately affect individuals with lower and medium incomes. Furthermore, discussions about financial fairness have emerged due to the differing contribution thresholds, which exempt income above certain levels from contributions.
Source: www.dpa.com
