If the person providing care needs a holiday, falls ill or care at home is temporarily impossible, the Pflegekasse (long-term care insurance fund) pays for replacement care. Since 1 July 2025 there has been a shared annual amount of 3.539 euros for this, from Pflegegrad (care grade) 2. You can divide it up as you wish: for care at home (Verhinderungspflege, respite care), for a temporary place in a home (Kurzzeitpflege, short-term residential care) or for both.

Details

Care is a long-term commitment – and people who provide care need breaks. That is exactly what Verhinderungspflege (§ 39 SGB XI) and Kurzzeitpflege (§ 42 SGB XI) are for. Until the middle of 2025 they were two separate pots with complicated rules for transferring money between them. Since 1 July 2025 a shared annual amount has applied, which you can use flexibly.

The key figures

• 3.539 euros per calendar year in total for both types of benefit (as at July 2026).
• Up to eight weeks (56 days) per calendar year for each – for Verhinderungspflege as well as for Kurzzeitpflege.
• Entitlement from Pflegegrad 2 where care is provided at home.
• The former six-month qualifying period has been abolished. You can use the benefit as soon as the Pflegegrad has been awarded.
• During replacement care, half the Pflegegeld (cash care allowance) continues to be paid; the first and the last day are paid in full.

Verhinderungspflege: replacement care at home

Verhinderungspflege is possible by the hour or by the day. The replacement care can be provided by:

• a home care service,
• an individual – a neighbour, an acquaintance, a support worker, recognised Nachbarschaftshilfe (neighbourhood help),
• a day care centre or a support group.

If close relatives or people from the same household provide the care, reimbursement is limited to twice the Pflegegeld: 694 euros with Pflegegrad 2, 1.198 euros with Pflegegrad 3, 1.600 euros with Pflegegrad 4 and 1.980 euros with Pflegegrad 5 (as at July 2026). Documented travel costs and loss of earnings can be reimbursed in addition. Since July 2025 this limit has been raised from 1.5 times to 2 times the Pflegegeld.

Worth knowing: Verhinderungspflege is not just an emergency solution for cases of illness. A regular free afternoon, a weekend or a week's holiday are expressly provided for.

Kurzzeitpflege: care in a home for a limited period

Kurzzeitpflege is full residential care for a limited time – typically after a hospital stay, after an operation on the person providing care, or when care at home cannot be ensured for the time being. The Pflegekasse pays the care-related costs out of the annual amount. You pay for accommodation, meals and investment costs yourself – and you may use the Entlastungsbetrag (monthly relief amount) of 131 euros a month for this.

Kurzzeitpflege is in short supply in Berlin: the Landespflegeplan 2025 lists just 17 facilities with 274 places. Many care homes also offer what is known as embedded Kurzzeitpflege in their regular places. So plan early, ask several homes at the same time and include the Brandenburg area around the city – places are often easier to get there. Conversely, it is worth families in Brandenburg looking towards Berlin.

Special cases

• Pflegegrad 1: no entitlement to the annual amount. Kurzzeitpflege and day care can, however, be part-financed through the Entlastungsbetrag.
• No Pflegegrad yet, but a gap in care after hospital: there is transitional care in hospital (§ 39e SGB V) and Kurzzeitpflege through the health insurance fund (§ 42a SGB XI). Speak to the hospital social work team while the person is still an inpatient.
• Permanent residential care: anyone living permanently in a home has no entitlement to the shared annual amount.

What to do?

1. Plan early. Decide once a year when you will take a break. Kurzzeitpflege places in Berlin are often booked up months in advance.
2. Look for replacement care. For Verhinderungspflege a trusted person from your own circle is often enough; for Kurzzeitpflege, ask several facilities in parallel and put your name on waiting lists.
3. Apply to the Pflegekasse. Informally or on a form, ideally before it starts. Record the period, the reason and who will provide the care.
4. Clarify the costs in writing. Ask the facility to break down which share is paid from the annual amount and what you have to pay yourself.
5. Submit the receipts. Invoices, or for private replacement care a simple receipt with the date, hours and a signature; plus evidence of travel costs and loss of earnings.
6. Check the remaining budget. Ask in the autumn how much of the annual amount is still available – it expires at the end of the year.

Where can you get help?

• Kurzzeitpflege, day care and home care services in Berlin and Brandenburg can be found under Directory – including whether they are currently taking people on or have a waiting list.
• Pflegestützpunkte (care support points) help with the application and the search for a place, and know which homes have capacity at short notice: find a Pflegestützpunkt.
• The hospital social work team, if the gap in care arises after a stay in hospital – it is best to raise it on the day of admission.
• Carers' groups and care courses help you to plan a break without a guilty conscience: see dates.

All amounts as at July 2026. Legal basis: §§ 39, 42 SGB XI as in force since 1 July 2025. Care provision figures: Landespflegeplan Berlin 2025.