Changes to parental allowance, increase in care allowance, extended deposit requirement – these and other innovations and laws will come into force in 2024. Below is an overview.
• Three innovations in social insurance and social benefits
• Introduction of an interactive hospital atlas and increase in nursing care
• Extended deposit requirement, black box and funding for electric cars
Innovations in social insurance and social benefits
In the area of social security and benefits, some significant changes will take place in 2024 that will affect a broad segment of the population.
The compulsory insurance limit, also known as the annual salary limit, defines the maximum earnings up to which an employee is compulsorily insured in statutory health insurance (GKV). From 2024, this limit will be raised to 69,300 euros annually or 5,775 euros per month, as PKV reports in an online article. This means that people with an income above this limit have the option of choosing between private and statutory health insurance.
Another change concerns the parental allowance that parents receive for financial support after the birth of a child. The federal government plans to lower the income limit for receiving parental allowance to 150,000 euros for single parents and couples. The limit is currently 250,000 euros for single parents and 300,000 euros for couples. If the budget draft is passed, around 60,000 parents could be affected by this change from 2024 and no longer receive parental allowance, as Simply Parental Allowance reported in an article.
Changes are also planned for recipients of disability pensions. The pension for people who are no longer fully able to work due to illness or disability will be increased. From July 2024 there will be a surcharge, according to the German pension insurance in an online contribution, the amount of which depends on the start of the disability pension. There is a surcharge of 7.5 percent for pensions that started between 2001 and June 2014, and a surcharge of 4.5 percent for pensions that started between July 2014 and December 2018. Pensioners do not need to submit a separate application; The German pension insurance will check your eligibility and automatically pay out the supplement.
Nursing and healthcare
There are also significant innovations in the area of care and healthcare in 2024 that will have a direct impact on those in need of care and their relatives.
The care allowance, financial support for those in need of care, will increase by five percent at the beginning of 2024. This increase is the first adjustment since 2017 and will automatically apply to recipients of this benefit. It is planned that a further increase of 4.5 percent will follow on January 1st, 2025, as pflege.de reported in an online article. The situation is similar with care benefits in kind, which will also increase by five percent at the beginning of the year. Here too, a further increase of 4.5 percent is planned for 2025, as it goes on to say. Care benefits in kind are financial support for those who use professional care services.
According to the federal government, another important project is the introduction of an interactive hospital atlas, which should be accessible online from May 1, 2024. This atlas will provide patients with detailed information about specialist areas, case numbers and clinic staffing levels. The federal government states that the data will be even more specific from October 1, 2024 and will contain, among other things, case numbers broken down into 65 service groups and information on complication rates for selected procedures. This offer is intended to increase transparency and support patients in choosing a specialized clinic, it goes on to say. The federal government emphasizes that patients have a right to know the services provided by clinics and that hospital specialization can be life-saving. The hospital atlas is part of a larger hospital transparency law that has already been passed by the Bundestag.
New regulations for disposable beverage packaging, an extended deposit requirement and reductions in the promotion of e-cars
From July 2024, a new regulation for disposable beverage packaging will come into force in Germany, which will require the introduction of non-removable lids, so-called “tethered caps”, as the consumer advice center reports. This is the implementation of an EU directive. These packaging can hold up to three liters and are made entirely or partly of plastic, it goes on to say. The lid, on the other hand, remains firmly attached to the packaging, although it can be unscrewed to consume the drink. The aim of this EU regulation is to reduce environmental pollution caused by lost caps, as they can no longer be separated from the packaging and are therefore less likely to end up in nature.
At the beginning of 2024, the deposit requirement in Germany will also be comprehensively expanded, which will also include single-use plastic drink bottles that contain milk and mixed milk drinks, according to the consumer advice center. This change follows an existing deposit requirement for other beverage packaging, with the deposit amount being 25 cents. The extension to dairy products, on the other hand, means that a deposit will be charged for these beverage packaging regardless of their contents, which will increase the incentive for recycling these bottles and cans and reduce waste and environmental pollution should contribute.
Another change concerns the Electric car-Funding in Germany. The new rules state that only electric cars with a net list price of up to 45,000 euros are eligible for funding, 20,000 euros less than before, according to the federal government. The state share of the funding, which is known as the environmental bonus, is reduced to 3,000 euros. It is important to note that these changes only apply to private individuals, as support for commercial buyers has already been discontinued from September 1, 2023. In addition, plug-in hybrid vehicles will no longer be subsidized with the environmental bonus from 2024, as it concludes. It should also be noted that the funding rules for vehicles ordered in 2023 will apply from 2024 if delivery and registration takes place after December 31, 2023.
New road traffic regulations for novice drivers and seniors aged 60 and over
New, sometimes controversial driving license rules are also planned for 2024 in the EU, which will affect both novice drivers and seniors, as the ADAC reports. However, these changes have not yet been finally decided and numerous proposed changes have been submitted to the Commission. The proposed regulations are as follows: For novice drivers, EU member states could impose a night driving ban, which prohibits driving from midnight to six in the morning in order to reduce driving under the influence of alcohol. Furthermore, a speed limit on motorways is under discussion, with novice drivers not being allowed to drive faster than 90 km/h, as numerous media reports. Regular driving checks are planned for seniors aged 60 and over to check their ability to drive.
Introduction of the black box
From July 7, 2024, a change in the area of vehicle safety will be implemented in Germany, as the ADAC reports in an article. All newly registered vehicles must then be equipped with a so-called Event Data Recorder (EDR), colloquially known as a “black box,” as it goes on to say. This device records important data shortly before and after an accident and is used to gain a better understanding of the circumstances of the accident. The EDR is usually installed in the airbag control unit, where relevant information from acceleration sensors comes together, the ADAC continues. The data collected includes speed, engine speed, steering angle and whether the airbag has been deployed. The ADAC also states that the recording takes place within a specified time window – five seconds before and 300 milliseconds after a crash.
While the data is stored locally in the vehicle and is generally the responsibility of the driver or owner, it can be read out using certain tools, for example via an interface or directly on the airbag control unit, the ADAC continues. In certain cases, such as civil or criminal proceedings, a court or prosecutor may hire an expert to read the data to clarify how an accident occurred. However, the EDR data should not be used as the sole source for accident reconstruction, but rather as a supplementary element to the traces present at the scene of the accident and the damage to the vehicles involved, as it concludes.
D. Maier / editorial team finanzen.net