Pflegegrad 1: the benefits you're actually entitled to

Pflegegrad 1 has a bad reputation — undeservedly so. “There’s nothing in it anyway” is what I hear in my own family, among friends, sometimes even from caseworkers. Not true. There’s actually a whole list of concrete benefits you’re entitled to with PG1 — you just have to claim them.

I’ll walk through them one by one, with the amounts as of 2026 and the relevant paragraphs from SGB XI, in case you want to look anything up.

At a glance (all monthly unless noted):

• 125 € relief amount (§ 45b SGB XI)
• 42 € Pflegebox / consumable care aids (§ 40 SGB XI)
• Home emergency call system subsidy (§ 40 SGB XI)
• Up to 4,180 € one-off per measure for home modifications (§ 40 (4) SGB XI)
• Six-monthly care consultation on request (§ 37 (3) SGB XI)

So what is Pflegegrad 1, exactly?

Pflegegrad 1 is the lowest of the five levels — “minor impairment of independence”. You get it when the Medizinischer Dienst assessment lands between 12.5 and under 27 points. How those points are calculated and how to prepare for the assessment is in the Pflegegrad application guide.

Important: PG1 is a support level, not a token rubber stamp. Anyone who gets it has real day-to-day need — and the system formally recognises it.

125 € relief amount — the most important line item

This is the central PG1 lever. Each month you have 125 € available, earmarked (§ 45b SGB XI). You don’t pay out of pocket and get nothing reimbursed — you spend with it.

You can use the relief amount for:

• Everyday companionship: someone who comes shopping with you, reads aloud, goes for a walk.
• Household help through approved providers (not Aunt Else next door — that’s the most common pitfall).
• Day or night care as a partial co-payment.
• Short-term care to give family caregivers a break.
• Day-to-day support services under state law — dementia cafés, supervision groups, relief services.

You submit the invoices to your care fund (Pflegekasse), and they reimburse up to the 125 € per month. Whatever you don’t use up in a given month you can carry forward for six months and use to fund larger items — short-term care during a holiday, for example.

The most common pitfall: a person who is officially not an approved provider does the work. The fund then pays nothing. When in doubt, ask your Pflegekasse before you book — they’ll tell you which providers are approved in your federal state.

42 € Pflegebox — consumables delivered to your door

PG1 included: each month, up to 42 € for consumable care aids under § 40 SGB XI. Disposable gloves, hand and surface disinfectant, bed protection pads, surgical masks, protective aprons.

Providers like sanus+ bill the Pflegekasse directly — you don’t pay anything, you don’t claim anything back, you don’t receive an invoice. The contents of the box aren’t fixed: what you don’t need doesn’t go in.

The full process — from application to first delivery — is in the Pflegebox guide. In three minutes you’ll know whether it fits.

A common myth: “There’s no Pflegebox at Pflegegrad 1.” Wrong — you qualify from PG1.

Care consultation — every six months on request

At PG1, the consultation visits under § 37 (3) SGB XI are voluntary but free. You can have one twice a year — a qualified care professional comes to the home, looks at the situation, and gives concrete tips.

What sounds dry is often the moment something clicks in real life: the professional spots things you stop noticing day to day — a wobbly threshold, lighting that’s dangerous at night, a routine that’s long since become too much. And they know about the applications you haven’t filed yet.

You request the appointment informally with your Pflegekasse, or via a local Pflegestützpunkt advice centre.

Home emergency call system — the underrated one

If the person lives alone, the home emergency call system is the most important PG1 classic. A button on a wristband or pendant, a base unit on the phone line, a connection to a 24/7 hub.

The Pflegekasse covers the monthly cost as a care aid (§ 40 SGB XI) — most of the provider’s flat fee plus the one-off connection charges. You apply once with the fund, the provider bills directly.

Important: the provider has to be Pflegekasse-approved. Most of the big ones (Malteser, Johanniter, DRK, ASB) are. Ask explicitly for the home emergency call system on the application — otherwise it tends to disappear into a “isn’t that a bit early?” drawer.

Home modifications — up to 4,180 € per measure

This is the single biggest line item. Per “measure to improve the living environment” the Pflegekasse pays up to 4,180 € (§ 40 (4) SGB XI). A measure can be:

• A walk-in shower instead of a bathtub.
• A stairlift or platform lift.
• Door widening for a walker or wheelchair.
• Grab bars, non-slip flooring, threshold-free transitions.
• Lighting adjustments, automatic door openers.

“Per measure” means: if the care need changes later (PG2, a new diagnosis, a fall), another measure can be applied for — the budget doesn’t replenish endlessly, but it isn’t a one-shot lifetime allowance either.

Apply before you send in the contractor. A shower already rebuilt won’t be approved retroactively.

What’s not in PG1 (just to be clear)

So you don’t go in with the wrong expectations:

• No Pflegegeld (the cash benefit; that starts at PG2 — 347 € per month).
• No standard care benefits in kind for outpatient services through the regular channel (also from PG2 onwards).
• No full residential care covered by the Pflegekasse — at PG1 you pay nursing home costs yourself, the fund contributes a small 125 € (the same pot as the relief amount).

The relief amount, the 42 € Pflegebox, the home emergency call subsidy and the home modifications — those are the real levers at PG1.

Common myths

• “There’s nothing in it.” There is — see above. Just no Pflegegeld.
• “I need a care service, otherwise the fund doesn’t pay.” False for the Pflegebox. False for the relief amount. Family caregiving counts in full.
• “The relief amount is only for dementia.” It isn’t — every PG1 recipient is entitled to it, regardless of diagnosis.
• “42 € a month is too little, not worth it.” 42 € is 504 € a year — consumables you’d otherwise pay for out of pocket. And you don’t pay anything for it to arrive.
• “Pflegegrad 1 expires if nothing gets worse.” No. The decision is open-ended as long as the level of need doesn’t change. If the situation deteriorates, you apply for an upgrade.

What you can do right now

In this order, the effort is smallest, the effect fastest:

1. Apply for the Pflegebox — five minutes, then it runs automatically. Step by step.
2. Activate the relief amount — research providers in your federal state, book an initial appointment.
3. Check the home emergency call system if the person lives alone — apply with the Pflegekasse, choose a provider.
4. Book a consultation through the Pflegekasse or local Pflegestützpunkt.
5. Look around the home — any tripping hazards, thresholds, a shower that doesn’t fit anymore? Apply for the measure before anything is built.

If you want to start at step 1 right now: the Pflegebox order walkthrough with real screenshots shows every click — five minutes, no bureaucratic jargon, and at the end the first box is on its way.

And if you still have basic questions about how the whole system works: head to How it works.