July 2023 brings changes again. Pensioners can look forward to an increase in pension, electronic prescriptions are being introduced nationwide and citizen income is coming.
Increase in pensions, increase in contributions to long-term care insurance – from July there will be changes that will have both a positive and negative financial impact. Our overview tells you what’s new and how the changes affect your everyday life.
Will change from July: e-prescriptions will finally be introduced across the board
From July 2023, after much back and forth, the e-prescription will be introduced. According to Karl Lauterbach, “From July 1, 2023, patients will be able to easily pick up their e-prescription from the pharmacy with their insurance card for the first time. By the end of July, 80 percent of pharmacies in Germany should be connected to the system.”
This means that your prescription is already stored in your pharmacy when you insert your health insurance card into the reader. The prescription is sent to the pharmacy via mobile phone, e-prescription app or digital delivery.
However, every patient can continue to opt for the paper prescription, which remains an alternative
Change from July 2023: Pension will be increased
From July 2023, more than 21 million pensioners in Germany will receive a little more money. Pensions will rise by up to 5.86 percent in eastern Germany and by 4.39 percent in western Germany.
What does the increase bring? Pensioners from the old federal states who, for example, previously received a pension of EUR 1,000 will receive EUR 1,043.90 from July. Pensioners from the new federal states with a pension of EUR 1,000 receive an increase to EUR 1,058.60.
So far there have been different pension values in East and West. These were abolished on July 1, 2018. From July 1, 2024 there should be a uniform pension value, but this goal will already be achieved this year.
Changes in citizen income from July 2023
For employed persons, the tax-free allowance will be increased from July so that 30 percent of it will remain with a salary between 520 and 1,000 euros.
Young employees may keep income from school and student jobs, training, the federal voluntary service or a voluntary social year up to the mini-job limit of currently 520 euros. Income from holiday jobs is not taken into account.
New from July 2023: higher contributions to long-term care insurance
From July 2023, the contribution for long-term care insurance will be increased in order to be able to change and improve the benefits for those in need of care. The contribution rate will be raised by 0.35 percentage points from next month, bringing the long-term care insurance a total of more than 6 billion euros.
From July 2023, a new law will increase the gas storage surcharge
Due to a new law, the gas storage surcharge will increase significantly from July 2023. It is currently 59 cents per megawatt hour. From July 1, it is set to increase to EUR 1.45 per megawatt hour.
This means that a four-person household with an annual consumption of around 20 megawatts has to pay about 30 euros more per year.
The gas storage levy was introduced last year during the energy crisis. The filling level targets set by the federal government could be achieved through special tenders, which, however, caused additional costs.
