What is Mutterschaftsgeld (maternity benefit)?
Mutterschaftsgeld is a financial benefit paid to pregnant women during the statutory maternity protection period (Mutterschutzfrist).
This period starts 6 weeks before the expected due date and ends 8 weeks after childbirth – or 12 weeks after childbirth in certain exceptional cases.
You are generally entitled if:
you work in an employment relationship (full-time or part-time), and
you are covered by statutory health insurance with entitlement to sickness benefit (Krankengeld).
Who pays?
Part of the benefit is paid by the statutory health insurance fund,
the employer pays a supplement to make up the difference to your usual net salary.
They do not receive Mutterschaftsgeld from a health insurance fund.
Instead, they may receive a one-time lump sum of 210 euros from the responsible federal authority (Bundesversicherungsamt).
This lump sum is paid only once for the entire maternity protection period.
If they are insured with a statutory health insurance fund and have chosen a tariff including Krankengeld,
→ they are generally entitled to Mutterschaftsgeld.
If they do not have this option in their insurance,
→ they do not receive Mutterschaftsgeld.
The statutory health insurance pays up to 13 euros per day.
The employer pays the difference between this amount and the woman’s usual net income before pregnancy.
In practice, this means that during the Mutterschutz period the woman receives almost her full net salary.
Mutterschaftsgeld is usually paid for:
6 weeks before the expected date of birth, and
8 weeks after childbirth
In some cases, the period after childbirth is extended to 12 weeks, for example in cases of:
multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.)
premature birth
birth of a child with a disability
A certificate of pregnancy from the gynaecologist
(certificate stating the expected date of delivery)
A formal application submitted by the woman to her health insurance fund
Income information from the employer to calculate the average salary before pregnancy
Mutterschaftsgeld does not cancel your entitlement to Elterngeld,
but it is normally offset against the months in which you receive Elterngeld (counted towards the duration).
You cannot receive Mutterschaftsgeld and Krankengeld at the same time.
Women in fixed-term employment or part-time jobs receive Mutterschaftsgeld proportionate to their actual income.
The editorial team of this website strives to provide accurate information based on thorough research and multiple sources. Nevertheless, mistakes may occur or details may be incomplete or not fully confirmed. Therefore, the information in this article should be treated as an initial reference only. For binding and up-to-date information, please always contact the competent authorities and official advisory services.
