Maternity benefit calculator
How long does maternity protection last, and who pays what during it? Your health insurer pays at most 13 euros a day — by far the larger part comes from your employer. Both halves are shown side by side.
The period before the birth is counted from the expected date; the period after it from the actual date of birth.
Who pays what
€7,590 Total
- Health insurer
- €1,287
- Employer top-up
- €6,303
- Paid calendar days
- 99 days
The 13 euros a day has been unchanged since 1997. Everything above it is the employer’s to pay — for most employees that is by far the larger share.
Mutterschaftsgeld from the day of birth is offset in full against Elterngeld. It therefore normally consumes your first two Elterngeld months.
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Your maternity protection periods
| Starts | |
| Before the birth | 42 days |
| After the birth | 56 days |
| Ends | |
| Paid calendar days | 99 days |
Source: § 3 MuSchG
The day of delivery is counted once (§ 20 Abs. 1 MuSchG). Payers differ by a day in how they treat it, so the total is an estimate.
Who pays what
| Net pay per calendar day | €76.67 |
| Health insurer (€13.00 per day) | €1,287.00 |
| Employer top-up (€63.67 per day) | €6,303.00 |
| Total | €7,590.00 |
| For comparison: ordinary net pay over the same period | €7,590.00 |
Source: § 24i Abs. 2 SGB V; § 20 MuSchG
Common questions
How long does maternity protection last?
Six weeks before the expected date of delivery and eight weeks after the birth. For premature births, multiple births, and where a disability in the child is established within eight weeks, the period after the birth is twelve weeks.
What if my child arrives early?
The days you lose before the birth are added to the end (§ 3 Abs. 2 Satz 3 MuSchG). The paid period stays exactly as long in total.
And if the child arrives late?
The period before the birth lengthens accordingly, and the eight weeks afterwards remain fully intact. A late birth makes maternity protection longer overall, never shorter.
Why does my insurer only pay 13 euros a day?
Because § 24i Abs. 2 SGB V sets that maximum, and it has not been raised since 1997. It is not your total, though: under § 20 MuSchG your employer pays the difference up to your average net wage, so you end up on your ordinary net pay.
I am privately insured — do I get less?
Only the insurer’s share. Instead of up to 13 euros a day you receive a single payment of at most 210 euros from the Bundesamt für Soziale Sicherung. The employer top-up does not change, because it is measured against the same 13 euro reference. The shortfall is therefore the insurer’s share minus that 210 euros.
Assumptions and limits
- A continuous employment relationship is assumed across the three calendar months before the protection period.
- The daily net wage is taken as monthly net times three, divided by 90 days.
- Mutterschutzlohn for an employment ban outside the protection periods (§ 18 MuSchG) is not modelled.
- Several concurrent employers (§ 20 Abs. 2 MuSchG) are not modelled.
- The day of delivery is counted once; individual payers differ by a day here.