Common questions about Pflegegeld

Pflegegeld (long-term care allowance) has 7 levels. In 2026 it goes from 206,20 EUR per month at level 1 to 2.214,80 EUR at level 7 (BPGG § 5). Income and assets play no role; only the care need counts.

At the assessment visit (Begutachtung), each care task where help is needed gets a time value from the Einstufungsverordnung (Classification Ordinance), for example personal hygiene, dressing or cooking. The values are worked out for a month of 30 days and added up. More than 65 hours per month gives level 1 (BPGG § 4 Abs 2).

In Austria there is no objection (Einspruch or Widerspruch) against the Pflegegeld-Bescheid (official decision). Instead, you can file a court action (Klage) at the Arbeits- und Sozialgericht (Labour and Social Court). In Vienna it is called Arbeits- und Sozialgericht Wien; elsewhere it is the Landesgericht (regional court). First request the Gutachten (assessment report), so you can see which care tasks were counted and which are missing.

The deadline is 3 months from the delivery (Zustellung) of the Bescheid and cannot be extended (ASGG § 67 Abs 2). The guide shows how to work out the exact last day, including public holidays and letters held for collection at the post office.

There are no court fees, and the insurance institution pays for the Gutachten in the proceedings, even if you lose. In the first instance you do not need a lawyer; the Arbeiterkammer (Chamber of Labour) and disability associations advise and represent their members. If you hire a lawyer yourself, the insurance institution only pays back those costs if you win fully or partly, otherwise only in exceptional cases. You only have to pay back costs to the insurance institution if you sue frivolously, delay the proceedings or use deception.

If you file a court action against a Bescheid that grants a level, the level from the Bescheid stays secured. The court can confirm or raise it, but not lower it (ASGG § 71 Abs 2). Exception: if the insurance institution decides again during the proceedings because circumstances have changed, for example because the condition has improved, the level is not secured to that extent (ASGG § 71 Abs 3).

The court action fits if the Bescheid was already wrong when it was delivered and the deadline is still running. The application for an increase (Erhöhungsantrag) fits if the condition has become significantly worse since then (BPGG § 9 Abs 4).

The Gutachten (assessment report) often does not come with the Bescheid. You can request it from the insurance institution that issued the Bescheid, usually the Pensionsversicherungsanstalt (PVA, Pension Insurance Institution). The Gutachten lists the care tasks and hours that the level is based on.

If the person in need of care asks for it, a person they trust (Vertrauensperson) is present at the examination and is heard (BPGG § 25a Abs 1). This can be a family member who knows the daily routine. Costs for this are not paid back.

A care diary (Pflegetagebuch) records what you help with, when, and how long it takes, also at night. At the assessment visit and in court, it helps you not to forget anything.

Your details go to an AI service for the check. Our server keeps the result for at most 30 minutes, your browser until you close the tab. Details in the privacy policy.

No. The checker recalculates using the published rules and shows where the level in the Bescheid differs from your description. You decide whether you file a court action. The court makes the binding decision.

When you tick boxes, it is easy to forget many things, especially help at night, and standing next to the person to guide them, for example when getting dressed. People who describe a normal day usually mention these things on their own. The AI assigns your sentences to the care tasks and quotes you word for word, a fixed program calculates, and you decide what is right.

They are made up. Their families show typical situations, for example dementia, a stroke or a severe visual impairment. Each case has a made-up Bescheid and a description, the way you would tell it at the kitchen table. An AI assigned in advance which sentences belong to which kind of help, and we saved that. That is why nothing goes to an AI while you try them, as long as you do not change the text. The same program calculates hours and level, with the same rules as for your own Bescheid. The result has nothing to do with your own case: for that, check your own Bescheid afterwards.

No, not for children under 15. For them, the Kinder-Einstufungsverordnung (Classification Ordinance for children) applies, with its own values, which the checker does not calculate. It points this out and gives no level.