Strict changes to the social assistance system in Germany!
The new German government led by Friedrich Merz is seeking to abolish the Bürgergeld system and replace it with a new social support system for the unemployed, without reducing the total amount of aid, but with the introduction of stricter penalties. The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Barbel Bas from the Social Democratic Party, has been tasked with preparing this change just two years after the implementation of Bürgergeld.
The new rules aim to punish those who repeatedly refuse jobs considered "acceptable", with penalties potentially leading to the complete withdrawal of support. This comes after the significant increase in Bürgergeld for 2024 – from 502 euros to 563 euros per month – sparked widespread controversy, as many viewed it as unfair, especially with the cessation of adjustments in 2025.
Despite this new direction, the German government is legally obligated to ensure a minimum standard of living, as stipulated by the constitution and the ruling of the Constitutional Court in 2010, which emphasized the necessity of providing a dignified life and social participation for everyone in need of assistance. This threshold is measured annually by an official report called the "Minimum Living Report."
According to this latest report issued on November 5, 2024, the amounts of Bürgergeld will remain the same in 2026: 563 euros per month for individuals and 1,012 euros for couples, including child allowances. The new government is not allowed to reduce these amounts due to the principle of legal protection in social welfare law.
What the government can change is the mechanism for adjusting these benefits. The system adopted in Bürgergeld relied on 70% of the inflation rate and 30% of wage development, and a special tool called "supplementary update" was added, which led to higher increases in benefits, especially in the context of rising inflation.
The new coalition consisting of the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party has decided to abolish this tool and return to the old accounting system that was in place before the Corona pandemic, as in the Hartz IV model, which means that future increases will be lower.
According to a study by the Bremen Institute for Labor Market Research, the difference between the two systems is clear: in 2024, for example, the amount of Bürgergeld was 563 euros, while it would have been only 512 euros under the old system. However, the law prevents the reduction of these amounts, so they will remain fixed at least until 2027. After that, new increases may occur, but they will be less than those that happened under the Bürgergeld system.