Reduced child support payments will be expensive for single parents

2026-07-15

Germany's government is considering reducing financial support for single parents by ending advance child maintenance payments two years earlier than under the current system, a proposal that has triggered widespread political criticism.

Federal Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU – Christian Democratic Union) has proposed changing the Unterhaltsvorschuss (advance child maintenance payment) system so that eligible children would receive support only until their 16th birthday instead of their 18th. The payment is provided by the state when the parent responsible for child maintenance fails to pay.

If the proposal is approved, affected single parents could lose up to €394 per month for each child during the final two years of eligibility. That would amount to a maximum loss of €9,456 per child under the 2026 payment rates, with families having multiple children facing even greater financial impacts.

The government says the planned reform is part of broader efforts to reduce public spending, noting that the cost of the advance payment program has quadrupled since eligibility was expanded in 2017. Officials also argue that the state recovers only a small portion of the money from parents who fail to meet their maintenance obligations, leaving taxpayers to cover most of the expense.

The proposal has met strong opposition from across the political spectrum, including members of the governing coalition, child welfare organizations, and state leaders. Critics argue that the cuts would place a heavier financial burden on single-parent households and their children, while urging the government to focus instead on recovering unpaid maintenance from defaulting parents rather than reducing support for families.