Jobcenter checks your savings from October: 5,000 to 20,000 euros
The Buergergeld was replaced by the new Grundsicherung on 1 July 2026, and with it the rules on how much of your savings the Jobcenter lets you keep. The old one-year grace period, during which savings of up to 40,000 euros for the first person in a household were protected, has been abolished. In its place come fixed allowances that depend on your age: 5,000 euros up to the age of 30, 10,000 euros up to 40, 12,500 euros up to 50, and 20,000 euros from 50 onwards. Each person in the household counts separately.
The change does not reach everyone at the same moment. If your benefit was approved before 1 July 2026, the old rules continue until your current approval period ends. That is why the end of September matters: anyone whose approval period runs out on 30 September moves to the new, lower allowances from 1 October, at the next continuation application. For a 44-year-old with 28,000 euros in savings, the protected amount falls from 40,000 euros to 12,500, and the remaining 15,500 euros must be used for living costs before benefits are paid again.
Not everything counts as usable assets. Appropriate household contents, one appropriate car for each employable person in the household, and an owner-occupied house of up to 140 square metres or a flat of up to 130 remain protected. So do pension products that the state expressly supports, such as Riester contracts. An ordinary savings account, a fixed-term deposit or a share or ETF portfolio does not: those fall under the age-based allowance, even if you think of them as your retirement money.
If your approval period ends on 30 September, check your account balances and the date on your decision letter now, before you file the continuation application. Gather the evidence for anything you believe is protected, such as a pension contract or the papers for your car. If your assets are above the line for your age, ask the Jobcenter about the hardship provision, which can exempt assets whose use would be an unreasonable burden in an individual case.