Citizens’ money: Does citizens’ money make you lazy? | STERN.de

Around every second person in Germany with citizen’s benefit is still or again dependent on state support six months after starting work. Party founder Sahra Wagenknecht, who requested the figures from the government, rates this quota as “unacceptable”. It can’t be the case that “after just six months of work, every second person is back on citizens’ money,” said Wagenknecht to “Bild”, which first reported on it. Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD), on the other hand, sees the citizens’ benefit in principle as being correctly positioned so that the unemployed can get their wages and bread and butter again in the long term.

Does citizen money make you lazy?

“The thesis that citizens’ money makes people slow is not true,” said a spokesman for Heils of the German Press Agency. He cites current data as evidence: the majority of people with citizen’s benefit who are integrated into work remain employed. Six months after starting a job, this is the case for almost two out of three people affected – around 64 percent. “This rate has remained stable and even increased in recent years,” said the ministry spokesman.

Wagenknecht, whose BSW party celebrated successes in East German state elections, complains that the numbers do not answer “the crucial question”: “Is it because of those affected who simply have no motivation to work? Is it because of lousy working conditions and unfair pay? Or bid Are companies still hiring far too many temporary positions or are hiring them after the probationary period has expired?”

Wagenknecht is calling for sanctions “for those who would prefer to set up a model of citizen’s money plus undeclared work.” At the beginning of the year, the citizen’s allowance for single people increased by 61 to 563 euros per month. Housing and heating are also usually paid for. In 2025 there will be a zero round in the development of the standard rates.

Many need additional services

So does citizen’s money also serve as a central building block for people who, if possible, put together their everyday life in such a way that they can get by without a lot of effort? Heil’s spokesman states: “There is no evidence that citizen’s money entices people to return to receiving benefits after a short period of time.” “Structural factors” are the decisive reason why people continue to rely on citizens’ money. Examples include low wages and part-time work.

What is the main reason for long-term receipt of citizen’s benefit? “This is often because the income from work is not sufficient to overcome the need for help of the entire community,” said the ministry spokesman. Many people who work simply continue to rely on additional benefits – because of low wages, part-time work or large communities of need, usually families. “Particularly affected,” said Heil’s spokesman, “are people with children and low salaries for whom it is difficult to completely overcome their need for help.”

Many people find it more difficult with children

Fundamentally little has changed in recent years. Today, around 50 percent of people who are already integrated into the labor market continue to receive citizen’s benefit six months after this step, but this proportion was not that much lower before. In 2019 and 2020 it was 46 percent. The proportion of those who continue to be employed subject to social security contributions six months after their integration has increased by four points compared to 2019, from 60 percent back then.

What is striking, according to the ministry, is that people with vocational training have a higher rate of continuous employment. They stop receiving benefits more often. This is also much easier for single people than people with children.

To what extent is work worthwhile for people with citizen’s money?

As a rule, you get significantly more into your account per month with work than with citizen’s money. However, income from work is not always worthwhile for those receiving benefits. Focus on large communities of need with earned income: Here there is often a right to additional benefits such as citizen’s benefit, child allowance or housing benefit. If you put all of this together, those affected often do not receive much more income overall if they expand their existing work a little.

Focus on single parents

Salvation’s ministry wanted to know exactly when work was (not) worth it – and commissioned a report. It has been available since 2023. The 65-page expert report from the ifo (Munich) and ZEW (Leipzig) institutes shows that extra work is often not worth it for single parents. Example of a mother with two children: Without employment income, 2,169 euros in social benefits flow, with a mini-job wage of 520 euros, 2,353 euros remain in the account, with 1,000 euros a total of 2,823 euros – but with 1,500 euros gross employment income, only a little more. Namely 2,907 euros. The researchers write: “There are still income ranges in which (…) additional gross earned income has little and sometimes even negative impact on disposable income.”

How work could be more worthwhile

The researchers suggest that in the case of overtime, the citizen’s benefit should not be reduced as much as it is today for groups of citizens’ benefit recipients for whom it is now not worthwhile to work more. For them, expanding employment today is not financially attractive “because the social benefits they receive will fall sharply as a result.” According to the institutes, such a reform would increase the disposable income of transfer recipients in some income ranges. Incentives to work and thus employment could increase. The state would have to pay more citizens’ money – but could also expect more tax revenue.

According to the researchers, the households for which this can be mathematically expected are those with incomes of more than 520 euros per month and households with household incomes of more than 2,000 euros per month. To this end, the institutes suggest reducing the current different reduction rates for citizens’ benefit in the event of higher wages. The bottom line is that those affected would have noticeably more in their account at the end of the month.

BR “fact fox” on citizen’s money Official statistics Foreigners and citizen’s money (here: Syrians) Official information on citizen’s money Heil on citizen’s money zero round 2025 Heil at ntv on tightening of citizen’s money Citizen’s money – questions and answers Coalition agreement on citizen’s money (pp.59-61) Why there will be a zero round in 2025 Is work worth it despite citizens’ money? Research report from ifo and ZEW Official statistics on integration and citizens’ money