Overview
- The referent draft would rename Bürgergeld to Grundsicherung from July 2026 and tighten rules on moves by capping recognized rent after non‑required relocations within the same area (Paragraph 22(4) sentence 4).
- Government sources told BILD the cabinet removed the reform from this week’s agenda pending further coordination with the Union, while about 4,000 SPD members submitted a petition opposing tougher measures.
- The Finance Ministry’s advisory board proposes letting recipients keep 30 euros per 100 euros earned and fully counting Minijob income up to the threshold, alongside longer‑term ideas to consolidate benefits.
- A major gap persists between Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s roughly 5‑billion‑euro savings pledge and the Labour Ministry’s 86‑million‑euro 2026 estimate, with IAB figures indicating large savings require hundreds of thousands moving into work and that sanctions yield limited budget effects.
- Legal watchdogs and social‑law advisers warn the housing clause could act as a de facto rent cap and test constitutional limits, as recent case reports highlight jobcenter communication problems and delayed or partial payments.