Overview

• Labor Minister Bärbel Bas said her draft will be ready within about two weeks and confirmed plans for an October cabinet vote, with a small team led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz steering the push.
• Draft measures reported by multiple outlets include faster cuts of up to 30% for repeated non‑compliance, immediate checks on rent “reasonableness” without a one‑year grace period, and lower asset protections by ending the transition on exempt savings.
• The government is weighing complete benefit withdrawals in extreme cases where recipients cannot be reached or repeatedly refuse to cooperate, while staying within Constitutional Court limits on total cuts.
• The Federal Audit Office criticized Jobcenters for weak activation and noted that the tough “total refuser” rule has been used only in a low double‑digit number of cases nationwide, casting doubt on expected savings.
• Further ideas shaping the debate include renaming the program as a new work‑focused basic support, tighter access for some EU migrants, a CDU‑aligned call to shift the burden of proof onto claimants, and BA chief Andrea Nahles’s proposal to bundle Wohngeld and Kinderzuschlag at the Federal Employment Agency.