Overview
- A calculation mistake by an external payroll contractor produced positive instead of negative adjustments for cheaper postings, causing about €5 million in excess payments to staff at 71 of 220 foreign posts between July 2025 and June 2026.
- The error affected diplomats and military personnel, with some Bundeswehr allowances already set to drop going forward by specific amounts such as roughly €150 a month for soldiers in Lithuania.
- The Auswärtiges Amt confirmed recipients do not have to repay the overpayments because of legal limits on reclaiming past salary adjustments.
- The ministry is reviewing contractual and legal options to hold the external Dienstleister accountable and is implementing corrected calculation rules to prevent a repeat.
- The case highlights risks in outsourcing automated pay systems because a single sign or formula error can create multi‑million euro mistakes and disrupt staffing incentives at overseas postings.