Overview

• The government intends to adopt Labor Minister Bärbel Bas’s regulation on 10 September, which does not require parliamentary consent.
• About 5.6 million Bürgergeld recipients would keep current rates in 2026, with single adults remaining at €563 per month.
• The zero adjustment is justified by lower inflation and legal protections that bar benefit cuts, according to the labor ministry.
• Asylum-seeker payments are slated to increase by €14 to €455 per month because those rates are not covered by legal Bestandsschutz.
• Bas announced tougher sanctions for missed appointments at job centers, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz pressed for broader welfare cuts and structural reforms.