Overview

• Labor Minister Bärbel Bas and Chancellor Friedrich Merz have outlined initial points to replace Bürgergeld with a new Grundsicherung focused on activation, including quicker cuts of up to about 30 percent for missed obligations and reported full benefit removal after repeated job refusals.
• Leaked and reported drafts indicate lower asset allowances and the end of the one‑year rent grace period, which would require immediate moves from housing deemed too expensive.
• The Bundesrechnungshof has sent a report to the Bundestag budget committee criticizing jobcenters for weak activation and for rarely applying measures against persistent refusers.
• Legal and expert voices warn that total benefit cancellations would likely breach the 2019 Federal Constitutional Court limits and that harsher sanctions tend to push recipients into low‑quality jobs with weak long‑term employment effects.
• The government seeks to fix core parameters by year‑end, yet reporting suggests implementation would not begin before mid‑2026, as municipalities and analysts flag administrative burdens, fiscal limits and labor‑market constraints.