Germany’s Benefit Rules Explained: From Sick Pay Cutoffs to Housing Aid Eligibility

Overview

• Statutory sick pay ends after 78 weeks, triggering a review for unemployment insurance with possible seamless coverage under §145 SGB III, and the payout is based on prior insured earnings, not on sick pay.
• Advisers recommend notifying the employment agency roughly three months before sick-pay expiry to avoid delays, and extended assessment periods can be used if fewer than 150 paid workdays occurred in the preceding year.
• Housing support excludes recipients of Bürgergeld, SGB XII aid or regular BAföG, but it can be combined with child benefit, child supplement, parental allowance, unemployment insurance and pensions, with certain payments not counted as income and asset caps applied.
• Eligibility for housing support requires income above a household-specific minimum, recent 2025 adjustments broadened access for many pensioners, and payments are made in advance while child supplement is paid separately by the family benefits office.
• Applicants facing delays can demand an advance under §42 SGB I or seek a provisional decision under §41a SGB II, and a Mainz administrative court recently denied housing support to a long-term student for not pursuing studies seriously.