Overview

• The labor ministry’s draft would rebrand Bürgergeld as Grundsicherung and introduce stepped penalties, including a 30% cut after a second missed Jobcenter appointment and the option to suspend all payments, including rent, after repeated no‑shows.
• Beyond sanctions, the proposal tightens rules on housing costs and protected assets by scrapping grace periods, linking asset protection to “life achievement,” and prioritizing immediate job placement over longer training unless it clearly speeds entry into work.
• Official projections put savings at about €86 million in 2026 and €69 million in 2027, with costs expected to rise thereafter, undercutting earlier political claims of multi‑billion‑euro reductions.
• Economists and social groups, including DIW’s Marcel Fratzscher, Verdi and the Sozialverband Deutschland, warn of a populist turn, legal vulnerabilities and heightened housing insecurity, while Jobcenter leaders report few deliberate “total refusers” and many missed appointments due to illness or caregiving.
• The overhaul is entangled with a broader social package in parliament, as SPD leader Lars Klingbeil urges CDU/CSU chief Jens Spahn to deliver support for the rentenpaket alongside the CSU’s Mütterrente and the CDU’s Aktivrente despite resistance from the Union’s Junge Gruppe.