Overview

• About 41% of single parents in Germany face poverty risk, according to the latest figure cited from the Bertelsmann-Stiftung.
• Amuvee’s model project found that participants who learned to combine benefits more effectively gained around €300 per month.
• Key nationwide payments include Kindergeld of €255 per child, Kinderzuschlag of up to €297 per month for six months with reapplication required, and Unterhaltsvorschuss of €227, €299 or €394 depending on age via youth welfare offices.
• Further relief includes the single-parent tax allowance of up to €4,260 per year plus €240 for each additional child via tax class II, and children’s sick pay for up to 30 days per year (70 with multiple children) at roughly 90% of net earnings.
• Benefit rules interact tightly as Bürgergeld recipients cannot also claim Wohngeld or Kinderzuschlag, regional provisions and municipal extras vary, and tools such as the KiZ-Lotse and the federal housing calculator as well as advice from Jugendämter and welfare groups help determine eligibility.