Overview

• The Paritätischer’s analysis of 2024 data reports uptake of at most 19.2% among 6- to 15-year-olds in households receiving Bürgergeld.
• More than 80% of eligible children did not receive the support, which offers €15 monthly for activities such as club fees, music lessons and trips.
• Regional gaps are stark, with fewer than one in ten eligible children reached in Rheinland-Pfalz and Hamburg versus roughly 60% in Schleswig-Holstein.
• Implementation rests with municipalities, producing a postcode lottery that the study links to administrative hurdles and proof requirements.
• The governing coalition plans to raise the allowance to €20 and develop a Kinderkarte and a Teilhabe app, but it has not endorsed automatic universal payouts.