Overview

• The WSI analysis finds full-time minimum-wage workers have several hundred euros more per month than sole Bürgergeld recipients, with the gap for singles around 550 euros on average.
• Local housing costs drive large differences in outcomes, with the smallest gap for singles in Munich at roughly 379 euros and far larger advantages in lower-rent areas such as the Vogtlandkreis and around Nordhausen at about 650 to 660 euros.
• The Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft questions the study’s rent assumptions based on November 2023 averages and notes the calculated gaps often depend on workers claiming top-up benefits like Wohngeld and Kinderzuschlag.
• A BIAJ assessment indicates Bürgergeld payment claims peaked at the end of 2024 and edged down in early 2025, reversing the prior upward trend in nominal obligations.
• Politically, the Merz government is preparing a reform package aimed at reducing costs, with reporting indicating a possible rename of the benefit to Grundsicherung.