Overview
- The Federal Social Court held a roughly €10,500 demand from Jobcenter Köln to be time‑barred, confirming that ordinary repayment claims expire after four years unless a new, independent administrative act extends the period.
- Judges ruled that an unsuccessful enforcement step such as a Pfändungsversuch or Pfändungsniederschrift is not a new administrative act and cannot revive or prolong expired claims.
- In a separate case, the Higher Social Court of Lower Saxony‑Bremen curtailed a €51,000 replacement claim tied to a 2012 apprenticeship loss, requiring proof that later benefits were paid for that very cause and stressing proportionality after long time gaps.
- Jobcenter Berlin‑Pankow maintains it must pursue open debts and says loan repayments granted by an uncontestable administrative act fall under a 30‑year limitation under §52(2) SGB X, which it cites to justify long data retention.
- The decisions narrow the scope for resurrecting very old debts, so recipients facing retroactive demands are advised to check the date of the last effective decision and challenge causation where large replacement claims are based on remote events.