Hanging plant two years no increase

According to information from the media, there will be no increase in the citizen's allowance after the 2025 federal election. What does that mean?

Berlin – Labor and Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) announced in the first week of September that there had long been speculation: There will be no increase in the citizen's allowance on January 1, 2025. Inflation has fallen significantly, Heil explained this decision. “That is also the right thing to do,” said the minister.

Zero increase in citizen’s allowance also conceivable in 2026

But as the Picture Now, according to what the paper claims to have learned exclusively, there will be no increase in the citizen's allowance in 2026 either. The paper learned this from government circles. This means that the standard rates would not increase again until 2027 at the earliest.

This information could not initially be independently confirmed – in any case, a political decision on the amount of the citizen's allowance is not possible. This is determined in a relatively complex process, but the most important principle applies: the citizen's allowance must cover the minimum subsistence level. This is also stated in the Basic Law, as the Federal Constitutional Court most recently confirmed in 2019. Accordingly, the state is obliged to protect human dignity – and this is also done through state benefits.

“The standard rate is not a political football, but rather determines which basic needs all people should be entitled to,” said the deputy chairwoman of the SPD parliamentary group, Dagmar Schmidt, to IPPEN.MEDIAShe pointed out that there was a broad consensus on the calculation mechanism when the Citizen's Allowance was introduced – also with the FDP and the Union.

Citizens' allowance linked to wages and inflation: This is how the amount is determined for citizens' allowance recipients

The amount of the citizen's allowance that must be paid to cover the minimum subsistence level is regularly recorded on a random basis. Households in Germany are asked about their expenses every five years. This is then used to determine what is necessary to cover daily needs. In 2024, the standard needs were determined from a sample from 2018.

Price increases are then taken into account. Both inflation and wage developments are taken into account; this procedure is also known from pensions, which are increased every year in the summer. There was a significant increase in 2024, as inflation was particularly high in 2022 and 2023. The zero increase announced for 2025 is because inflation has not increased in the same way again. No adjustment is necessary either.

As from the Picture Now it turns out that the government apparently does not expect any major price jumps in 2025, which is why no increase is likely to be expected in 2026. But no one can say yet whether this will turn out to be true.

FDP wants to cut citizens’ allowance: Why this is not possible

Under current law, it is not possible to reduce the rate of citizen's allowance. The so-called protection of existing rights applies for this. However, the FDP is calling for this regulation to be repealed, and the group's labor market policy spokesman, Christian Dürr, recently made a statement to this effect.

“Those who are constantly calling for cuts should finally state clearly which basic needs they want to cut from people, then we can discuss it objectively,” said SPD deputy parliamentary group leader Schmidt to IPPEN.MEDIAThe SPD MPs explained that it is part of the honesty of the debate to “say whether one wants to cut people's living costs or their social participation.” “Due to the abolition of the ancillary costs privilege, many people receiving citizen's allowance already have almost 10 euros less at their disposal this year.”