Traffic light dispute over the amount of the citizen’s allowance: “Not a political football”

There will be no increase in the citizen's allowance in 2025, but calls for cuts remain. The SPD and the Greens firmly reject this.

Berlin – SPD and Greens reject renewed calls for a reduction in the citizen's allowance. Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) has announced a freeze for 2025 so that the amount of the citizen's allowance remains the same. However, the two governing parties reject a reduction as demanded by the CDU/CSU and FDP.

SPD politician rejects further cuts after citizen’s allowance freeze in 2025: “Not a political football”

“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 – including with the FDP and the Union. “Our aim was and is to ensure that the standard rates can react more quickly to wage and price developments.”

In view of the high inflation last year, the citizen's allowance was increased by 61 euros to 563 euros per month for single people in January 2024. Overall, those affected received twelve percent more from the state than in 2023. However, given the decline in inflation, which was still at 1.9 percent in August, the increase was larger than necessary. The FDP and the Union in particular consider the benefit to be too high.

After increase: Citizens’ allowance amount remains the same after zero increase in 2025 – because inflation is falling

This is why Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil has also announced a freeze on the citizen's allowance for 2025. The payment will therefore remain the same. In the event of high inflation, the standard rates would also have to be adjusted accordingly. However, the inflation rate has now fallen sharply. This is why the legal mechanism is such that there will be no increase in the citizen's allowance at the beginning of 2025. “That is also right,” said the SPD politician on Wednesday, September 4, at RTL. There will therefore be no increase in the citizen’s allowance rates in 2026 either, reported the Picture citing a government member.

However, the FDP is calling for cuts in the citizen's allowance because inflation has been lower. This was claimed by FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr and the labor market policy spokesman Pascal Kober, among others. Kober suggested in a conversation with the Evangelical Press Service In addition, it is important to lift the grandfather clause. This stipulates that the standard rates of citizen's allowance cannot be reduced, even if the rate of inflation falls. This is why the freeze announced by Heil will come into effect in 2025.

FDP politician Kober on the level of citizen’s allowance: “If inflation is lower than expected, this must also be reflected”

“When we introduced the citizen’s allowance, we made sure that it would be adjusted upwards in line with inflation developments very quickly.” “The standard rates will increase by 12 percent in January 2024,” explained Kober. IPPEN.MEDIA“But if inflation turns out to be lower than expected, as it is now, that must also be reflected.” This would also increase the acceptance of the citizen’s income in society.

“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. IPPEN.MEDIA.

It is part of the honesty of the debate “to say whether one wants to cut people's living costs or their social participation,” explained the SPD MPs. “Due to the abolition of the ancillary costs privilege, many citizens' allowance recipients already have almost 10 euros less at their disposal this year.”

“Inflation buffer”: Green Party social politician Aeffner defends calculation of the amount of the citizen’s allowance

Green Party politician Stephanie Aeffner also defended the method used to calculate the amount of the citizen's allowance – with reference to rulings by the Federal Constitutional Court on Hartz IV. The court made it clear that the subsistence level may no longer be systematically undercut. “This means that the standard rate calculated for January must also be sufficient in December,” said the Bundestag faction's social policy reporter. IPPEN.MEDIA.

Before the adjustment, inflation was always balanced out “after the fact and too late,” as in the crisis after the start of the war in Ukraine. “Instead, there is now an inflation buffer,” explained Aeffner. If this is too high, there will be a zero increase in the following year.

“Nobody currently has a proposal for a better and constitutional solution,” explained the Green Party social politician. This applies in particular to the CDU, “whose concept for a 'new basic security' is extremely thin on this point.”