Welfare state: Bundled social services could cost five billion euros more
The government wants to combine basic security, housing allowance and child allowance into one social benefit. The Awo is making a proposal for implementation that could bring more people into work - but would be expensive.
The German government aims to simplify and make the social welfare system more transparent and effective while saving money. The plan involves merging three main social benefits: Grundsicherung, Wohngeld, and Kinderzuschlag. A proposal by Arbeiterwohlfahrt (Awo) suggests combining these benefits, with the goal of not disadvantaging anyone, particularly couples without children, while better supporting households with children and low incomes.
According to calculations by the Ifo-Institut, this could cost an additional 5.4 billion euros annually but lead to an increase in working hours equivalent to 188,000 full-time positions.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
