BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – SPD parliamentary group deputy Dagmar Schmidt has spoken out against across-the-board cuts in parental allowance. “Family policy must not be a quarry for short-term budget consolidation, but must remain reliable and plannable,” she told “Spiegel”. “We are welcome to talk about reforms to parental allowance that will further improve equality in relationships.” The expectation of Federal Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) is: “Broad-cut cuts must be avoided at all costs.”
As part of the current budget preparation for 2027, Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) committed all departments to a savings target of one percent. The black-red coalition has therefore also agreed on a reform with cost reductions for parental allowance. The details are still being discussed internally. The responsible family minister, Prien, had suggested in the “Welt” that the possible options would be to shorten the duration of the benefit or reduce the benefit.
Schmidt: Make high incomes more responsible
SPD parliamentary group vice-president Schmidt admitted that the federal government’s financial situation was not easy. The coalition must talk together about “how we can find solutions in a really challenging budget without weakening the social infrastructure,” she told “Spiegel”.
It must also be about who can bear more responsibility. “It is fair and reasonable to make the strongest shoulders – i.e. people with very high incomes and large assets – a little more responsible,” said the deputy chairwoman of the SPD parliamentary group.
The Berlin SPD leader and top candidate for the Berlin House of Representatives election in September, Steffen Krach, also advocated for other savings priorities. “I really don’t know how to explain to someone that Germany currently has 300 million euros to reduce the airline ticket tax, but not 300 million for parents and children,” Krach told Spiegel. Those who save on families are saving on the future of the country.
There has been no increase in parental allowance since 2007
Parental allowance is income replacement for mothers and fathers when they take time off work to care for children. According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 1.61 million people received parental allowance last year. It is usually 65 percent of the net earnings before the birth, but at least 300 and a maximum of 1,800 euros per month.
These rates have not changed since the benefit was introduced in 2007. Due to the lack of inflation compensation, parental allowance has now lost around 38 percent of its purchasing power, according to calculations by the employer-related German Economic Institute (IW)./kli/DP/he