The leisure bonus is intended to help children forget the difficult time of lockdown.
For this purpose, the federal government wants to pay 100 euros once.
But who is entitled to the money?
Berlin - Children, adolescents and families were hit particularly hard by the Corona * pandemic.
Daycare centers, schools and leisure clubs had to close completely or partially for months.
A disaster for the adolescents - they had to forego social contacts and leisure activities, learning backlogs could only be partially absorbed by homeschooling.
With the action program “Catching up after Corona for children and adolescents” that has now been decided, the government wants to provide an incentive to make up for what has been missed.
In total, the Ministry of Finance is releasing funds totaling two billion euros.
This also includes a one-off payment of 100 euros for almost 2.7 million children in Germany.
According to Family Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD), this money can be spent “as the mood takes you”.
But who can actually be happy?
The most important questions and answers at a glance:
Who gets the children's leisure bonus?
Only low-income families receive the leisure bonus.
To do this, they must either receive housing benefit, child allowance, benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act or be dependent on Hartz IV *.
Good news for all families who are already receiving child benefit: You will receive the bonus automatically and do not have to fill out an application.
For families who receive benefits from the state without the child allowance, an informal application to the family benefits office is sufficient.
Similar to the one-off payment for children of 150 euros from May 2021, the leisure bonus is not offset against other social benefits - the families therefore receive the full 100 euros.
What is the children's leisure bonus intended for?
The children's leisure bonus is primarily intended for vacation, sport and leisure activities and is usually paid out automatically and without an application.
Families with child allowance, housing benefit or social assistance receive it from the family benefits office of the Federal Employment Agency.
When does the payment come?
According to the Federal Office for Families, Seniors, Women and Young People, the payments should be received in the accounts of the beneficiaries from August 2021.
The children's leisure bonus comes separately from other social benefits such as Hartz IV or housing benefit.
The children's leisure bonus in brief
Who is entitled to the children's leisure bonus?
Families who are dependent on Hartz IV benefit from it, who receive housing benefit, child allowance or benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act.
Do I have to apply for the children's leisure bonus?
Most families do not have to submit a separate application for this.
Only families who only receive housing benefit and no child allowance, as well as families with social assistance, have to submit an informal application to the family benefits office.
When is the children's leisure bonus paid out?
According to the federal government, the bonus will be paid out to those entitled from August.
List of rubric lists: © Axel Heimken / dpa
