Citizens' money instead of Hartz IV: 150 euros incentive - that's in the coalition agreement of the traffic light

Created: 01/14/2022, 12:58 p.m

By: Patrick Freiwah

Hartz IV will be called citizen money in the future.

For this purpose, the standard rate for low-income people will be raised a bit.

But by how many euros?

A solution seems within reach.

• Hartz IV recipients should get more money in the future (see first report).

• The traffic light coalition has signed a coalition agreement for the years 2021 to 2025.

• The minimum wage will be increased to 12 euros (see update from November 24, 3:30 p.m.).

Update from November 24, 3:30 p.m .:

Hartz IV will be abolished.

Instead, a citizens' allowance is to be introduced (see initial notification).

The SPD, Greens and FDP have recorded this in their coalition agreement for the years 2021 to 2025.

The focus here is on respect for the dignity of the individual.

In addition, the newly created citizen money should enable social participation and be uncomplicated and digitally accessible, according to the parties of the traffic light alliance.

In the first two years of receiving citizen's income, this benefit should be granted without taking assets into account.

Citizens' allowance replaces Hartz IV and should be uncomplicated and digitally accessible

For people who are unemployed, the coalition parties have decided to expand the independent promotion of basic skills and to make it clear that finding a job does not have priority over vocational training or further education, which could improve the job opportunities of the unemployed. For this purpose, SGB II and III beneficiaries are to receive an additional training allowance of 150 euros per month for professional qualifications in the future. This should create an incentive for the unemployed to continue their education. Anyone who does not immediately find a job after appropriate training should be entitled to unemployment benefit* for at least three months.

According to the coalition agreement, the minimum wage will be increased to twelve euros per hour. The independent Minimum Wage Commission will then decide on further increases. In order to strengthen the collective bargaining system, the coalition also supports the EU Commission's proposal for a directive on adequate, poverty-proof minimum wages. During the negotiations, the traffic light parties plan to advocate for binding minimum standards, as they apply in Germany after the decision on the new minimum wage law (more on this at

*).

The coalition parties SPD, Greens and FDP want to strengthen the statutory pension for everyone.

There should be no pension cuts.

The statutory retirement age* will not be raised either.

Instead, the minimum pension level of 48 percent should be permanently secured.

In this legislative period, the contribution rate will not rise above 20 percent.

First report from November 24, 9.45 a.m .:

Munich – Whether in the energy sector or in the food sector: the price spiral has turned noticeably upwards in 2021.

The development in Germany puts low-income people under particular pressure, who have to shoulder more costs with little financial means.

As a consequence, the next federal government is planning a reform of the labor market, also in order to provide more money to Hartz IV recipients in the future.

Citizens' allowance is to replace Hartz IV: Apparently agreement on the new standard rate

On the one hand, Hartz IV* will be abolished in the next legislative period and replaced by a so-called citizen's allowance*.

On the other hand, the coalition parties Greens, SPD and FDP are struggling to find a solution with regard to more social assistance for the lower income bracket.

The negotiating partners are said to have agreed on an increase of 31 euros per month, as reported by the

portal .

Hartz 4 recipients living alone currently receive a standard monthly rate* of 446 euros from the state.

In addition, the accommodation costs are covered.

In January 2022, the salaries will increase marginally – by three euros to 449 euros.

Ulrich Schneider, head of the Parity Welfare Association, described this increase as a "joke" and "blatant mockery" that does not even come close to compensating for the increased cost of living in the Federal Republic.

If the basic income were to increase by 31 euros in the scenario described, the income for the unemployed would be 480 euros.

Citizens' allowance: Traffic light coalition disagrees on increasing the standard rate

The potential government alliance of the Greens, SPD and FDP is said to be in tough negotiations with regard to the coalition agreement, because this increased amount alone would tear a multi-digit billion hole in the state coffers for recipients of citizen income. This is particularly feared due to the fact that huge investment projects are also needed in other areas such as climate protection. The big promise of labor market reform threatens to reach its limits the more the negotiators delve into the details.

Greens and SPD seem to be more on the same wavelength than the FDP.

The Green Youth in particular is driving the issue of compensation for those on low incomes due to the additional burdens caused by inflation.

When it comes to citizen income, 600 to 650 euros are appropriate as a standard rate, said federal spokeswoman Sarah-Lee Heinrich*, referring to calculations by the parliamentary group.

The future traffic light coalition partners must also find common ground when it comes to citizen income.

© Mike Schmidt/Imago Images

Employment agency and Hartz IV critic Inge Hannemann reacted to the announcement of the apparently completed agreement with an angry message: "The poorest remain the last in the chain.

It's disgraceful and anti-social to the max," the author tweeted.

Citizens' allowance replaces Hartz IV: It also depends on the wage gap requirement

As the Forsa Institute determined on behalf of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband, the majority of Germans also consider the current Hartz IV rate to be too little: According to the survey, around 85 percent of those surveyed believe that 80 percent more money should be to ensure basic supplies.

That would mean an average of 811 euros instead of the current standard rate.

But social assistance is far from that, which is mainly due to the following point: Higher social assistance is related to the wage gap requirement.

Those who work full-time must ultimately have more in their pockets than Hartz IV recipients who are on the subsistence level.

This means that nationwide wages would have to rise in order to be able to adjust the standard rates for the unemployed accordingly.