Minister of Labor Heil plans social climate money - "Faster than some in the coalition imagine"

Created: 05/28/2022, 14:04

By: Kathrin Reikowski

Hubertus Heil wants to relieve households with a social climate money - and that soon.

© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

Climate money: Relief for people with low and middle incomes - that's what Minister of Labor Heil is planning for 2023. Where the limits should be.

Berlin - Minister of Social Affairs Hubertus Heil (SPD) wants to introduce social climate money for people with a monthly gross income of less than 4000 euros.

"We have to give an answer that goes beyond the current relief package," said the SPD politician to the newspapers of the

on Saturday.

Low and middle incomes must be relieved of the rising energy and food prices.

The traffic light coalition had already decided on a - sometimes controversial - relief package in the wake of rising prices.

"I am firmly convinced that we need permanent and targeted relief for everyone with low and middle incomes: employees, pensioners, students and trainees," said Heil.

"And that's why I want to ensure that social balance takes place with the introduction of social climate money."

According to Heil (SPD), climate money should be paid out once a year

According to the minister, the climate money should be paid out once a year and “benefit people who earn less than 4,000 euros gross as single people and less than 8,000 euros gross a month as married people”.

The coalition still has to talk about the exact staggering and scope.

Heil emphasized: "For me as Minister for Social Affairs, it is important that we structure this climate money in a socially staggered manner - according to the principle: Those who need it most get the most.

Those who don't need it that much get something.

And those who earn a lot get nothing.” For high earners, high prices are “also an annoying thing, but they can deal with it”.

Social Minister Heil (SPD) wants to introduce climate money quickly

It is also important to him that climate money is introduced faster "than some in the coalition imagine," said Heil.

"If it is technically possible, we should implement the social climate money on January 1, 2023.

If that doesn't work, we'll have to work with bridging one-off payments."

In addition, the new citizens' allowance should be introduced on January 1st.

The Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs said: “My suggestion is that we take the bottom 30 instead of the bottom 20 percent of income as a basis for family households.

In this way we can achieve that the standard rates of citizen income per person and month will be around 40 to 50 euros higher than in the basic security.

This corresponds to an increase of about 10 percent.

I think that's reasonable."