Unemployment > Social Money

Social Money Benefit

Definition, Explanation

In the course of Hartz IV reforms, the social money (Sozialgeld) was introduced in Germany. Legal definition is Sozialgesetzbuch Zweites Buch (SGB II). Social money is one of the social security benefits that are paid under certain conditions to persons in the age employment-legitimacy. Others are the unemployment benefit, unemployment benefit 2 and the social welfare money. The social security benefits secure a minimum income for the recipients to make a living. A person is entitled to receive social money when all of the following circumstances are given:

• The person is employment-incapable. Employment-incapable means the person can work less than 3 hours a day for longer than 6 months due to a sickness or disablement. Children below the age of 15 are generally considered incapable of being employed
• The person lives in a household-unit in need together with a recipient of unemployment benefit 2
• The person does not receive pension or pension for reduced earning capacity. In authority language, this is phrased “no basic security benefit in old age and for reduced earning capacity”

Persons considered members of the household-unit in need are:

• Children before their 15. birthday
• Employment-incapable children or juveniles before their 18. birthday
• Employment-incapable, full-aged persons who do not receive pension or pension for reduced earning capacity (basic security benefits according to SGB XII – chapter 4)

Component benefits of social money:

• Regular benefit, see below
• Additional demand in special situations, like pregnancy, or as a lone parent / lone custody taker, or when health state requires special nutrition
• Benefits for accommodation and heating
• Contributions to statutory health-, nursing-, and pension insurance
• Loan grants for one-time demands
• Temporary additional benefit bridging from unemployment benefit I to II
• Additional benefits for school students below the age of 26 who do not receive remuneration in their education, and who are in need of support or whose parent(s) are in need of support (basic security for unemployed) and who are attending a comprehensive or professional school. Amount of additional benefit: 100 € per child per school year up to and including 10th school year
• Exemption from broadcast and television license fee
• Reduced telephone fee

Amount of social money benefit:

• The amount principally depends on the regular component of unemployment benefit II, i.e. a single or lone parent / lone custody taker receives monthly 359 Euros, in the year 2009
• If 2 full-aged persons entitled to social money live together in partnership, then each of the partners receives 90 % of the regular component of social money, i.e. 323 Euros per month
• Children from age 14: 80 %, i.e. 287 Euros per month
• Children from 6 to 13: 70 %, i.e. 251 Euros per month
• Employment-incapable parent of a employment-capable child: 100 %, i.e. 359 Euros per month

Assets have to be used up first, down to the exemption amount of 9,750 Euros plus 759 Euros for necessary acquisitions, before any social money benefit is received at all.

Tips, Checklist

• Sanctions in terms of benefit cuts impend when you fail to comply with obligations. E.g. when you do not attend ordered medical or psychological examinations, or falsely report your income or assets amount, or deliberately decrease them in order to receive social money, or if you behave un-economically despite having been admonished
• There is no obligation to be insured in the statutory health-, nursing- and pension insurance when you receive social money. That is, to be health insured privately, is in principle possible. If you want this, though, apply for an additional benefit for insurance contribution
• The decision whether somebody is capable of being employed or not is made by the case manager in the federal labour agency

Last update: 01/26/2010