Despite the savings debate - Citizen's income to be increased - Federal Agency can no longer stop the increase
While the political wrangling over the Citizen's Income is dominating the headlines in Germany and the debate is raging as to whether or not it should be increased as significantly as planned, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) is making it clear: "The payment processes are already underway."
A spokesperson for the BA is currently quoted with this information in the Funke Mediengruppe newspapers. Several media picked up on the information on Wednesday. The spokesperson said that it was no longer technically possible to waive an increase at the turn of the year, as demanded by the FDP and CDU/CSU, among others.
Anyone who has ever had anything to do with technical processes or knows how much preparation is required for IT changes in companies, for example, will probably not be surprised by this news. After all, the turn of the year is near.
Citizen's allowance: Payment of higher rates must be technically implemented
The Federal Agency 's spokesperson also explained that it is no longer possible to implement values for January 2024 that differ from those previously published for the same technical reasons.
The basis for calculating the increase in the Citizen's Allowance is laid down by law, and the exact increase is set by the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs every year by the end of October.
According to the Federal Government, the more than five million recipients of citizen's income in Germany will receive an average of around twelve percent more money from January 1, 2024 - single people will then receive 563 euros. The federal government had announced its intention to stick to the planned increase despite the billion-euro shortfall in the federal budget and the glaring labor shortage in Germany.
However, the debate about the level of support for people who are not working has flared up again in recent days, mainly due to the budget crisis. Both CDU leader Friedrich Merz and CSU leader Markus Söder consider the increase to be unreasonably high. In view of the slowdown in inflation, the FDP, the party with the traffic light system, is also calling for a reassessment of the standard rates.
Minister of Labor Heil: Stopping the increase would be "morally irresponsible"
In a statement on Monday, Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (SPD) called it "morally irresponsible and incompatible with the constitution" to deny those affected an adjustment of the standard rates. A spokesperson for Heil emphasized that on the basis of current law, there is no room for discretion regarding the adjustment of the standard rates in the coming year.
In contrast, Thorsten Frei, Parliamentary Director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, told the "Rheinische Post" newspaper: "For some recipients, the level of the Citizen's Income alone is like a shutdown bonus. Behind this is the fear that the gap to the income that people earn through work could be too small. Because there is more to the citizen's income than the controversial payment. Recipients of this benefit receive, for example, the costs of accommodation and heating "at an appropriate level" from the job center, as the Federal Employment Agency states on its website.
The chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Christian Dürr, pleaded for savings in the year after next in the newspaper "Bild". "If the Citizen's Income increases more than inflation in 2024, there must be a zero round the following year. Legally, that is also possible. Anything else would send the wrong signal." He also called for a recalculation of the procedure.
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Despite the opposition from parties like the FDP and CDU/CSU, who want to halt the increase in the Citizen's Allowance, the Federal Employment Agency has stated that technically, it's no longer feasible to implement values for January 2024 that differ from those previously published, as the increase in Germany's Citizen's Allowance for 2024 is set by law and has already been approved, with the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs setting the exact increase by the end of October each year. This means that the over five million citizens in Germany receiving the Citizen's Allowance will continue to see an average increase of around twelve percent, as announced by the federal government.
Source: www.stern.de
