Growing opposition is surfacing regarding the federal government’s planned reforms to the parental allowance (Elterngeld). Critics argue that making cuts now would undermine the stability and reliability that families currently need.
Jasmina Hostert, the SPD’s spokesperson for family policy, stated that deep cuts to children and families must be rejected. Similarly, Elke Hannack, the deputy chairwoman of the German Workers’ Union (DGB), criticized the potential reforms, asserting that those considering reductions misunderstand the current political climate. She noted that such moves contradict the coalition commitment to prioritize families and strengthen the equal participation of women.
The skepticism is shared by economists. Wido Geis-Thöne of the German Institute for Economics (IW) stated that, under current conditions, “there are hardly any essential potential savings in the parental allowance without fundamentally altering its character”. Katharina Wrohlich, an economist at DIW, added that decreasing benefits from a central family policy measure would be the wrong signal, especially given the country’s declining birth rates-a pattern leading to record low birth numbers compared to any time since 1946.
The background for the proposed changes involves a cabinet resolution for the federal budget, which requires the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, led by Karin Prien (CDU), to save 500 million euros.
Instead of focusing the reductions solely on the parental allowance, the CDU suggested looking at cuts in other areas of the ministry’s budget, such as project funding. However, history shows that such proposals are met with resistance; for instance, when previous Family Minister Lisa Paus (Green) cut the benefit in 2023, it caused a wave of public protest.