Apply for assistance with living expenses (social welfare)

As a rule, you will receive assistance with living expenses as a social welfare benefit if you are in need of help and have a disability:

• neither basic income support for jobseekers,
• still receive basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity.

Children under the age of 15 receive social assistance if they:

• live together with people who receive subsistence assistance (usually with their parents) and
• are unable to secure their livelihood despite being entitled to maintenance.

Assistance with living expenses includes:

• the flat-rate standard rate to ensure subsistence, for example for food, clothing or personal hygiene. A separate standard rate is set for each family member.
• Education and participation benefits for children and young people, for example for:
  • Class trips,
  • personal school supplies,
  • Student tickets,
  • supplementary learning support,
  • Lunch in schools or
  • Club fees, music lessons and the like.
• Needs for accommodation and heating.
• In exceptional cases, assumption of debt for:
  • Prevention of homelessness,
  • Securing your accommodation or
  • to remedy a comparable emergency situation, for example debts to the energy supplier.
• Requirements for your health and long-term care insurance contributions and, under certain conditions, for your pension provision.

In addition to your standard rate, you can receive benefits for additional needs for living expenses. You can apply for these additional needs if you:

• meet the requirements for a severely disabled person's pass with the "G" mark and are not able to work under pension law,
• expectant mother from the 13th week of pregnancy,
• are single parents,
• have reached the age of 15, are disabled and receive assistance for appropriate schooling or training as part of integration assistance,
• are dependent on a special diet due to a medical condition, which leads to higher costs than a "normal" diet,
• produce hot water decentrally (e.g. boiler) rather than through a central heating system, or
• you are a pupil and have expenses for the purchase or loan of school books or equivalent workbooks due to the respective school regulations or school requirements.

If you do not live alone, the social welfare office will take your entire family income into account to determine your need for assistance. The income of all family members living together in the same home is taken into account, for example:

• earned income,
• Maintenance payments and
• Pension income.

Child benefit paid for minors and any maintenance payments for a child are allocated to this child to cover their needs.

Certain assets are not considered to be protected assets, for example:

• smaller amounts of cash (financial assets per adult: EUR 10,000) or
• a suitable house plot.

Apart from a few exceptional cases, you will not receive any benefits for past periods.

• §§ Sections 27 - 40 of the Twelfth Book of the Social Code (SGB XII)

• Application for basic security benefits (will be recorded on site)
• Identity card or passport
• Severely disabled person's pass, if available
• Residence permit for foreigners
• Bank statements for the last 3 months
• Rental agreement and last rent increase, if applicable
• last operating and heating cost statement from the landlord
• Income documents, e.g. wage and salary receipts, child benefit notice, housing benefit notice, pension notice, maintenance payments, etc.
• Property documents, if available, e.g. savings book, certificate of deposit, extract from the land register for house and apartment ownership, vehicle registration document
• Current classification of the heating energy supplier
• Notice of employment from the Jobcenter, if benefits were previously received from there
• Certificate of appointment (only applies to supervisors)

The required documents will be copied after submission.

In individual cases, further evidence may be required for processing.

• You are in need of help and:
  • temporarily fully incapacitated for work or
  • receive an old-age pension but have not yet reached the age limit for the standard old-age pension.

• You are in need of assistance if you cannot fully cover your living expenses from your own means and resources.

  You are temporarily fully incapacitated for work if you are unable to work regularly for at least 3 hours a day under the usual conditions of the general labor market for the foreseeable future (more than 6 months).

• You will not receive any:
  • Basic income support for jobseekers,
  • Basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity or
  • Basic benefits for asylum seekers.

Assistance with living expenses is paid from the moment the social welfare office is informed of the entitlement to benefits. This information is usually provided in the form of an application.

• Arrange a consultation with your local social welfare office. Take all the necessary documents with you to this meeting.
• Fill out the application for assistance with living expenses during the consultation.
• The social welfare office will decide on your application and inform you of the result. This takes the form of a decision, which is usually sent to you by letter.
• If your application is approved, you will receive a notice of approval; if it is rejected, you will receive a notice of rejection.
• In both cases, the notification must contain the reasons for the decision and information on the possibility of lodging an appeal. It must also state the deadline within which you can lodge an appeal.
• The approval notice must include the amount of the benefit to be paid as well as the start date of the payment. From the date stated, the social welfare office will transfer the money to your account at the beginning of the month.
• Please note: You are obliged to inform your social welfare office immediately of any changes to your income and assets.

Applications are usually accepted by appointment, so it is advisable to contact us in advance by telephone. To do so, please contact the responsible administrator.

• Attachment to the application for SGB XII benefits (account declaration)
• Application for benefits in accordance with Chapter 3 SGB XII - Assistance with living expenses
• Follow-up application for benefits in accordance with Chapter 3 SGB XII - Assistance with living expenses
• Rent certificate SGB II / SGB XII