Overview
- The Federal Social Court on December 2 found the 2022 Hartz IV rate of €449 and subsequent Bürgergeld constitutional, rejecting three appeals for higher benefits.
- Judges cited a €200 one‑off payment in July 2022 and an 11.8% increase from January 1, 2023 as adequate legislative responses, finding no breach of the subsistence minimum.
- The decision forecloses blanket retroactive payments for 2022/2023, while leaving room for individual hardship claims such as specific additional needs.
- A draft law in internal government coordination would replace Bürgergeld in 2026 with a stricter basic security for jobseekers, requiring tenants to issue a rent‑cap complaint to landlords, submit proof to jobcenters, and undertake immediate cost‑cutting even without a prior grace period.
- The draft projects roughly €850 million in annual savings, alongside one‑time SGB II changeover costs of about €5 million, around €9 million for administrative adjustments, and ongoing administrative burdens of roughly €50 million.