The law provides for two stages: the first expansion stage covers births from the second child onward, as the family benefits office can continue to use known data for firstborn children. In the second expansion stage, the procedure is to be extended to firstborn children.
SPD politician Parsa Marvi said in the Bundestag that benefits should reach people quickly, simply, and without unnecessary bureaucracy. He called it a step toward a modern state that makes life easier for people. CDU politician Anne König said: ‘With application-free child benefit, we are noticeably cutting bureaucracy and relieving families in the first weeks after birth.’ The Union pushed for the benefit to be paid to the mother as a rule.
Child benefit currently stands at 259 euros per month per child, regardless of income. It is paid to the person who regularly cares for the child. Changes are planned not only for child benefit. The Family Ministry also envisions a new regulation for parental allowance: savings are to be made, and fathers are to be held more accountable.
Source: www.spiegel.de
