If you receive money from a Jobcenter, you may have noticed new letters over the past months: since 1 July 2026 the Bürgergeld officially goes by the name “Grundsicherung für Arbeitsuchende”, usually shortened to Grundsicherungsgeld. The Bundestag passed the reform on 5 March by 320 votes to 268 with two abstentions, and the Bundesrat approved it on 27 March. The main changes have applied since July, but they are being rolled out in stages as Jobcenters adapt forms and procedures.
The amount you receive has not changed: single adults still get the standard rate of €563 a month. What has changed are the rules – and they affect some 5.5 million claimants, including many Ukrainians with protection status.
What happens if I miss an appointment?
The first missed Jobcenter appointment has no consequences. After the second, the benefit is cut by 30 per cent of the standard rate for one month. Anyone who misses three in a row can lose their entire entitlement, housing costs included, after a stepped procedure. The Jobcenter is supposed to offer a personal hearing, but a sanction can take effect even if none took place. Protections for people with mental illness have been strengthened; at the same time, the office can require a medical certificate or examination where there are indications of illness.
In practice: do not let invitations pile up. If you cannot attend, say so before the appointment and keep proof, such as a sick note.
Cooperation plans, courses, work: what is now more binding
The centrepiece is the so-called Kooperationsplan (cooperation plan), which records individual offers of advice, support or job placement. If someone fails to meet agreed obligations, the Jobcenter can make participation binding by an administrative decision that includes a notice of legal consequences. Placement into work comes first; for under-30s, qualification remains important.
Dropping a measure or not applying for jobs can mean a 30 per cent cut for three months at a time. Refusing reasonable work can cost the standard rate for at least one month and up to two in total. Single people are expected to work full time where that is reasonable. Parents can now be required to take up work or integration measures once the child is 14 months old – previously this applied from the third birthday.
Savings and rent: where it may get tight
The one-year grace period for savings is abolished, and the protected amount will depend on age. Recognised housing costs are capped at 1.5 times the “reasonable” limit. How the grace period works for families with children is not described identically by the federal government and the Bundestag – check your own notice and ask the Jobcenter.
Existing cases keep their approval period; according to specialist portals, the tougher sanction rules mostly apply once a new cooperation plan is concluded. We found no binding transition list from the Federal Employment Agency, so treat that assessment with caution.
The reform remains politically contested. Carsten Linnemann of the CDU/CSU said in the Bundestag: “The welfare state is no longer fair in some places, which is why we are abolishing the Bürgergeld.” The SPD’s Jens Peick countered that it is “not a change of system, we are tightening things up”. The Green MP Timon Dzienus spoke of “basic distrust” towards claimants. The scale is telling: recently fewer than 30,000 people a month were sanctioned, and the bill expects savings of at most double-digit millions of euros a year – far from the billions mentioned during the election campaign.
Our assessment: the effect is likely to show less in the budget than in dealings with the authorities – more obligation, less leeway on appointments. Whether a complete cut-off after three missed appointments survives in court is open; in 2019 the Federal Constitutional Court largely barred cuts above 30 per cent. That is the editorial team’s forecast, not a certainty.
For Ukrainians: if you already receive Jobcenter benefits with protection status under Section 24, the new rules apply to you. The planned shift of later arrivals to the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act was, as of 5 November, not in force – see our earlier report.
Sources: Federal Government, Bundestag, BMAS, ZDFheute
