Dr. Elisabeth Müller, the chairwoman of the Association of Large Families in Germany KRFD, is cautious about the renewed increase in child benefit, the immediate child supplement and the child allowance from 2025: “Even if there is another increase and child benefit has increased in recent years, I cannot be satisfied with it.”
Inflation continues to have an impact on families’ wallets. Families with three or more children are particularly feeling the effects of price increases. The disposable household income is much lower in families with many children. Often one parent can work little or not at all. “The overall income remains the same and at the same time there are many more people to support,” explains Dr. Müller.
Food prices are rising much faster than the general inflation rate. “Five euros are lost before you even get to the checkout,” criticizes the chairwoman. Since 2020, many basic foods, such as flour, potatoes, bread, sugar and oil, have risen particularly sharply in price. Added to this are the ever-increasing costs of housing, mobility, energy and fuel. “These are mega-issues that concern our families and that they have to somehow manage financially every month.”
At the beginning of the holidays, families with many children are particularly reminded of these price increases. The cost of leisure activities and short trips has become much more expensive. These additional expenses put a huge strain on the already tight family budget. “Whether it’s tickets for cultural events, an ice cream after a visit to the museum, a bag of popcorn at the cinema, a concert by your favourite band, public transport tickets or petrol for the journey – everything has become more expensive and many families have already been tightening their belts for months,” says Dr. Müller.
Families need substantial support, not symbolic amounts. “For families with multiple children in Germany, we would like to see an increase in child benefit by 5% for the third child and by 10% for the fourth child, combined with the reintroduction of the staggered child benefit according to the number of children.” Fourth and subsequent children were not financially taken into account in the Inflation Compensation Act 2023. “We are committed to ensuring that larger families with three or more children can also participate equally in leisure, cultural and educational activities. Just like a family that looks after fewer children. We see this as a signal of appreciation for the educational achievements of families with multiple children.”
Background:
This week, the federal government decided to increase the amounts currently paid out for child benefit and the child immediate supplement by 5 euros each from 2025. This means that child benefit will rise from the current 250 euros to 255 euros per month and the child immediate supplement from 20 euros to 25 euros per month. This means an increase of 60 euros per year per child or per recipient of the immediate supplement. The last increase in child benefit took place in spring 2023, when the amount was raised from 219 euros to 250 euros – since then, the same amount has been received for each child. The child allowance is to be increased by 60 euros to 6,672 euros from tax year 2025.