This is how much money families can get from the state

Children cost their parents a six-figure sum until their 18th birthday. However, parents do not have to finance this all by themselves. Because the state supports families in Germany with numerous benefits.

By Lilli-Marie Hiltscher It is probably one of the most expensive purchases in the life of most parents: a child. Parents spend around 174,096 euros on their first child until their 18th birthday. Figures from the Federal Statistical Office in 2018 show this - in the meantime, spending is likely to have risen even further in recent years due to inflation.

And that's not all: Of course, there are also indirect costs - for example, the loss of income because you work less to take care of the children instead. The good news, however, is that parents do not have to shoulder these costs alone. The state supports families with around 150 different benefits. "This enormously long list of in fact 150 benefits, which the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs set up a few years ago, really contains all state benefits that somehow affect children," explains Martin Werding, professor at the University of Bochum, in the current video of the ARD financial format 50k.

In addition to the classic family benefits, this list therefore also lists the entire education policy and, for example, additional benefits for low-income families. The fact that there is so much support for families is also due to the fact that the state needs families. Because without young people, there will be a lack of future specialists for the economy. This also causes social security systems, such as pensions and care, to falter because they are financed by the pay-as-you-go system.

Having children is therefore in the interest of the state - and that is why the state supports the founding of a family. But these state support services are not always called upon, explains expert Werding. There are different reasons for this: "Partly because the families do not know exactly that they are entitled or also because the application procedures are complicated. Sometimes you have to apply for a thousand things individually.

Sometimes families just don't do that." Support even before birth The problem is: there are already some pitfalls with the well-known, classic services. But from the beginning: Maternity protection for female workers starts even before birth. Normally, a pregnant worker does not work six weeks before birth and eight weeks after. During this time, maternity protection applies.

Depending on the job you do and how the expectant mother is doing during pregnancy, however, there may also be a ban on employment much earlier. In addition, special protection against dismissal applies from the beginning of pregnancy. During maternity leave, there are so-called maternity benefits. This includes maternity benefits, for example.

Depending on how you are insured, this comes either directly from the health insurance or from the Federal Office for Social Security. Statutory insured persons receive a maximum of 13 euros per day. Private or family insured women receive a one-off sum of a maximum of 210 euros. Anyone who is insured by law submits the application to their own health insurance company - private and family insured persons directly to the Social Security Office.

If an employee has earned an average of more than 13 euros per day, an additional subsidy from the employer is added. This compensates for the loss of earnings and must be applied for directly with the employer. Normally, you end up getting back to your usual net salary - sort of like continuing to work. Child benefit or child allowance?

From birth, there is also child benefit. This is paid regardless of how much you earn. Since January of this year, families have received 259 euros per child per month. For high-income earners, it may be that the so-called child allowance is more financially advantageous than child benefit.

This allowance is a tax benefit that allows parents to pay less income tax on their child. The tax office automatically checks this with the tax return - parents do not have to apply for this. The parental allowance is much more complicated: a parent receives parental allowance if they stay at home with the child after birth - but depending on their income. From a taxable income of the parents of 175,000 euros per year, you do not receive parental allowance.

The application for this is submitted to the local parental benefit office shortly after birth. However, even this application can be quite nerve-wracking: "After the introduction, so many subcategories have been created that in my opinion it is actually no longer very clear," says Professor Werding in the current 50k video. Changes from 2027 On the parental allowance, it depends on which variant you apply for - depending on how much money is available and for how long. With the basic parental allowance, you get 65 percent of the loss of net income, at least 300 euros and a maximum of 1,800 euros per month.

The 300 euros will also be given to parents who previously had no income at all. And there are supplements for twins or other toddlers in the house. The basic parental allowance is only available in the first 14 months of the child's life, each parent must apply for at least two months. The ElterngeldPlus works similarly, but for twice as long - only half of the money is available per month.

So you stretch the same amount over a longer period of time. And with the partnership bonus, parents who both work part-time can receive an additional two to four months of ElterngeldPlus at the same time. However, you can also get more out of it elsewhere: for example, by changing from tax class five to tax class three, there can be several hundred euros more parental allowance for one parent. However, this is only possible with married couples.

And you have to change early enough - seven months before birth. However, there will be some changes in the future, especially with regard to parental allowance: from the end of 2027, for example, it should only be possible to receive basic parental allowance for twelve months instead of 14 months. In addition, each parent must then take at least three months. However, the maximum amount should increase somewhat: instead of 1,800 euros, there should be a maximum of 1,900 euros.

Forgotten benefits In addition to the classic benefits, there are also some that are repeatedly forgotten, such as the so-called education and participation package. "These services are essentially to be applied for individually - for example, support with school trips, but also with regular club memberships, music lessons and the like," explains expert Werding. However, this is precisely a problem - because in order for the benefits to reach the children, they must be applied for individually. "And because this is so complicated, it probably doesn't matter to the families at all," criticises Werding.

Numerous families are entitled to this - not only families who receive social assistance, but also, for example, families who receive housing allowances. Other state support services include the child allowance, child sickness benefit and the alimony advance - but all of them must also be applied for. "That means you run to different authorities, possibly constantly giving the same information. And all this relatively often, because such services are only granted for a limited period of time, "says Martin Werding in the current 50k video.