Draft counters Paus’ suggestions
FDP wants higher earners to receive parental allowance
October 17, 2023, 8:54 p.m
Peace in the traffic lights? Not a trace! Discussed for a long time, Family Minister Paus presented a proposal for cuts in parental allowance. This is now being torpedoed again by the coalition partner FDP. They want to reduce the reference time, but not the group of people.
The FDP parliamentary group has an alternative proposal on the cuts in parental allowance planned by Family Minister Lisa Paus. The paper adopted by the group rejects Paus’ planned abolition of parental allowance for families with high incomes. At the same time, parental allowance entitlement for couples up to 14 should generally only be valid for 12 months. The position paper is available to the German Press Agency. The “Tagesspiegel” had previously reported on it.
According to the federal government’s current draft law, the parental allowance that mothers and fathers receive as a wage replacement benefit if they stay at home after the birth of a child should only go to couples who have a combined annual taxable income of a maximum of 150,000 euros. In this way, the federal government wants to save up to 500 million euros per year.
The FDP’s counterproposal provides for unchanged income limits. The requirement that each parent must claim at least two months of parental allowance if a couple wants to use the full amount is no longer applicable. The total entitlement should only be twelve months. Parallel receipt of parental allowance after the first two months should no longer be possible in the future – there should be exceptions for families with twins and multiple births. The FDP parliamentary group wants to support parents who want to receive parental benefit at the same time in the first month after the birth with an additional 13th month of parental benefit and a bonus of 500 euros. The Liberals want to strengthen shared responsibility for the newborn child and also keep an eye on the regeneration needs of mothers after birth. According to the FDP parliamentary group, the new regulation should apply from April 1, 2024.
FDP parliamentary group vice-president Gyde Jensen said that the cuts planned by Paus were “not the ultimate solution”. The FDP proposal avoids the hostility to achievement associated with lowering the income limit, especially towards women. In addition, the FDP relies on the greatest possible flexibility and incentives for more partnership in care immediately after birth.