Until the end of 2010, German social assistance law contained a Lohnabstandsgebot, a wage gap rule. Benefits for a couple with three children had to stay below the net earnings of a comparable household with a low-paid full-time worker. The rule was then removed. The principle stayed in politics. On 9 October 2025, the governing coalition agreed to replace the citizen’s income, the Bürgergeld, with a new basic income support. The CSU leader Markus Söder said: Endlich gilt wieder: Wer arbeitet, muss mehr haben als der, der nicht arbeitet. Finally the rule applies again: whoever works must have more than whoever does not work. The Bundestag passed the reform on 5 March 2026. It takes effect in stages from 1 July 2026.
Studies did not find that people on benefits had more money than people in work. The union-funded WSI institute found in February 2025 that recipients of Bürgergeld did not have more income than minimum wage earners in any household type it examined. The ifo institute noted in 2023 that in some family situations and in areas with high rents, higher earnings can be offset by the loss of housing and child benefits.