Last checked against the official sources: 29 August 2026
First of all: the name itself has changed. The statute in force today calls the entitlement “Grundsicherungsgeld“, not “Bürgergeld“. More important than the name is the structure: what reaches you is not one figure but three separate layers, each with its own provision and quite different rules — and confusing them means asking for the wrong thing in the wrong place.
The three layers and where they sit
- 1 · Standard requirement — Section 20
- A monthly lump sum covering food, clothing, personal care, household goods, household energy and personal daily needs.
- 2 · Accommodation and heating — Section 22
- Counted at actual cost so long as it is appropriate — a layer entirely separate from the first.
- 3 · Additional requirements — Section 21
- Percentages on top of the standard requirement: pregnancy, sole parenting, disability, medical diet, school books, decentralised hot water.
- Who decides how it is spent
- You do. The statute expressly provides that recipients decide on the use of the money on their own responsibility, taking irregular needs into account.
- What everyone overlooks
- The standard requirement includes “participation in social and cultural life to a justifiable extent” — by the wording of Section 20, not as a favour.
Why the amounts differ from one person to another
The standard requirement is not a single figure but a set of stages, and how Section 20 distributes them answers most questions about “why does that person get more”:
- Stage 1 — for a single person, for a sole parent, and for anyone whose partner is a minor.
- Stage 2 — for each of two partners where both have turned 18.
- Stage 3 — for other employable members of the household who are over 18.
- Stage 4 — for those among them who are under 18.
There is one express penalty attached: anyone under 25 who moves to new accommodation without prior assurance from the municipal body is treated at the lower stage 3 until they turn 25. Moving without prior consent reduces the amount for years, not for a month.
The third layer nobody claims
The additional requirements in Section 21 are what recipients most often lose, because in most cases they are not granted automatically and need to be applied for and evidenced. The list, as it stands:
- Pregnancy — 17% of the standard requirement from the twelfth week to the end of the month of the birth.
- Sole parenting — 36% with one child under 7 or two or three children under 16; or 12% per child where that yields more, capped at 60%.
- Disability — 35% for those receiving benefits for participation in working life.
- A costly diet for medical reasons — at an appropriate amount.
- School books — the cost of buying or borrowing books and equivalent workbooks must be recognised.
- Decentralised hot water — 2.3%, 1.4%, 1.2% or 0.8% by age band; anything above that only with a separate meter.
Then comes the cap, and its precision matters: the sum of the additional requirements in paragraphs 2 to 5 may not exceed the standard requirement. Note that school books, hot water and the unavoidable special need sit in later paragraphs and are therefore outside that cap. Many people assume the cap covers everything and stop claiming.
How to check your decision line by line
- Separate the three layers in the decisionLook for three figures, not one: standard requirement, accommodation and heating, additional requirements. A missing third layer is the commonest gap.
- Check your stageA sole parent belongs at stage 1, not stage 3. This is a recurring error in decisions and is worth checking.
- Run every additional-requirement item against your situationPregnancy after the twelfth week, sole parenting, medical diet, school books, and decentralised hot water if there is a heater in the dwelling.
- Do not hold back because of the capThe cap covers paragraphs 2 to 5 only; school books and hot water sit outside it.
- If you are under 25, do not move before the assuranceMoving without it lowers your standard requirement until you are 25, and may mean accommodation costs are not recognised at all.
- Ask for correction in writing, citing the provisionName Section 21 and the specific paragraph. Decisions are revisited faster when the basis is stated.
⚠️ Do not confuse household energy with heating: Section 20 places household energy inside the lump sum but expressly excludes the shares attributable to heating and hot-water generation — those are counted separately under Section 22. The distinction decides where your claim belongs.
Official sources
Section 20 SGB II — standard requirement · Section 21 — additional requirements · Section 22 — accommodation and heating
Please note: this page is general guidance, not legal advice. Every decision follows an individual assessment of your case, and the amounts are set by regulations that change annually — read your own decision letter and consult a social advice centre or a lawyer specialising in social law before acting.
Frequently asked questions
What does the lump sum cover?
Section 20 lists food, clothing, personal care, household goods and household energy — excluding the shares attributable to heating and hot-water generation — plus personal daily needs and participation in social and cultural life to a justifiable extent.
Is rent paid out of the same amount?
No. Accommodation and heating are a separate layer in Section 22, counted at actual cost so long as it is appropriate.
Can the office dictate how I spend it?
The statute provides that recipients decide on the use of the money on their own responsibility, taking into account needs that arise irregularly.
I am a sole parent — which stage applies?
Stage 1, by Section 20(2) — the same stage as a single person. The sole-parent additional requirement under Section 21 comes on top.
How large is the sole-parent supplement?
36% with one child under 7 or two or three children under 16, or 12% per child where that yields more, capped at 60%.
Are school books paid for?
Yes. Section 21(6a) provides that the cost of buying or borrowing school books and equivalent workbooks must be recognised as an additional requirement, and it sits outside the cap on paragraphs 2 to 5.
I moved while under 25 — what happens?
If the move was made without prior assurance from the municipal body, the lower stage 3 applies until you turn 25, and accommodation costs may not be recognised at all.