Ar-beits-lo-sen-geld (ALG) II: Crediting of income and assets
Dr. Britta Beate Schon
Britta Beate Schon is responsible for all legal topics at Finanztip. The doctorate lawyer and woman barrister was active as a chief of the right department with Finanzdienstleistern such as the Telis finance AG and the Interhyp. Previously she taught and researched in Japan as a DAAD Junior Professor of German and European Law. She completed her studies in Munster, Geneva, Regensburg and Leipzig. You can reach the author under [email protected]
In this guide
A prerequisite for the receipt of unemployment benefit II (ALG II) is the existence of need for assistance. His own income and assets are therefore to be used.
In need of assistance is according to paragraph 9 Abs. 1 SGB II, who cannot secure his livelihood, his integration into work and the livelihood of the persons living with him in a community of need or not sufficiently from own forces and means, especially not by taking up a reasonable job or from the income or assets to be taken into account.
legislation on income and assets
Paragraph 11 SGB II (income to be taken into account) and paragraph 12 SGB II (assets to be taken into account) regulate the rules for offsetting income and assets. In principle, all income in money or money’s worth is counted as income.
In addition to the regulations in the two long legal provisions 11 and 12 of the SGB II, a special regulation must also be taken into account: The Ordinance on the Calculation of Income and on the Non-Consideration of Income and Assets in the case of Arbeitslo-sen-geld II/Sozialgeld or Alg II-V for short. The legal basis for this regulation can be found in paragraph 13 SGB II.
If recipients of benefits to secure their livelihood have a claim against another person for the period for which benefits are provided, the claim is transferred to the providers of the benefits within the meaning of Section 33 of the German Social Code, Book II, up to the amount of the expenses incurred.
Our tip: Always stay up to date – with our free newsletter!
Our tip: Stay on topic [category] always up to date – with our free newsletter!
Selected regulations on the imputation of income
The income is increased by the amount specified in paragraph 11 para. 2 SGB II mentioned parts to reduce. If the employable person in need of assistance works as an employee or is self-employed, he or she is entitled to a basic allowance of 100 euros, which covers insurance costs and expenses in connection with the employment (§ 11 Abs. 2 S. 2 SGB II).
According to paragraph 5 of this legal provision, small gifts of money (since 1. April 2011) shall not be included in the chargeable income. The financial allowance, however, must not exceed the usual limit. How high the allowance may be, has to be clarified in each individual case.
The law states succinctly: "Allowances made by another person without having a legal or moral obligation to do so are not to be taken into account as income, insofar as they are made by the patient
- their consideration would be grossly inequitable for the beneficiary, or
- they do not influence the situation of the beneficiary so favorably that ALG II benefits would not be justified in addition.
A tax refund is to be counted as income in the case of Arbeitslo-sen-geld II. A constitutional complaint lodged against this against the crediting of an income tax refund against Arbeitslo-sen-geld II was rejected by a decision of 8. November 2011, Az. 1 BvR 2007/11, rejected by the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG).
In addition, the allowance for gainful employment according to paragraph 30 SGB II is deducted. This allowance amounts to 20 percent for the part of the monthly income that exceeds 100 euros and does not exceed 800 euros, and 20 percent for the part of the monthly income that exceeds 800 euros and does not exceed 1.200 Euro, to 10 per cent. With a salary of 400 euros, a person in need of assistance who is capable of working is left with 160 euros. The remaining 240 euros are credited against the unemployment benefit II.
Selected regulations for the imputation of assets
Assets include money and all money of value that is available at the beginning of the month of need. According to section 12 para. 3 SGB II, allowances are to be deducted from this amount. This includes the age-dependent basic allowance and further allowances for old-age provision and the purchase of household appliances. As fortune only that is considered, which can be used economically and legally. Thus take paragraph 12 Abs. 3 SGB II and paragraph 7 Alg II-V exclude some assets within reasonable limits (household goods, motor vehicle, house property) from the consideration of assets.
If an asset cannot be utilized at first or if the utilization can mean a special hardship, this shall have no influence on the need for assistance (§ 9 para. 4 SGB II). The typical example for this is an insurance contract, which cannot be dissolved so simply after the Ver-si-che-rungs-be-din-gungen. In such cases, the basic income support benefit is granted as a loan.
Income and assets in a community of need
For persons living in a community of need, the income and assets of the partner must also be taken into account. In the case of unmarried children who live with their parents or one of their parents in a community of need and who are unable to obtain the benefits to secure their livelihood from their own income or assets, the income and assets of the parents or the parent and his or her partner living in the community of need must also be taken into account (Section 9 (2)). 2 SGB II).
Therefore, it must be determined who is a member of the community of need. Paragraph 7 para. 3 SGB II lists the persons counting to a community of need. This can also include the life partner or the "life partner". Paragraph 7 Abs. 3a SGB II defines a presumption rule in this regard. The income and assets of the non-separated spouse or cohabiting partner or cohabiting or cohabiting partner are then offset against the needs of the employable person in need of assistance.
In the case of unmarried children up to 25 years of age who live in the household of their parents, the income and assets of the parents are to be taken into account in accordance with Paragraph 9 Para. 2 SGB II to be taken into account. The income and assets of the children, on the other hand, are not taken into account for the parents.
According to the BSG ruling of 18. February 2010 (Ref. B 4 AS 49/09 R), the income of a spouse is also taken into account if both spouses had already agreed at the time of marriage to lead a marriage without a physical center of life (shared apartment). In the judgement case a community of need was assumed despite separate dwelling with a "supply marriage".
The income and assets of relatives and in-laws (e.g. grandparents) are also taken into account if the person in need of assistance forms a household with these persons and it can be expected that they will support the person in need of assistance on the basis of the income and assets of the relatives or in-laws. Details are given in paragraph 1 Abs. 2 Alg II-V.
The same regulations apply to the receipt of social welfare benefits (3 28 para. 2 SGB II and § 19 S. 3 SGB II).
Recommendations from the legal-protection-ver-si-che-rung guidebook
The best way to find a suitable legal protection insurance is to use a comparison portal. From May to July 2021, we studied these. Our recommendations from this test are: