How are German child benefits changing?

Berlin wants to bring in a simpler way of attaining child benefits. Some say the new system only makes things worse.

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

Dear Reader,

When my partner and I welcomed our second child to the world last November, we only had a few days to enjoy the moment. In the back of our minds, we knew that a mountain of paperwork was awaiting us.

First, we needed to register our baby with the Standesamt. Once he was registered, we could take his birth certificate to the Bürgeramt to get him a passport. Meanwhile, his information was automatically passed on to the Finanzamt, which assigned him a tax number.

Only after obtaining the tax number could we apply for Kindergeld (child benefits). This application had to be submitted to the Familienkasse.

Simultaneously, we had to contact our local Elterngeldstelle to access parental allowance.

Filling out the forms for parental allowance is particularly time-consuming. This dense, 26-page document scrutinizes every detail of your life to ensure fair payment. Is this child your biological child, adopted, or simply residing under the same roof? While…