Elterngeld Reform Would Cut to 12 Months

Germany is considering a significant change to its parental pay system, and expat parents planning a family should know what may be coming. A draft Elterngeld reform prepared by Family Minister Karin Prien would cut the basic parental benefit from 14 months to 12 months and reserve more of that time specifically for fathers. The plan was reported in July 2026 and, as of late July, was still being coordinated between ministries. It has not been passed by the cabinet or by parliament, so nothing has changed yet.

What the Elterngeld Reform Would Change

Elterngeld is the payment that partly replaces a parent’s income while they stay home to look after a newborn. Today, couples can draw the basic version, the Basiselterngeld, for up to 14 months between them. Under the proposed Elterngeld reform, that shared maximum would fall to 12 months, two months less than couples can currently use together.

The draft reorganises how those months are split through what officials call a “3-6-3” model. Three months would be reserved for each parent and could not be transferred to the other, while the remaining six months could be divided flexibly between them. In practice this raises the minimum a father must take from two months to three, if a family wants to claim the full entitlement. The stated aim is to encourage both parents to spend time at home rather than leaving most of the leave to the mother.

Higher Minimum and Maximum Payments

Alongside the shorter overall period, the draft would lift the amounts paid. The minimum monthly Elterngeld would rise from 300 to 330 euros, and the maximum from 1,800 to 1,900 euros. The standard replacement rate, which covers a share of a parent’s previous net income, would stay as it is.

Single parents are treated separately in the plan. Rather than losing months, they would keep access to up to 12 months of basic Elterngeld on their own, since there is no second parent to share the reserved time with. The government projects that the package as a whole would save around 500 million euros a year, which is a large part of the reason it is on the table.

The proposal has already drawn debate. Supporters argue that reserving more time for fathers pushes Germany toward a more equal split of childcare and helps mothers return to work sooner. Critics counter that cutting the shared period from 14 to 12 months reduces the total time families have with a new baby, and that the change is driven as much by the need to save money as by family policy. Both points are likely to feature when the draft reaches parliament.

When It Would Apply, If Passed

The proposed start date is November 2027. According to the reporting, the new rules would apply to children born from that point onward, so families with babies due before then would fall under the current system. That timeline gives parents planning ahead a rough window, but it depends entirely on the draft becoming law.

It is important to be clear about the current status. As of late July 2026 the Elterngeld reform was still going through inter-ministerial coordination and had not yet reached the cabinet. Details such as the exact split of months, the payment figures and even the start date could still change during that process and during any later debate in parliament. Until a law is passed, today’s 14-month rules remain in force.

What This Means for Expat Parents

If you are planning parental leave in Germany, the practical takeaway is to plan around the rules that exist now while watching this proposal closely. Nothing you decide today is affected by the draft, and families expecting a baby before November 2027 would in any case remain under the current framework if the timeline holds. Our guide to child and family benefits explains how Elterngeld works alongside other support you may be entitled to.

The bigger message in the Elterngeld reform is a nudge toward both parents sharing leave more evenly, since the reserved three months for each parent are designed to draw fathers into taking more time at home. Couples who want to split care between them may find the new structure fits their plans, while those who prefer one parent to take most of the leave would have less flexibility. Thinking through how you want to divide that time is worthwhile in any case, as our overview of work-life balance in Germany discusses. For now, this remains a proposal, not a law.