Elterngeld reform draft keeps 14 months

Parents in Germany could keep their 14 months of parental allowance. In a revised draft of the Elterngeld reform presented this week, the federal family ministry has dropped its plan to shorten the benefit to 12 months and now proposes raising the minimum and maximum amounts for the first time since Elterngeld was introduced in 2007. The draft law went into the inter-ministry review (Ressortabstimmung, the coordination between federal ministries) on Wednesday, 28 October. It is a proposal, not a decision: the cabinet and the Bundestag still have to approve it, and until a new law takes effect, the rules in force today continue to apply.

The revision follows months of criticism of the summer version. The new model would still ask couples to share the months more evenly, and it would change how much of their previous income parents receive. Families from abroad who live and work in Germany would be affected in the same way as German families, provided they are entitled to Elterngeld at all. The details below are the draft's proposals and can still change.

Elterngeld reform draft drops the 12-month cut

In July, Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) had proposed cutting basic Elterngeld (Basiselterngeld) from a maximum of 14 to 12 months as part of a savings drive that applies to all federal ministries. The plan drew heavy criticism, among others from the SPD women's organisation, partly because the legal right to a Kita place (a public childcare place) only begins in a child's 13th month. Ending payments after 12 months would have left many families with a gap, as both the dts news agency and the business news site kununu pointed out in their reports on the new draft.

Prien rejected the idea that she is backing down. According to Hasepost, which ran a dts report, she said the return to 14 months should not be seen as a step back and described the new design as a good model that better fits the needs of young families. Speaking to the dpa news agency, she said: "We are deliberately sending a signal to young families: we support you." dts also reported that the new model followed weeks of talks within the coalition of CDU, CSU and SPD.

How the proposed 4-6-4 split would work

The revised Elterngeld reform draft proposes a fixed split of the 14 months. Each parent would have four months reserved for them that cannot be passed to the other parent. The remaining six months could be divided freely between the couple. Today, each parent only has to take two months for the family to reach the full 14 months, and the summer draft had planned three. Single parents would still be able to claim all 14 months on their own.

Several outlets highlighted an effect of the fixed split. If a father takes no parental leave at all, the mother could receive a maximum of 10 months instead of the 12 available today, as reported by both the dpa report carried by Tagesspiegel and kununu. The ministry says the structure is meant to give fathers a financial reason to play a more active role in the first months of a child's life.

Another change concerns overlapping leave. At the moment, both parents can receive Elterngeld at the same time for only one month within the child's first year. The new draft would remove this limit completely, so couples could, for example, take their first four months together. ElterngeldPlus, the option that pays half the monthly amount for twice as long and can be combined with part-time work, would remain.

Proposed rates: higher in reserved months, lower after

The draft would also change how Elterngeld is calculated. Currently, parents generally receive about 65 percent of their net income from before the birth. Under the draft, each parent would receive 80 percent during their four reserved months and 50 percent in every other month. Christmas bonuses and other one-off payments (sonstige Bezüge) would count towards the net income used for the calculation, which can raise the amount for many employees.

The monthly minimum would rise from 300 to 330 euros and the maximum from 1,800 to 1,900 euros. According to the dpa report, a couple who uses all 14 months would end up with an average replacement rate of just over 67 percent, slightly above today's level. Families who do not use both sets of reserved months would receive noticeably less in total. kununu also pointed out that the 1,900-euro cap limits the gain for higher earners: the full 80 percent only applies to a pre-birth net income of up to about 2,375 euros per month.

The supplement for families with older children in the household, the Geschwisterbonus (sibling bonus), would be paid for a longer period, according to dpa and The Local. Neither report gave exact figures. The ministry also says it wants to cut paperwork so that the money reaches families faster.

Planned savings, open start date and criticism

The new model would still save money, only less than before. According to ARD, as reported by t-online, the ministry expects to save around 1.3 billion euros a year from 2030, a figure agreed with the finance ministry. The dts agency reported that the original concept had aimed for 1.6 billion euros. Prien said falling birth numbers also reduce spending. In 2025, the state paid around 7 billion euros in Elterngeld to about 1.6 million recipients, and a study by the German Economic Institute (IW) found that the benefit has lost around 38 percent of its purchasing power since 2007 because it was never adjusted for inflation.

The timetable remains open. According to t-online, Prien wants the cabinet to approve the bill in November, after which it must pass the Bundestag. dpa and kununu both describe the start date as open, while The Local reports that the changes are expected to take effect at some point in 2027. Reactions are mixed. Elke Hannack, deputy head of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), welcomed the fact that the minister was changing course, according to the Protestant news agency epd, but called for automatic inflation adjustments. Schleswig-Holstein's social affairs minister Aminata Touré (Greens) told dpa that the drop to 50 percent after the reserved months would leave a hole in many family budgets.

What the Elterngeld reform draft means for expat families

If your child is born before a new law takes effect, the current rules apply: up to 14 months of basic Elterngeld at around 65 percent of your previous net income, with a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 1,800 euros. The Local also notes that couples and single parents with taxable annual income above 175,000 euros are currently not eligible. Since the draft can still change in cabinet and in parliament, avoid planning your leave around the new figures until the law is passed and a start date is fixed.

Whether you can claim Elterngeld as a foreign national depends on your situation. Citizens of EU and EEA countries and Switzerland who live in Germany are generally treated like German citizens. For people from other countries, entitlement depends on the type of residence permit, and some permits do not qualify. The Elterngeldstelle, the parental allowance office of your federal state, decides on applications and can tell you which documents you need, often including a confirmation from the immigration office. Our overview of child and family benefits in Germany explains how Elterngeld fits together with Kindergeld and other support, and our earlier report covers the summer plan to cut Elterngeld to 12 months.

Couples who expect a baby in 2027 should also think about how they would split the months under a 4-6-4 model. Under the Elterngeld reform draft, families where only one parent takes leave would receive noticeably less in total than today, according to dpa. Whether couples who share the months come out ahead depends on their situation, in particular their incomes and how they split the leave, because the higher 80 percent rate is capped at 1,900 euros a month. Talking to your employers early about parental leave (Elternzeit) gives both partners more room to use their reserved months if the new rules arrive.