CHILD BENEFIT
| GERMANY |
| KINDERGELD CHILD BENEFIT |
A social security benefit provided under family policy and paid directly by the relevant local Employment Office or the public sector employer within the public service . It amounts to 70 Deutschmarks monthly for the first child, 130 for the second, 220 for the third and 240 for each additional child thereafter. It is paid for legitimate, legitimated, adopted and illegitimate children and stepchildren whom the recipient of the benefit cares for in his or her household or predominantly maintains. It is payable for children over the age of 16 only if they are in full-time education or vocational training and do not already receive vocational training pay of 750 Deutschmarks per month. From the age of 27, it is still payable only if the child concerned is on compulsory military or community service, etc. or has not obtained a university or college place.
In principle child benefit is payable only for children within the purview of the Federal Child Benefit Act (Bundeskindergeldgesetz). Exceptions are allowed for EC nationals, Austrian and Turkish nationals, refugees and stateless persons, who also receive child benefit for children living outside Federal Republic territory. The European Court of Justice has ruled that this applies even if child benefit is not being paid by the EC Member State concerned simply because it has not been claimed. Conversely, Germans employed in the countries named above also receive child benefit there for their children living within Federal Republic territory in accordance with the legislation of the country concerned.
Please note: the European industrial relations glossaries were compiled between 1991 and 2003 and are not updated. For current material see the European industrial relations dictionary.