Germany Considers Cutting Child Maintenance Support Age, Improving Debt Recovery

Germany's government is exploring significant changes to its child maintenance support system, known as "Unterhaltsvorschuss," as part of broader savings plans. The proposed measures aim to curb the growing financial burden on the state, which has seen expenditures on this support nearly quadruple since a reform in 2017.

Key among the proposed changes is reducing the age limit for receiving child maintenance support. Currently, payments extend up to a child's 18th birthday. The new plan suggests capping payments at age 16. This adjustment is part of a wider effort to consolidate the federal budget, spurred by calls for fiscal responsibility from SPD leader and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil.

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The states must push for debt collection more strongly and bundle it.

In addition to altering the payment duration, the government intends to enhance the system for recovering funds from parents who fail to provide child support. The state currently shoulders the cost when one parent does not pay, and then attempts to reclaim these funds from the liable parent, often the father. Last year, the state paid out approximately 3.3 billion euros in child maintenance support, but only about 18% was recovered from non-paying parents.

To improve recovery rates, authorities are considering measures such as centralizing collection efforts and increasing data exchange between relevant government agencies. Some regions are already experimenting with integrated service centers that house job centers, housing benefit offices, and youth welfare departments to streamline the process. Despite these efforts, child welfare organizations warn that the proposed savings could deepen inequality for children and criticize the plans as a "scandal."

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The low recovery rates are a crying injustice.