Berlin (dpa) – The number of child benefit recipients will reach a new record this year with over 15 million. By the end of November there were 15.35 million children who received the benefit from the German state, according to one of the dpa statistics available from the family fund.
At the end of 2017, there were only 14.97 million children receiving child benefit. Also the number of foreign children for one support payments continued to rise: to around three million – after 2.8 million at the end of 2017.
The total amount of child benefit paid up to November rose to EUR 33.8 billion, of which EUR 6.9 billion was attributable to foreign recipients. So far, 370.5 million euros have been transferred to foreign accounts this year. In August a heated debate arose due to the steadily increasing numbers – firstly because several mayors of social fraud with the report partially nonexistent children reported. And second, because the number of foreign recipients is increasing.
Child benefit payments to other EU countries also increased in November. 281,809 children in the rest of the EU, Turkey and the former Yugoslavia received German child benefit. Among them were 32,013 children with a German passport – from parents who work there. However, the number of German recipients abroad has been roughly constant for years, while payments abroad to children living there have shown an overall upward trend. This is related to labor migration to Germany, for example from nursing staff or harvest helpers.
In 2017, the total number of child benefit recipients abroad was only around 250,000. "There is a clear trend that the sum of child benefit payments, those entitled to child benefit and children for whom child benefit is available is increasing," said the head of the responsible family fund, Karsten Bunk, the German Press Agency.
This is mainly due to labor migration from the EU, increasing birth rates in parts of Germany and the fact that more and more refugees are being recognized who only get child benefit when they have it, Bunk said.
A total of around 5.2 million euros are to be spent on combating fraud. Bunk announced a “task force”: “We hire two specialists in each of the 14 regional family funds (…) to better identify fraud patterns can.»All suspected cases would be sent to a central special unit. "Too much money paid will be reclaimed."
All in all, newcomers from Eastern Europe are looked at even more closely, especially with the birth certificates presented. "From what we know, it still affects a very small group," he said. When transferring money abroad, on the other hand, there is virtually no fraud advice.
«The cases in which child benefit is transferred abroad are usually those where people – without their families – only come to Germany to work. They have normal employment relationships, which are usually subject to social security contributions, and return after a while. In the meantime, however, their children remain at home. »Austria has decided that payments abroad should be« indexed », which means that they will be significantly reduced and adjusted to the cost of living in Romania, for example. Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) wants a joint solution from the EU partners and refuses to go it alone.
Expenditures for child benefits will continue to increase in the coming year: the federal government has launched a family package worth billions – starting in July, child benefits will increase by ten euros a month. For the first and second child there is then 204 euros, for the third 210 euros and for each additional child 235 euros per month.
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