The proportion of fathers in parental allowance is rising

Fathers share in parental allowance increases

19/05/2011

More and more fathers treat themselves to a break and claim parental allowance for their newborn child. This was announced on Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden.

The number of fathers receiving parental benefit increased slightly compared to the same period of 2008 in 2009. As explained by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, in 2009 almost one in four fathers (23.6 percent) received the income-based parental allowance. In the previous year, just over 21 percent of men received parental allowance. About 157,000 of the 665,000 new fathers took a break from work with the help of the parental allowance. 96 percent of mothers received the parental allowance. In the reporting period, recipients of Hartz IV were also able to apply for parental benefits. Since the reforms at the beginning of the year, unemployed parents can no longer apply for separate parental allowance.

In Saxony most fathers received parental allowance
In the federal state of Saxony fathers with a share of 30.7 percent compared to the national average most often applied for parental allowance. Just as high was the male share in Bavaria (30.2 percent) and Berlin (29.6 percent). In contrast, the application volume in Saarland was very low with a father share of 14 percent. There was no change in the duration of the subscription. Three out of four fathers received benefits for a maximum of two months. Nine out of ten mothers received the parental allowance for twelve months. Again, there was no change compared to the previous year.

Parental benefit no social benefit
The parental allowance as such is not a social benefit but a grant that is based on the average gross income of the beneficiary. Professional fathers got according to the statistical surveys in the first month of reference 1171.00 euros. Thus, the men got about a third more money than the women. While parental leave entitlements for fathers increased by 40 euros in the first reference month, the claim for women increased by about 17 euros. Since 2011, only workers are allowed to apply for a parental allowance. The parental allowance amounts to a maximum of 1,800 euros, at least 300 euros per month. With a net income of more than 1200 euros, the parental allowance is reduced in stages from 67 to 65 percent. (Sb)

Image: Stephanie Hofschlaeger