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Parental allowance goes digital
Federal Minister for Family Affairs Dr. Franziska Giffey launches pilot phase with Berlin and Saxony
Parental allowance is going digital. One of the most popular and well-known family benefits, which is used by almost all parents, will soon be able to be applied for online as well. Today (Tuesday), Federal Family Minister Franziska Giffey, together with the federal states of Berlin and Saxony, launched the "pilot phase with application assistants." More states will follow during the year. The digitization of parental allowance is an important step towards the general digitization of family benefits.
Federal Minister for Family Affairs Dr. Franziska Giffey: "Especially couples who are becoming parents want more time, less bureaucracy, and more digital services in public administration. With ElterngeldDigital, we are taking an important step towards a digital family ministry. With clear language, assistance, and automatic error detection, we specifically support parents online in filling out the application form.
Parental Benefit Digital is being gradually expanded. Starting today, mothers and fathers from the federal states of Berlin and Saxony can use the application assistant. At this stage, the application only needs to be printed out, signed, and sent by post to the responsible parental benefit office at the end of the process. At the beginning of 2019, the new service will also be directly connected to the parental benefit offices of the participating states – then parents will be able to transmit the application data electronically to the responsible parental benefit office. We aim to take steps towards implementing a paperless application at the beginning of 2019.
Our medium-term goal is the paperless application with electronic signature. Young families want easy access to information and services. With the new family portal, the family information tool, and the parental allowance calculator, the Ministry of Family Affairs is already far ahead. The online-supported application for services is now the next step," Minister Giffey continued.
The Saxon Minister for Family Affairs, Barbara Klepsch, emphasizes: “I am pleased that the Free State of Saxony, together with the state of Berlin, is taking a pioneering role in the digitization of one of the most important family benefits. With significant support from the Municipal Social Association of Saxony, the application assistant was developed, allowing young parents to easily fill out their parental allowance application online. Our Saxon families need this digital relief to have more time for being together.”
The Berlin Senator for Education, Youth and Family, Ms. Sandra Scheeres, says: "It's fitting that Berlin, alongside Saxony, is taking on a pioneering role in this nationwide initiative. The capital is experiencing a baby boom and, accordingly, the number of parental allowance applications processed in the districts is rising significantly. The new service offer, Parental Allowance Digital, promises good guidance in the application process and overall shorter processing times. It will certainly be welcomed by many Berlin parents.
Further information about ElterngeldDigital can be found at www.elterngeld-digital.de
Some key facts about parental allowance:
- The parental allowance was introduced in 2007. In 2015, the ElterngeldPlus followed. Information about the parental allowance and what has changed with the introduction of ElterngeldPlus can be found here: https://familienportal.de/familienportal/family-benefits/parental-allowance
- 6.67 billion euros have been allocated for parental allowance in the 2018 budget. Demand has steadily increased over the past years, and we expect the number of applications to continue rising in 2019.
- In the first quarter of 2018, around 976,000 people across Germany received parental allowance.
- Parental allowance is one of the most popular and well-known family benefits in Germany: 91 percent of the population are aware of the parental allowance, and 82 percent of the recipients say that the parental allowance is particularly important for their family income.
