Social assistance; applying for assistance with living expenses

Please note in particular our information under:

  • Brief description

    If your income or assets are not sufficient to cover your necessary living expenses, you can receive assistance with living expenses (social assistance) under certain conditions.

  • Description

    As a rule, you receive assistance with living expenses as a social welfare benefit if you are in need of assistance and are not or no longer able to work and

    • neither citizen's allowance (until 31.12.2022: basic income support for jobseekers "Hartz IV"),
    • still receive basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity.
       

    Children under the age of 15 receive social assistance if they

    • live together with people who receive subsistence assistance (usually with their parents) and
    • are unable to secure their livelihood despite being entitled to maintenance.
       

    Assistance with living expenses includes:

    • the flat-rate standard rate to ensure subsistence, for example for food, clothing or personal hygiene. If parents or a parent live together with their child or children in the same home, a separate standard rate is set for each family member. Since 01.01.2024, this has been for:
      • Adults: 563,00 EUR
      • Spouse, life partner, partner in a marriage-like relationship: EUR 506.00
      • Children under 6 years: EUR 357.00
      • Children aged 6 to under 14 years: EUR 390.00
      • Young people aged 14 to under 18: EUR 471.00
    • Education and participation benefits for children and young people, for example for
      • Class trips,
      • personal school supplies,
      • Student tickets,
      • supplementary learning support,
      • Lunch in schools or
      • Club fees, music lessons and the like.
    • Needs for accommodation and heating in the amount of your actual rent and heating costs.
    • In exceptional cases, assumption of debt for
      • Prevention of homelessness.
      • Securing your accommodation or
      • to remedy a comparable emergency situation, e.g. debts to the energy supplier.
    • Requirements for your health and long-term care insurance contributions and, under certain conditions, for your pension provision.
       

    In addition to your standard rate, you can receive benefits for additional needs for living expenses. You can apply for these additional needs if you:

    • have reached retirement age and meet the requirements for a severely disabled person's pass with the mark "G" (walking disability),
    • have not yet reached retirement age, but meet the requirements for a severely disabled person's pass with the "G" mark and are fully incapacitated for work under pension law,
    • expectant mother from the 13th week of pregnancy,
    • are single parents,
    • have reached the age of 15, are disabled and receive assistance for appropriate schooling or training as part of integration assistance in accordance with § 112 Para. 1 Sentence 1 SGB IX or
    • are dependent on a special diet for medical reasons, which leads to higher costs than a "normal" diet.
       

    Assistance with living expenses can also be granted in the case of residential care. The home costs (fees) are then paid in full or in part and an appropriate cash amount is granted for personal use as well as benefits for clothing.
     

    One-off benefits can only be granted in 3 cases:

    • for the initial furnishing of the apartment including household appliances
    • for initial clothing and equipment for pregnancy and birth
    • for the purchase and repair of orthopaedic shoes, for the repair of therapeutic devices and equipment and for the rental of therapeutic devices

    They are subject to the same conditions as ongoing assistance for living expenses (current need, no possibility of self-help). One-off assistance can also be granted to people who do not receive ongoing assistance for living expenses.

    If you do not live alone, the social welfare office will take your entire family income into account to determine your need for assistance. For this purpose, the income of all family members living together in the same home is taken into account, for example

    • earned income,
    • Maintenance payments and
    • Pension income.
       

    Child benefit paid for minors and any maintenance payments for a child must be allocated to this child in order to cover its needs.

    Certain assets are not considered to be protected assets, for example:

    • Smaller amounts of cash (financial assets per adult: EUR 10,000) or
    • an appropriate owner-occupied property.


    These are not included in the calculation of benefits.

    Apart from a few exceptional cases, you will not receive any benefits for past periods.

  • Prerequisites

    • They are in need of assistance and unable to work because they are fully incapacitated for work for a limited period of time:
      • You are in need of assistance if you cannot fully cover your living expenses from your own means and resources.
      • You are temporarily fully incapacitated for work if you are unable to work regularly for at least 3 hours a day under the usual conditions of the general labor market for the foreseeable future (more than 6 months).
    • You will not receive any:
      • Citizen's income (until 31.12.2022: basic income support for jobseekers "Hartz IV"),
      • Basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity or
      • Basic benefits for asylum seekers.

  • Deadlines

    The deadlines set by the social welfare office for the submission of documents must be adhered to. If you are unable to do so for understandable reasons, you must apply for an extension of the deadline. Otherwise, the social welfare office may refuse to pay you benefits because you have failed to comply with your statutory obligations to cooperate.

    Furthermore, there are appeal deadlines if you do not agree with the decision - not only with the rejection decision, but also with the approval decision (amount of the resulting benefit entitlement). These deadlines must be adhered to, as the decision becomes final after the objection period has expired.

  • Required documents

    Valid identity card or passport, confirmation of registration if applicable

    Proof of a temporary full reduction in earning capacity in the form of a pension certificate or medical certificate

    Proof of income

    for example, pension, sickness benefit, child benefit, maintenance payments or advance maintenance payments



    Proof of assets

    savings, for example



    Tenancy agreement and subsequent amendments, in particular with regard to the rent

    Proof of expenditure, in addition to the rent amount and rent payment, in particular advance payments and statements for ancillary costs and heating costs, documents on insurance contributions

    Proof of health and long-term care insurance, i.e. details of health insurance and insurance status or contract for private health and long-term care insurance

    Note:

    The scope of the documents required, especially for proof of income and assets, depends on the individual case. Your local social welfare office may request further documents from you, for example current bank statements, divorce decrees or maintenance titles.

  • Forms

    Special information for - District of Bad Tölz Wolfratshausen

  • Costs

    none

  • Legal basis

  • Further links

  • Procedure

    The responsible social welfare office will check whether you are entitled to assistance with living expenses. Those in need of assistance do not necessarily have to submit an application themselves. The social welfare office must also take action following information from third parties, e.g. family, neighbors, etc., that there are indications of a need for assistance with living expenses (principle of official investigation). Nevertheless, it is advisable to submit an application yourself.

    • Arrange a consultation with your local social welfare office. Take all the necessary documents with you to this meeting.
    • If possible, complete the application for assistance with living expenses during the consultation.
    • The social welfare office must decide on your application and inform you of the result. This is done in the form of a decision, which is usually sent to you by letter.
    • If your application is approved, you will receive a notice of approval; if it is rejected, you will receive a notice of rejection.
    • In both cases, the notification contains the basis for the decision as well as information on the possibility of lodging an appeal.
    • The approval notice must include the amount of the benefit to be paid as well as the start date of the payment. From the date stated, the social welfare office will transfer the money to your account at the beginning of the month. You can also specify a third party account for the transfer.
    • Please note: You are obliged to inform your social welfare office immediately of any changes to your income, assets or personal circumstances.

    Note: If you do not have an account, you will receive the services by payment order for offsetting. You must bear the resulting costs yourself. If you can prove that it is impossible for you to set up a bank account as required by law through no fault of your own, the Social Welfare Office will cover the costs. Payment by cashier's check is not possible.

  • Notes

    You must apply to the social welfare office for all one-off benefits prior to purchase.

    Duty to cooperate

    As an applicant and social welfare recipient, you have a duty to cooperate, i.e. among other things:

    • You must declare everything relating to your income, assets and expenses and any changes to them.
    • At the request of the social welfare office, you must consent to the provision of information by other persons (e.g. family members, banks, doctors, experts).
    • At the request of the social welfare provider, they must undergo medical and psychological examinations if existing certificates and notifications are not sufficient for a decision.

    If the obligations to cooperate are not met, the social welfare office can refuse or withdraw benefits.

    Special information for - District of Bad Tölz Wolfratshausen

    Please submit your application to the municipal administration of your place of residence. From there, the application will be forwarded to us for processing.

    Take precautions: You can make provisions for emergency situations with the district's emergency folder (see further links)

  • Processing time

    The processing time depends on the individual case.


Responsible departments