Parents' money in plain language
What is parent money?
Parent money is money from the state.
You get it when you have a baby.
You stay at home and look after your child.
Therefore you work less or not at all.
You earn less money.
The state helps you with parental allowance.
You receive parental allowance after the birth of your child
for 1 or 2 years.
You receive it every month.
You have to apply for the money.
We explain here:
- Who gets Parental Allowance?
- How much Parental Allowance can you get?
- How long can you get Parental Allowance?
- What different forms of Parental Allowance are there?
- Where can you get help?
- Where do you submit your application?
Who gets parental money?
- Mother and father can receive parental allowance.
- You must not work more than 32 hours per week.
- You must not earn more than 175,000 euros per year.
- You must live together with the child.
- You must live in Germany.
- It is important that you are allowed to live in Germany permanently.
- It is not important whether you are married.
- Separated parents can also receive parental allowance.
How much parental allowance can you get?
This depends on how much money you earned before the birth.
- Parent money is about 70 percent of your previous salary.
- You get at least 300 euros a month
- You get at most 1,800 euros a month.
- You and the other parent get not the same parent money.
For each parent, we calculate their own parental allowance.
How long do you receive parental allowance?
Both parents receive parental allowance together for 14 months.
Single parents can receive 14 months alone.
Parent couples can split the months, for example:
- One parent receives 12 months and the other 2 months
- Or 8 months and 6 months
- Or both receive 7 months.
They can receive parental allowance simultaneously or consecutively.
Important:
One parent must receive at least two months of parental allowance.
What different forms of parental money are there?
There are three forms:
- Basic Parental Allowance
- Parental Allowance Plus
- Partnership Bonus
1. Basic Parental Allowance
- You will receive Parental Allowance for up to 14 months together.
- You will receive between 300 and 1,800 euros per month.
- You can work part-time after the birth.
Part-time means: you work no more than 32 hours a week.
In this case, your parental allowance is reduced.
2. Parental Allowance Plus
Parental Allowance Plus is good for parents who want to return to work after the birth.
In this case, your parental allowance is not reduced as much.
- You receive the money for twice as long as with basic parental allowance.
- But the amount is only half as high.
- You receive between 150 euros and 900 euros a month.
- 1 month of Basic Parental Allowance is just as much as 2 months of Parental Allowance Plus.
Important: You can only work part-time even with Parental Allowance Plus.
Part-time means: You work no more than 32 hours a week.
3. Partnership bonus
Perhaps both parents want to work at the same time.
In this case, you will receive a bonus.
The bonus is called a partnership bonus.
The rules for this are:
- Both parents work in the same months.
- Each parent works between 24 and 32 hours per week.
- Both parents receive Parental Allowance Plus for 4 months longer.
- Single parents can also receive the bonus.
Where can you get help?
We will be happy to help you.
You can come to the Parents' Money Office.
You can also call us
or send us an e-mail.
You can search the Internet for your Parent Money Office.
The website is:
https://www.familienportal.nrw/de/elterngeld
Go to "Where can I get help and advice?"
Enter your postcode or your place of residence.
You will then receive all the information.
The page is not in plain language.
Where do you submit your application?
You can also find the application for parental allowance on the website.
You can submit the application online.
Or you can send it by post.
The application is not in plain language.
We will be happy to help you.
Come for a consultation.
More information
There is a booklet with even more information on Eltern-Geld, Eltern-Geld Plus and Eltern-Zeit in plain language.
Click here: Booklet in plain language
