Maternity and child benefit entitlement in Germany

[CupOfBrownJoy]

I was wondering if someone might know something about this please?

I just got my BFP, I'm living in Germany and I'm a teacher. However, I'm not in the German school system and have an unusual contract, whereby I am classed as self employed.

This means that my employers pay no social security for me and under my contract I only get 3 months maternity leave, then have to go back full time.

This seems very early to me.

I'm also not entitled to a pension, German "NHS" (I have private insurance) or German maternity leave as I don't pay the social contributions.

DP is German and also self employed - he has his own business with an unreliable income, particularly during the winter.

He has had a look on the internet and thinks we'll be entitled to Kindergeld and Muttergeld, but to be honest I'm finding it all very confusing. I speak German, but not enough to understand all this technical stuff. He says Kindergeld is 60% of my last wage packet for 14 months, but this seems unbelievably generous to me!

I was really hoping someone might explain in simple terms what I might be entitled to as regards benefit/support. I've heard the system is very generous (but not sure my self employed status means I can access it?) and tbh I'm hoping I might not have to go back to work full time after the birth.

Thanks very much.

Oh I forgot DP and I will be married by the birth, I don't know if this makes any difference?

You'll get kindergeld (child benefit) which is about Eur 200 a month.

Not suer about your entitlement to Elterngeld as I've not worked here - have a look at www.toytowngermany.com as there are lots of threads on there about how to claim etc.

The allowances are generous and make sure you claim everything you can. Also check which heakth insurance your child will be covered under - you or your husband etc. private insurance can be pricey for children I understand.

Good luck!

The system is not terribly generous to freelancers, only to employees. I was (and am still) freelance when I had my two DDs, but to be honest that was 13/9 years ago and I know things have changed in the meantime, so I'm loathe to give advice which might well be outdated.

Certainly in my day (old gimmer emoticon) freelancers had a big fat nowt in terms of maternity pay - what we got then was something called Erziehungsgeld (and I'm pretty sure this has been replaced by something else) for 6 months which was then a fixed rate of 600 marks (300 euros), but it was capped quite low and after six months we lost our entitlement as we apparently earned too much as a family.

Kindergeld is pretty much universal - there is a cut-off point for entitlement but it's fairly high. I get 368 ? for the two so it would be 184 ? per child. It does take a few months to get processed but is obviously then backdated. If your DH were an employee it would get paid directly through his wage packet, but as you're both freelancers it will come to you via the Familienkasse. You can get forms online, of course.

Toytown is a pretty wild place, TBH, I wouldn't necessarily rely on some of the advice there. What might help you more is a local family advice centre (something like a Familienberatungszentrum) which will have a helpline or an open hour a few times a week. We're in Berlin and there are quite a few here, but I know of one that gave friends particularly good advice. Of course that won't help you if you're miles away, but try Googling something like Beratung für Familien along with the name of your town and see what comes up.

You being married will be relevant in one aspect - while you're not working for the three months after the birth you can get free insurance with your DH (called Familienversicherung), as long as he is insured with one of the gesetzlichen Krankenkassen and not private. Same goes for your DC - you apply for an insurance card straight after the birth and it comes quite quickly. However, since you're private yourself I assume your DH is too, and that means you will have to carry on paying your contributions PLUS pay for the DC from birth. As a family it's well worth trying to get into a gesetzlichen.

As an employee you would not have to go back to work for three years after the birth (and you would not be allowed to be disadvantaged in any way during that time), but I don't know if your work is obliged to hold for job for that time as a freelancer. I suspect not. It didn't apply to me, as I worked for a number of different employers and went back bit by bit starting at a few months (but just a few hours per week) Again, you need that advice centre. For employees too, if they decide to work within the three years period they have a right to go part time. Most previously full-time mothers I know have managed to negotiate down to 32-35 hours per week (obviously with a drop in pay) after these three years, but once more, I suspect you will have no such right. it depends on how 'nice' your employer is.

I wish you all the best in finding some reliable advice.

thank you so much for the advice.

I'll check out Toytown, but make sure I double check any info I get from there, and thanks for the heads up about the Familieberatungszentrum. I'm near Cologne but I'll check if there are any similar centres near me.

It's a nightmare being freelance. My employers were meant to be considering moving me onto a full German employment contract but if they get wind I'm already pg I can kiss goodbye to that! They're not sympathetic at all - the 3 months thing is really new, before that their attitude would be "congratulation, when are you leaving?" and they'd start advertising your job....

It doesn't sound as if I'll be able to claim enough not to go back to work, more's the pity

DP has gesetzlichenkrankenkasse though which is good...

Congratulations on your BFP! I don't know much about the Elterngeld because I never took any time off apart from the 6 weeks prior and 8 weeks after the birth to which one is entitled by law. A quick google brought up this:

www.working-in-germany.com/family-allowance-0075.html

which I think explains it quite well, and the following link explains where to apply for Elterngeld.

www.elterngeld.com/elterngeld-wo-beantragen.html

Hi. I work freelance here in Germany and had DD 3 years ago. I got 300? a month, which is the minimum Elterngeld payment (I have a very low income) for 12 months. Iirc I would have got more if my previous income had been higher, as it was I didn't bother submitting any proof of income since everyone is entitled to the minimum payment. You have to share the Elternzeit with your partner to get the full 14months, ie. he must take at least two months, for which he would get 60% of previous salary.

I get 184? Kindergeld. I also got a letter when DD was born telling me that contributions would be made for me into the state pension scheme for three years (no idea what that will mean in the long run!)

More or less the same situation as Silkenladder. I had to get DH to sort it all out because at the time I couldn't understand enough German to deal with it. Good luck with your pregnancy :)

Thanks everyone. Luckily DP has an accountant who can sort it out for us. The way I understand it so far I should be entitled to enough in the way of Kindergeld and Elterngeld in the first 12 months to keep us going, even though I don't get any maternity pay from work.

It seems very generous!

Even though its only for 12 months at least it will give me time to decide what to do next professionally, and give DP's business more time to grow and be at a stage where it can support us all (fingers crossed!)

Thanks again x

Depending on where you are, there might also be a Bundesland-based payment available once your child reaches 12 months. I live in Thuringia and got ?180 a month for one year after the Elterngeld stopped. If DD had started Krippe then the payment would have gone to them, but as it was, I was able to work and claim the money (while MIL helped out with the childcare).

Hope everything goes well with the pregnancy.

Good to know silken, thanks. I'm in NRW so I'll look into it.

Cup can I PM you please? I am moving to NRW from Bavaria and I'd appreciate some local knowledge. Not going to stalk you I promise :)

Yes that's absolutely fine! Not sure how much help I'll be, I've only been here 18 months and I'm pretty clueless

we were in a very similar position, living in cologne, working at one of the english schools there, (i wonder if its the same one) under a self employed contract -

i think you will get up to 1800euros kindergeld, or 66% of your salary, whichever is the least, but you have to provide evidence of your pay.

For Muttergeld, i think you are unlikely to get any as you are privately health insured, but check with your insurer. i didn't get it as i had private insurance, but even if you do, some of it is subtracted from your kindergeld i think.

we are still living in cologne, if you would like to make contact?

I'm a freelancer in Berlin, and our baby is due in August. You receive Elterngeld of 66% of your average monthly income as declared in the most current tax declaration. That runs for 12 months if you only you take time off work, or 14 months if you split the time with your husband. There is also a small amount of money for the Mutterschutzzeit, immediately before and after birth, and there's a small sum of Kindergeld as well. Generous it certainly is, compared to the way freelancers are treated in the UK! Best of luck, Weasel.