German Family Minister Karin Prien has drafted legislation to shorten the maximum parental benefit period from 14 to 12 months, while raising monthly payments for the first time in nearly two decades. Under the proposal, each parent would need to take at least three months of leave to qualify for the full duration, with six additional months freely divisible between them.
The reform is designed to trim €500 million from the ministry's budget next year. Monthly payments would increase, with the minimum rising from €300 to €330 and the maximum from €1,800 to €1,900.
The plan has drawn sharp criticism from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Social Affairs Minister Stefanie Drese, who announced resistance to the cut in duration, calling the reduction from 14 to 12 months unacceptable. Her state processed roughly 11,000 initial parental benefit applications last year.