The Social Association Germany (SoVD) views the reform proposals of the Social State Commission as fundamentally worth supporting. “Many points in the commission report are supportable, especially the overall direction” said board chair Michaela Engelmeier in an interview with “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (Wednesday edition). “The social state has to become simpler, but the level of protection must not be lowered”.
Among the suggestions is that benefits such as housing allowance and child supplement would be provided from a single source, eliminating the need for separate applications. “It’s also important to us: When more efficient administration can save money, that’s a positive development” Engelmeier added.
She made a clear stand against cuts to benefits. “The people should not be deprived” the SoVD chair asserted. She sees the combination of more digitisation, simplified and bundled payments, and appropriate work incentives as a “good mixture”. Engelmeier expects the implementation of the reforms to take several years, and stresses that they need to be put into action as quickly as possible.
