In 2025, social assistance providers across Germany spent a net total of €21.5 billion on benefits under the Twelfth Book of the Social Code (SGB XII). According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Friday, this represented an overall increase of 6.1% compared to the previous year.
The largest allocation of funds continued to go toward basic security for individuals in old age or with a disability, consuming 54.9% of the total spending, consistent with prior years. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs reported that €11.8 billion was dedicated to these benefits, which are fully funded through grants from the federal government to the states. While spending on basic security in old age and upon earning capacity reduction rose by 2.9% year-over-year, its proportional share of total social assistance expenditures declined for the third consecutive year (it was 59.0% in 2022).
In contrast, spending on care assistance saw a significant increase, rising by 13.3% to €6 billion. This rise in expenditure caused the share of care assistance to grow for the third straight year, reaching 27.8% of the total in 2025 (up from 23.6% in 2022).
For living allowance, €1.7 billion was disbursed, marking a 4.4% increase from the preceding year. However, the relative contribution of living allowance to total spending dropped for the third time in a row, settling at 8.0% in 2025 (down from 8.5% in 2022).
In terms of policy updates, standard rates for monthly living expenses remained unchanged as of January 1, 2025, marking the first time since the implementation of the Standard Need Determination Act on January 1, 2011. This stagnation contrasts with the previous years-2023 and 2024-which saw strong increases in standard rates following the annual review of needs, which had pushed up basic security spending sharply during those periods.
Finally, statisticians noted that combined spending on health assistance, support for addressing specific social difficulties, and assistance for other life situations totaled €2 billion. This category saw a 6.7% increase compared to 2024.
