Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) plans to significantly reduce spending on the citizens' allowance and introduce new regulations for Ukrainian refugees. In an interview with "Wirtschaftswoche," Lindner stated that the citizens' allowance will be reformed to reduce costs and better integrate recipients into the labor market.

Instead of the current citizen's income, Ukrainian refugees should receive their own legal status, based on a combination of benefits for asylum seekers and labor market policy instruments. "They do not have to go through an asylum procedure, but they also do not automatically receive the citizen's income, which is aimed at a socioeconomic subsistence minimum," explained Lindner. The aim is to reduce financial burdens while providing incentives for those affected to take up employment.

Another Key Point of the Reform Concerns the Coverage of Housing Costs

Despite these planned reforms, the situation for citizens' benefit recipients remains difficult.

The planned changes face resistance. Critics like Wagenknecht view Lindner's measures as a reduction in social benefits and a deterioration of the living situation for many people. Instead, they call for more comprehensive economic policy support that addresses the actual causes of dependency on benefits.

Meanwhile, the federal government emphasizes that the majority of citizens receiving benefits and integrated into work remain employed. Six months after starting a job, around 64 percent of employees stay in their positions, with individuals having professional training and single persons without children more frequently leaving the benefits system.