Last year, the BA's Family Benefits Office paid child benefit for 17.62 million children. The child supplement for families with low and middle incomes was paid out for more than 1.33 million children. Families whose income is sufficient to cover the parents' living expenses but not those of the children may be entitled to the child supplement .

Throughout 2024, expenditure totalled €57.50 billion, €1.40 billion more than in 2023. At €54.54 billion, child benefit accounted for around 95 per cent of expenditure, while child supplement accounted for €2.96 billion, or around 5 per cent.

Vanessa Ahuja, Director of Family Benefits: “The child supplement supports parents with low and medium incomes who earn enough for themselves but not enough for the whole family. From Flensburg to Garmisch, the Family Benefits Office offers a reliable, digital service that is standardised throughout Germany and provided from a single source. Over half of the applications now reach us digitally. We intend to further expand this digital offering.”

Only a slight increase in child supplement

The new legal regulations governing child supplement and the fact that more people are aware of them have led to an increase in the number of low-income families claiming this social benefit in recent years. While the child supplement was paid to an average of 270,000 children in 2019, around 1.3 million children will benefit from this social benefit in 2024. Since the end of 2024, the number of families receiving the child supplement has risen only slightly.

Majority of customers use Famka e-services

The expansion of the Family Benefits Office's digital services has been well received by customers. More than half currently use online channels for their applications. Around 60 per cent of child supplement applications are submitted online, while 45 per cent of families apply for child supplement via the Family Benefits Office's e-services. Around 300,000 people use the KiZ-Lotsen every month to determine their potential entitlement to the child supplement. 

Further information and registration for e-services for child benefit and child supplement can be found on our website eServices of the Family Benefits Office. 

Link to KiZ-Lotsen:https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/familie-und-kinder/kinderzuschlag-verstehen/kiz-lotse