💰 Assets and protected assets
In brief
You only receive Grundsicherungsgeld if your realisable assets do not exceed certain allowances. Until 30 June 2026, new benefit recipients first had a one-year grace period in which in practice only “substantial” assets were examined. Since 1 July 2026 this grace period for assets has been abolished; instead a fixed allowance graded by your age applies immediately for each person in your benefit unit (Bedarfsgemeinschaft).
Step by step
- List your assetsRecord bank balances, building-society savings contracts, securities, cash, vehicles and properties that are not occupied by yourself.
- Determine the allowance by ageCheck which allowance applies for your age, and add together the allowances of all persons in the benefit unit.
- Check protected assetsAn owner-occupied reasonable house or a corresponding owner-occupied flat, and one reasonable motor vehicle per person able to work, are in principle protected regardless of the allowance.
- Use up or explain excess assetsIf your assets exceed the allowance, you must in principle use them before benefits begin – explain to the Jobcenter which assets can be realised and how.
- Claim hardshipIf immediate realisation would be obviously uneconomic or a particular hardship for you, actively point this out to the Jobcenter.
Deadlines
- Do not confuse the asset test with the 12-month grace period for rent (§ 22 SGB II) – since 1.7.2026 these are two completely separate rules with different time limits.
- The term “substantial assets” and the rule of thumb of around €40,000 for single people that used to circulate referred to the old grace-period rule that applied until 30.6.2026 and no longer continue to apply unchanged since the 2026 reform.
- What a “reasonable” motor vehicle is, is not stated in the law as a fixed euro amount but is assessed in the individual case on the basis of social court rulings – do not rely on a single figure circulating on the internet.
- Assets that you give away or squander shortly before applying can be treated as a “reduction of assets to bring about need for assistance” and lead to a sanction.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
The reform of 1 July 2026
Until 30.6.2026, under the Bürgergeld Act a one-year grace period applied, during which for assets only a test for “substantial assets” took place; only after that did a uniform asset allowance of €15,000 per person apply. The Thirteenth Act Amending SGB II (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 107) abolished this grace period for assets on 1.7.2026 and replaced it with fixed allowances graded by age (§ 12 Abs. 2 SGB II n. F.): €5,000 up to the completed 30th year of age, €10,000 from the 31st, €12,500 from the 41st and €20,000 from the 51st year of age – in each case per person in the benefit unit, and the allowances are added together.
Protected assets regardless of the allowance
In addition – as before the reform – certain assets remain in principle protected: an owner-occupied reasonable house or a corresponding owner-occupied flat, a reasonable motor vehicle per person able to work in the benefit unit, and assets that serve retirement provision and contractually cannot be realised before reaching the standard retirement age. What is “reasonable” in an individual case is not determined by a fixed statutory figure but made concrete by the case law of the social courts; blanket euro amounts from advice portals should be treated with caution in this respect.
Realisation and hardship
Excess assets must in principle be used before benefits begin. If realisation would be obviously uneconomic (clearly below value) or a particular hardship for the person concerned, it can be waived; in that case a benefit in the form of a loan may be considered.
A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.