Child benefit for adults: when parents also receive child benefit for children of full age | message

An overview

When the child reaches the age of 18, a lot changes for the parents. The child benefit payment must now also be requested differently depending on the situation in life. The family benefits are paid out to a family member by the family benefits office; the legal guardians must decide which account is to be given. If the parents separate, the place of residence of the adult child determines which parent receives the money. Since 2011 there is no longer an income limit according to which the claim to child benefit can be asserted, today the educational status is decisive. Since July 1st, 2019, a family has received 204 euros per month for the first two children, 210 euros for the third child and 235 euros for all further children.

The educational status of the child is decisive

Children of full age who have not yet completed any training or studies are also still entitled to child benefit. The prerequisite for the payment of the subsidy is that the child has a full-time job in initial training. This also includes the waiting time for the training or study place, the entire period of the first degree / training and the bridging time between two training phases. Furthermore, several training phases are also rated as initial training, as long as they are closely related in terms of time and subject.

However, if the child is already employed full-time after the first training phase and further training or further training is only used for professional advancement in the job, this regulation no longer applies. Exceptions to this rule are specific sections of the examination regulations, which stipulate that professional experience is required for the second phase of training. During this time, children can work and earn as much as they want at their own discretion; it will not affect the child benefit scheme.

Young adults who have completed vocational training or a degree only receive the money if they are waiting for another training or study place, are already completing an apprenticeship or a degree, or are in the bridging period. In this case the regulation of the so-called “innocuous employment” applies. If a child’s occupation regularly exceeds 20 hours a week in training, the person concerned is legally treated as a employed person and not as an initial trainee. According to this, mini-jobs and positions with a quota of up to a maximum of 20 hours per week can be accepted. In this case, the right to child benefit remains.

In the case of studies and training, child benefit payments are discontinued when the test results are officially available, even if the training is continued beyond this point in time or the student remains matriculated.

Special life situations and evidence

Child benefit is also guaranteed if the child completes a voluntary service such as the Federal Voluntary Service or does an internship with a professional connection to the desired profession. In the case of children with disabilities, child benefit can also be applied for beyond the age of 25 if the disability means that they cannot earn a living themselves. However, the basic tax-free allowance may not be exceeded.

The family benefits office requires proof. These must always be submitted in the form of a copy. If the evidence is not submitted on time or not at all, the application for child benefit will be dealt with with a delay or rejected entirely. There are special forms and verification procedures for every form of training; in some cases, confirmations from the respective institution are required or copies of contracts are required. You can find out which documents you need from your family benefits office. Alternatively, the Federal Employment Agency is another point of contact.

Finanzen.net editorial team

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