Sozialhilfe beantragen

You can receive financial support through basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity. This helps you to finance your living expenses and covers the socio-cultural minimum subsistence level. It is a social welfare benefit and fulfills the same function as assistance with living expenses, but for a special group of people.
You can receive basic income support if you have reached the age limit (this limit is between 66 and 67 years) or if you are over 18 years old and permanently fully incapacitated for work. You can also receive benefits for the period in which you

• are undergoing the entry procedure and vocational training in a workshop for people with disabilities or with another service provider or

• are in a training relationship for which you receive a budget for training.

In addition, the person seeking benefits must be in need of assistance and have their habitual residence in Germany.

The amount of basic income support depends on your individual needs and your available income and assets.
Benefits can only be granted if you are in need.
Basic income support generally covers various needs, including

• the relevant standard requirement
• needs for accommodation and heating, insofar as they are reasonable
• additional needs, such as
• Additional needs for:

1. Possession of a severely disabled person's pass with
   mark G or
2. illness, if a special diet is required for medical reasons
   special diet is required for medical reasons
3. pregnancy

• One-off requirements in special situations (e.g. initial furnishings for the home)
• Needs for health/nursing care insurance

• Completed application
• Income-/Proof of assetse
• Tenancy agreement/current rent change letter/current nerent- and heating bills
• Receipts for current expenses
• If available: Disability certificate
• If available, upon application due to fullreduction in earning capacity: Legal opinion/notice from the pension provider or the pension insurance about a permanent, full reduction in earning capacity
• If available: Pensionfirstdecision
• GIf necessary further documents

You have your habitual residence in Germany

• Your income and assets are not sufficient to cover your to be able to support yourself.

• You have reached the age limit (66 - 67 years) reached or are over 18 years old and permanently disabled,
  or are working in a workshop for disabled peopledisabled people or with another service providerand the vocational training area.

Cost type: free of charge

• You apply for basic security benefits in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacityat your local or regional social welfare office (Sozialamt) or via the online portal.
• You submit the supporting documents requested by the social welfare agency. You will find a list of the supporting documents to be submitted in the application for the benefit.
• The competent authority will check your application and calculate your needs and the benefits to which you are entitled.
• If you have submitted an application for permanent full reduction in earning capacity, the relevant evidence will be checked or obtained from your pension insurance provider.
• The competent authority will decide on your application and inform you of the result. You will receive a corresponding notification from your competent authority.
• If your application is approved, you will receive a notice of approval; if it is rejected, you will receive a notice of rejection.
• In both cases, the notification will contain the reasons for the decision. It also contains information about the possibility of lodging an appeal against the decision (information on legal remedies). This includes information on the deadline within which you can lodge an appeal.
• The approval notice contains the amount of the benefit to be paid and the start date for payment. From the date stated, the benefits to which you are entitled will generally be made available to you by the competent institution at the beginning of the month.

Duration: up to 6 months

Remark for further information on the processing time: The processing time depends on the specifics of the individual individual case.

Time limit type: Period of validity
Duration: until 12 months

Remark (for further information on the deadline):
You can claim benefits from the first of the months in which you have submitted your application.
The benefit is generally granted for twelve calendar months. If you meet the requirements but the examination of your application is time-consuming, you can also apply for provisional approval for six months.
However, a provisional decision must be made on the provision of cash benefits provisionally if it has been established that a person falls under the personalthe personal scope of Chapter 4 of SGB XII and

1. to determine the further requirementsof the claimfor cash benefits is likely to take a longer period of time and theand the other requirements for entitlement to cash benefits arefor the claim are met with sufficient probability or
2. an entitlement to cash benefits exists on the merits and the and a longer period of time is likely to be time is required to determine its amount.

After expiry of the approval period, no new application is required for the continued no new application is required for the continuation of basic security benefits, however, the income and assets will be assessed before anyre-approvalre-examined before each re-approval.

Designation: Guideline of the Federal Ministry of Labor & Social Affairsles

URL: https://www.bmas.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Publika- tionen/a207-sozialhilfe-und-grundsicherung.pdf?__blob=publication- File&v=1

optional additional information on the linked website:

Designation: FAQs of the German Pension Insurance

URL: https://www.deutsche-rentenversicher- ung.de/DRV/DE/Rente/Allgemeine-Informationen/Wissenswertes- zur-Rente/FAQs/Grundsicherung/Grundsicher- ung_Liste.html#bb6afe43-ea61-49d6-8c63-419588b1a966

Basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity is granted on a subordinate basis. This means that those entitled to benefits are obliged to help themselves and give priority to other social benefits (e.g. pensions, housing benefit) or claims against third parties (e.g. maintenance payments) if this leads to the avoidance, elimination, reduction or reduction of their need for assistance.

Objection, contestation- and performanceaction: You will find further information on how to lodge an appeal in the notification of your application.

• Applying for basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity
• A social benefit that secures the basic living expenses of older people who have exceeded the age limit for a standard old-age pension (67 years) or
• people who are permanently fully disabled after the age of 18.

You can also receive benefits for the period in which you

• are undergoing the entry procedure and vocational training in a workshop for people with disabilities or with another service provider or
• are in a training relationship for which you receive a budget for training.

Persons born before January 1, 1947 reach the age limit when they reach the age of 65. For people born after December 31, 1946, the age limit is gradually raised to 67 (see table in § 41 Paragraph 2 SGB XII).
Responsible authority: Local or supra-local social welfare provider or social welfare office

Forms available: Yes
Written form required: No
Informal application possible: Yes
Personal appearance necessary: No