Different Regulations for Social Assistance in the Federal States

The government is also focusing on a new regulation of the staggered social welfare rates for children, which were annulled by the Constitutional Court in 2019. The federal states, responsible for implementing these provisions, have issued partially different regulations. An overview is provided below.

The Current Social Welfare Regulations in the Federal States

The current nationwide guidelines are enshrined in the Social Welfare Basic Law (SH-GG) created in 2019. Instead of minimum standards, the basic law stipulates maximum rates (maximum amounts). For individuals living alone and single parents, the amount of social welfare in 2025 is a maximum of approximately 1,209 euros per month. For couples, a monthly maximum amount of approximately 1,693 euros has been set. For adults living with others in a community of need, only 70 percent of the full benefit is to be granted per eligible person (846 euros), and from the third adult person, 45 percent (544 euros). To cover housing needs, 30 percent more can be granted than is stipulated in the maximum rate ("housing cost allowance"), and there are additional benefits for specific cases.

There are additional cash benefits for children. The states can determine these freely, as the Constitutional Court annulled the progressively decreasing maximum rates for minors stipulated in the Social Welfare Basic Law in December 2019. In Vienna, Salzburg, Carinthia, and Burgenland, the same amount of money is given for each child, regardless of family size. In all other states, cash benefits decrease depending on the number of children.

According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, the average benefit amount in 2023 was 802 euros per month per community of need (this refers to the beneficiaries and can consist of one or more persons, e.g., in a shared household). The highest benefit was in Vorarlberg (921 euros), the lowest in Burgenland (671 euros), with the federal capital Vienna averaging 805 euros among the states. The SH-GG has not yet been implemented in all federal states through the Social Welfare Implementation Act, for example, in Tyrol, where the old minimum security still applies, or in Vienna with only partial implementation.

(APA/Red)

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