Hartz 4 and building loan agreement
Those who rely on government payments usually have to turn over every penny twice. Apart from certain allowances, your own assets and income are offset against the Hartz 4 payments. And the interest from a home loan and savings contract can also be added to your income.
Hartz-4 recipients must disclose their entire financial situation when submitting the application so that the job center can assess the need for financial assistance. Sometimes a dispute arises between the applicant and the authority as to whether certain items are to be included in income or assets.
Get Hartz 4 and provide evidence of income
- Anyone who has to submit an application for basic security benefits according to SGB II must also provide complete information on their income and financial situation. As a rule, assets are what already existed before or was available when the application was submitted, for example the credit in a savings account. In contrast, everything is considered to be income that is only received after the application has been submitted; this can be, for example, interest on savings deposits.
- There are certain allowances for both income and assets. If the tax-free allowance has not yet been exhausted, it may be more favorable for the beneficiary if certain items are included in the assets and not in the income.
- If interest has accrued on a savings account in the past, it will be part of the assets up to the deadline of the application; further interest will accrue thereafter, but it will be part of the income. Since interest is usually paid annually, it counts as income in the month in which it is paid out. If Hartz 4 services have already been provided, the interest will be taken into account in the following month, cf. § 11 para. 3 sentence 2 SGB II.
Interest from a home loan and savings contract counts as income
Also the interest charges from a home loan and savings contract apply according to a judgment of Regional Social Court Baden-Württemberg (Az.: L 1 AS 5113/11) as income, even if it is not paid directly but increases the pension assets. However, the court considers it reasonable to use the building loan contract in order to be able to secure a living.
Job seekers in Germany receive benefits according to SGB II, which at least cover ...
- In principle, a home loan and savings contract must of course be specified when submitting the application, since the value it represents is included in the assets. He would u. a. are only excluded from the assets in the exceptional case, if their utilization is not economical. This could be the case, for example, if he is about to pay out and has bought an apartment from it to accommodate a disabled person or person in need of care belonging to the household, cf. § 12 para. 3 No. 5 and No. 6 SGB II.
A home loan and savings contract must always be specified when applying for Hartz 4 benefits. If it is concealed and higher benefits are drawn as a result, this represents an abuse of social benefits which as a rule does not remain without consequences.
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