AWO Proposes Merging Social Benefits

The Ifo Institute is also cited in the debate as a scientific interlocutor. The economic policy orientation of the proposal reflects the ambition to more closely interlink social systems with labor market policy without abandoning the mandate to provide security.

Demographic Pressure Within the Association

At the same time, the AWO points to a demographic challenge within its own association: members are on average around 75 years old, and new younger members are urgently being sought. In Rhineland-Palatinate, for example, a whole series of local chapters have recently dissolved.

According to the association, 20 local AWO chapters have dissolved in Rhineland-Palatinate alone over the past years. This development weakens the organization's presence across regions and thus also its advisory services for people in precarious living conditions.

Reform Debate and Resistance

The proposal to merge social benefits is embedded in a broader debate on reforming the German welfare state. Supporters argue that an integrated benefit could increase uptake while simultaneously reducing hidden poverty.

Potential counterarguments include: high administrative transition costs, data protection issues related to centralized data storage, and concerns that one-size-fits-all models insufficiently account for individual life circumstances. The AWO federal association, by contrast, points to pilot projects that have shown positive effects on employment and income.

Politically, the initiative is primarily directed at the federal government. Implementation would have immediate implications for the design of basic income support, child supplements, and housing benefits, which have so far been applied for and calculated separately.

Should the initiative find a receptive audience, a gradual introduction would be conceivable: initially in model regions, later nationwide. It remains to be seen to what extent funds from the federal budget would need to be reallocated or additionally provided.

What is certain: with the looming demographic loss of blood within volunteer structures, the issue gains additional urgency. Without sufficient active members on the ground, the AWO warns, the fight against poverty cannot be carried out broadly.