Afraid of extremely high gas back payments? Many do not know that working people could also be entitled to a subsidy from the job center.
Frankfurt – Although Germany now has 80 percent full gas storage facilities and researchers are optimistic that Germany will get through the winter without Russian gas, gas prices are going through the roof. According to Check24 , the price increase is already 375 percent compared to 2021. This is a big burden, especially for low-income earners. Few people know that working people can also apply for support from the job center if there are high back gas payments. BuzzFeed News DE took a closer look.
Subsidy for the gas back payment – also conceivable for working people
The people of Germany are currently facing a “historic challenge,” said Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) recently. Because of rising energy prices, some landlords and suppliers are increasing the deductions or sending their customers an annual additional payment that is quite a challenge.
A burden for everyone – but especially for low earners, single parents or part-time workers whose salary is just enough to make ends meet. What many people don’t know: under certain conditions, working people are also entitled to a subsidy from the job center for gas back payments. This is confirmed by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) BuzzFeed News DE from IPPEN.MEDIA.
“Even people who have not yet received any SGB II benefits can receive support from the job centers if they are affected by additional payments due to increased heating costs,” says a press spokesman for the ministry. This applies to both annual payments and monthly deductions for heating costs. “The job centers check in each individual case whether the requirements for financial support based on these additional payments are met,” says the BMAS.
About IPPEN.MEDIA
The IPPEN.MEDIA network is one of the largest online publishers in Germany. At the locations in Berlin, Hamburg/Bremen, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart and Vienna, journalists from our central editorial office research and publish for more than 50 news offers. These include brands such as Merkur.de, FR.de and BuzzFeed Germany. Our news, interviews, analyzes and comments reach more than 5 million people in Germany every day.
For a subsidy for additional gas payments: fill out the application for benefits under SGB II
One body that checks who is entitled to a subsidy for the gas back payment is, for example, the Hamburg job center – the largest in Germany. “Due to the current price development in the energy sector, we definitely expect that in the event of high additional payments, people who are not normally job center customers can also have a claim here,” says Kerstin Fechner, spokeswoman for the Hamburg job center.
First, however, it is checked individually whether a claim exists. Your own assets also play a role here, how many people live in a community of need, what other income is available, how high the rent is and more. “For this purpose, a complete application for benefits according to SGB II (in the month in which the additional payment is due) must be submitted – even if ‘only’ the assumption of heating costs is applied for, since the entitlement has to be calculated,” explains Fechner.
Apart from subsidies, saving energy also helps to avoid financial bottlenecks. Here are eleven energy-saving hacks that will keep you from going broke.
Do not increase deductions and wait for a higher additional gas payment – is that legally correct?
In the taz , energy-saving consultants talk about not increasing the monthly deductions and instead waiting for a higher additional payment. The reason: The job center always looks at what a person needs each month and then decides whether there is a claim. But is that legal? Yes, says Fechner, from the Jobcenter Hamburg BuzzFeed News DE from IPPEN.MEDIA. Legally, there is nothing wrong with submitting the application in the month when a higher additional payment is due.
Because the job center is not allowed to split one-off additional payments (because of the Federal Social Court ruling AZ B14AS20/18R) over several months, support is more likely here. However, you should think twice about taking the risk. Because there is no entitlement to support, the high additional payment has to be made.
Fechner’s tip: If people who do not normally receive any benefits feel that they are at their financial limit and could perhaps get a subsidy with the increased energy costs, they should simply fill out an application for unemployment benefit II. In this way, they could have their individual claims checked. If this does not exist with the monthly deductions, you can always try again with an explicit application in the month of the annual additional payment.
