Germany plans overhaul to simplify welfare system

Germany plans major reforms to simplify its welfare system, according to a report seen by AFP on Tuesday, though the government insisted that benefits would not be slashed.

The EU's most populous country is notorious for its jungle of rules and regulations, and conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to slay the "bureaucracy monster".

Part of this drive is to overhaul a welfare system where myriad agencies oversee different entitlements, and citizens have to fill out numerous lengthy documents to claim benefits.

A government-appointed commission has laid out proposals that include moving more of the system online and reducing the number of agencies involved in overseeing benefits, according to its final report, seen by AFP.

The changes amount to a "major reform that will make things easier, more transparent, more digital and faster for citizens," Labour Minister Baerbel Bas told public broadcaster ARD.

Benefits would not be cut, said Bas, from the centre-left SPD party, noting that "the level of protection will be maintained".

The SPD is the junior partner in the governing coalition, and has at times pushed back against calls from within Merz's centre-right CDU to prune benefits as Germany's debt levels increase.

Bas said the overhaul could bring savings to the state thanks to greater efficiency.

Among the commission's recommendations is that several existing benefits -- including basic unemployment support, housing support and child benefit -- be combined to form a single benefit.

Only two agencies would be responsible for benefits in future, down from four now.

By making the system more digital and bringing together various benefits, different welfare authorities should be able to more easily exchange data.

As a result, people would not have to repeatedly give the same details to different agencies when claiming entitlements.

The aim is to have the changes passed into law by the end of 2027, Bas said.