Parental allowance
Apply for parental allowance online Everything you need to know at a glance
An important point is the question of how your family will be financially secure after the birth. Parental allowance plays an important role here: it replaces part of your income if you take a full or partial break from work after the birth. Find out about the different types of parental allowance here and choose the one that suits you best.
Have you made your plans? Then you can start by completing the online application!
These are the advantages of the online application:
- You will be guided through the application step by step. We will only ask you the questions that apply to your case.
- You will find out which documents the parental allowance office needs in your case. You can upload these documents immediately.
- You can save your details temporarily, even before your child is born. Once your child is born, all you have to do is fill in the date of birth and click on "Send".
What is parental allowance?
Parental allowance replaces part of your lost income if you want to be there for your child after the birth and work less or not at all for a while. Even if you had no income before the birth, you can still receive parental allowance.
What types of parental allowance are available?
Parental allowance is available in three variants: basic parental allowance, parental allowance plus and partnership bonus. You can combine the variants with each other.
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Basic parental allowance
You can receive basic parental allowance for 12 months. If the other parent also stays at home for at least 2 months, the payment is extended by 2 months to a total of 14 months. Single parents can receive parental allowance for a maximum of 14 months. You can extend the period of basic parental allowance for children born particularly early.
As a rule, basic parental allowance amounts to 67% of the average net earnings of the last 12 months, with a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 1,800 euros per month.
You can only receive basic parental allowance within the first 14 months of your child's life. You can freely divide the months of entitlement between both parents. Each parent can use between 2 and 12 months.
While you are receiving basic parental allowance, you can work part-time, up to a maximum of 32 hours per week. -
Parental allowance plus
Would you like to combine family and career and work up to 32 hours a week? Then it may be worth taking advantage of 2 months of Parental Allowance Plus instead of 1 month of Basic Parental Allowance. You can receive Parental Allowance Plus for twice as long as Basic Parental Allowance. However, it is only half as high and amounts to between 150 and 900 euros per month.
Parental Allowance Plus is particularly worthwhile for parents who return to work early after the birth of their child: If you have income from gainful employment in addition to Parental Allowance, the monthly Parental Allowance Plus can also be higher than half of the monthly Basic Parental Allowance. Nevertheless, you can receive Parental Allowance Plus for twice as long. This means you are entitled to more Parental Allowance in total. -
Partnership bonus
If both parents work between 24 and 32 hours per week part-time at the same time, you are entitled to up to four additional months of Parental Allowance Plus, the so-called partnership bonus. The partnership bonus is an offer for parents who share their family and work responsibilities.
Parents can apply for the partnership bonus for a minimum of two and a maximum of four months. Single parents are entitled to the entire partnership bonus.
It is not necessary for you to work part-time to exactly this extent every single week. The decisive factor is how many hours per week you work on average in the respective month of the child's life. This depends on the hours you actually work.
To receive the partnership bonus, state in the application how many partnership bonus months you want to take and over which months you want to spread them.
Further information on parental allowance
Where can I get help and advice?
In North Rhine-Westphalia, parental allowance applications are processed by the districts and independent cities. The staff at your parental allowance office will advise you on all questions relating to parental allowance and parental leave - on site, by telephone or by email.
To view the contact details of your parental allowance office, please enter your zip code or place of residence.
Parental leave
Parental leave offers mothers and fathers the opportunity to take unpaid time off work to look after their child. Parental leave and parental allowance are therefore not the same thing. However, it is often practical to combine them. You can find more information on why exactly here. Who can take parental leave and what does it mean to be on parental leave? You can find answers to these and other important questions about parental leave here. We also show you what you need to bear in mind when applying for parental leave.
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