Bürgergeld is now Grundsicherung: what the 2026 reform means for you and your AVGS

What is behind the reform

On 5 March 2026, the Bundestag passed the Thirteenth Act amending Book II of the Social Code (SGB II). It has applied since 1 July 2026: Bürgergeld has become the new Grundsicherung (basic income support). The change affects around 5.1 million people in Germany who receive benefits under SGB II.

The headlines were mostly about penalties and tougher rules. Much of that was less precise than it sounded. Below you’ll find what the law actually says, what has changed for you in concrete terms and what has stayed the same. Above all, the question about your AVGS voucher has a clear answer.

What has changed since 1 July 2026: the four most important points

1. New name: “Bürgergeld” becomes “Grundsicherungsgeld”.

Since 1 July, the cash benefit has formally had a different name, as set out in Section 19 SGB II. For you, this mainly affects notices, letters and forms. The name does not change the entitlement itself.

You’ll find an overview of the reform in the German federal government’s information on the new Grundsicherung.

2. The placement priority applies again. In substance, this is the biggest step, and it is now set out in Section 3a SGB II. Direct placement into training or work comes first again. For you, this means: job offers come faster, and you should be able to explain why one doesn’t suit you.

What matters is the second paragraph of the same provision, which mostly got lost in the news coverage. The priority does not apply without exception:

“An exception may apply if a benefit for integration into work is more likely to lead to lasting integration into work than immediate placement, in particular for people who have not yet reached the age of 30.”

Section 3a(2), sentence 2 SGB II

So qualification, further training and coaching have not been abolished. They need a justification, and the law says which one: it is about lasting integration. If you can clearly explain why a quick placement would have you back at the Job Center (Jobcenter) in three months, you are arguing exactly along these lines.

3. Sanctions have been reorganised, but not in the way that was often reported. There is no rising scale of steps. This is set out in Sections 31a and 31b SGB II:

• For a breach of duty, the standard rate is reduced by 30 per cent, for three months.
• For repeated breaches, it stays at that. The reduction is explicitly capped at 30 per cent in total.
• Rent and heating must not be cut through a benefit reduction. This applies to everyone, not only to households with children.
• A reduction does not apply if, in the individual case, it would mean exceptional hardship.
• Before the decision, you are given a hearing. At your request, this should take place in person, and also if the Job Center knows of a mental illness.
• The Job Center can only establish a reduction within six months of the breach of duty.

Two cases go further. If you wilfully refuse reasonable work that is actually and immediately available, you lose the standard rate for a maximum of two months; rent and heating are then paid directly to the landlord. And if you miss three appointments in a row without good reason, you are considered unreachable under Section 7b SGB II. The entitlement then lapses. Here, too, there is a buffer: rent and heating continue for one month, and if you report to the Job Center in person within that month, you are treated as having been reachable throughout.

4. New rules on assets and housing. The one-year grace period (Karenzzeit) for assets has been abolished. It has been replaced by allowances that depend on age and apply from day one (Section 12(2) SGB II):

Age	Allowance
up to 30	€5,000
from 31	€10,000
from 41	€12,500
from 51	€20,000

Unused allowances can be transferred within the household (Bedarfsgemeinschaft). A flat or house you live in yourself is not counted during the grace period for housing. That grace period still applies, more on it in a moment.

For housing, the one-year grace period remains. What is new is an upper limit within that year: costs of more than one and a half times the locally appropriate amount are no longer recognised.

Good to know: If you are entitled, you stay entitled. The benefit was renamed, not abolished. Your existing notice (Bescheid) continues to apply until the Job Center issues a new one.

What stays: your AVGS remains valid

Here is the plain answer to the question we hear most often: Activation and Placement Vouchers (AVGS) remain in place. The AVGS is regulated in Section 45 SGB III, and the reform did not touch this provision.

In concrete terms:

• An AVGS that has already been issued remains valid until the expiry date printed on it. You can still redeem it with an approved coaching provider.
• The Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit) and the Job Center continue to issue AVGS vouchers. Eligibility is checked case by case, as before. How the application works is explained in our guide on how to apply for an AVGS. What to expect from coaching through the Job Center, and whether you can turn it down, is summarised on that page.
• Coaching funded through an AVGS costs you nothing out of your own pocket.

The second observation is more interesting: with the placement priority, good coaching becomes more important, not less. If you get into placement interviews sooner, you need clear answers sooner. Answers to questions about strengths, goals, availability and mobility. If you go in prepared, you can accept or decline offers with good reasons and won’t slip into a breach of duty by accident.

And if you apply for support, Section 3a(2) gives you an argument: what counts is not the fastest placement but a lasting one. If qualification or coaching is the more promising route there, the law provides an exception for exactly that.

At Good Prospects, we are an approved provider of AVGS programmes. If you want to know whether your voucher fits our AVGS coaching, get in touch with us. With an AVGS, the coaching itself is free for you.

What coaching can do and what it can’t

Be careful with the promises you will read on this topic. Coaching is no protection against sanctions, no trump card against the Job Center and no guarantee of your dream job. What it can do is more concrete and more down to earth.

What coaching can do:

• Prepare you for placement interviews. Clear answers to the standard questions, a realistic profile, a well-founded direction. This lowers the risk of slipping into a breach of duty without meaning to.
• Sharpen your documents. CV and cover letter, aligned with what works in the current market.
• Strategy instead of blind activity. Which jobs really fit, which don’t, and in which order to apply.
• Clarify your own direction when the market is open but your path is unclear.

What coaching can’t do:

• Change anything about your benefit notice. That is a matter for the Job Center and, in a dispute, for the social court (Sozialgericht).
• Guarantee that you get a job. Placement remains a question of probability.
• Carry acute psychological strain on its own. If you notice that the main issue isn’t your application but exhaustion, feeling overwhelmed or a crisis in everyday life, coaching under Section 16k SGB II is the better lever. It is meant for people who need to stabilise before they apply, and here, too, the funding comes through the Job Center, not from you.

One point that few people know, and that makes the decision easier for many: if you don’t start support under Section 16k, or stop it, you are not sanctioned for it. Paragraph 4 of the provision explicitly excludes this case from breaches of duty. So you can try it without risking a sanction.

Three questions to ask yourself now

1. Do I currently have an AVGS, or could one be an option for me? If you have a voucher in a drawer, redeem it before it expires. If you don’t have one, you can ask about it at your next Job Center appointment.

2. Am I prepared for the placement priority? Can you say in two sentences which kinds of work you are looking for, which you would turn down and why? Do you have an up-to-date CV that matches this profile? If not, those are your first steps.

3. Am I stable enough right now to apply at a faster pace? If the honest answer is “no”, an application sprint is not the right response. Stabilisation is. Through your GP, counselling services or coaching under Section 16k SGB II.

Who is entitled to Bürgergeld, now the new Grundsicherung?

Many people still search for this using the old name. The answer applies to both: the renaming on 1 July 2026 did not change the eligibility criteria. What the reform mainly changed are the asset rules, which you’ll find in the table above. The criteria themselves are set out in Section 7 SGB II, and all four must be met:

• Age: You are at least 15 years old and have not yet reached the statutory retirement age.
• Ability to work: You can work at least three hours a day. The test is whether illness or disability prevents this for the foreseeable future.
• Need: Your income and assets are not enough to cover your living costs, and no other body is responsible for covering them first. The asset allowances that apply are in the table above.
• Residence: You normally live in Germany.

Two things are less well known. Even if you work but earn too little, you can receive top-up benefits. What matters is need, not unemployment. And benefits go not only to the people who are able to work themselves, but also to the members of their household (Bedarfsgemeinschaft), such as a partner or children.

Most students and trainees whose education is in principle eligible for BAföG funding are excluded. There are only narrow exceptions. For people without German citizenship, separate rules apply depending on their residence status.

Your Job Center checks and decides whether you meet the criteria. You apply there. And if you want to move forward in your career while you receive support or afterwards, everything above about the AVGS applies.

The reform changes the rules, not your options

The new Grundsicherung demands more commitment. But it also states more clearly what is expected of you and what you can rely on. If you are looking for support along the way, Good Prospects offers individual guidance, free of charge with an AVGS. You’ll find an overview of our locations here.

Frequently asked questions about the Bürgergeld reform 2026

Will I lose my entitlement because of the reform?

No. If you are entitled to the benefit, you stay entitled. Since 1 July 2026, it has been called “Grundsicherungsgeld” instead of “Bürgergeld”. Your existing notice continues to apply until the Job Center issues a new one. The amount and conditions can change over time, as before, but the benefit does not end automatically.

Is my AVGS voucher still valid?

Yes. Activation and Placement Vouchers are regulated in Section 45 SGB III and are not affected by the reform. An AVGS that has already been issued is valid until the date printed on it. The Employment Agency and the Job Center also continue to issue vouchers, decided case by case. The coaching itself costs you nothing.

What happens if I miss a Job Center appointment?

A single missed appointment does not trigger a reduction. Only if you repeatedly fail to respond to a request is the standard rate reduced by 30 per cent, for one month. If you had good reason, the reduction does not apply once you explain and prove it. If you can’t make an appointment, let them know beforehand. A phone call is much easier than an objection (Widerspruch).

Can my rent and heating be cut?

Not through a sanction. Section 31a(4) SGB II states explicitly that the amounts paid for accommodation and heating must not be reduced through a benefit reduction. There is another way in which the entire entitlement can lapse: if you miss three appointments in a row without good reason and are therefore considered unreachable. Even then, rent and heating continue for one more month, and visiting the Job Center in person within that month reverses it.

Is an objection worth it?

More often than many people think. Between July 2025 and June 2026, the Job Centers received around 577,000 objections. 29 per cent of them were upheld in full or in part. These figures come from the statistics of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit). You can lodge an objection against any notice within one month and, in urgent cases, also apply to the social court.

Final tip: When a new notice arrives, put the objection deadline in your calendar the same day. You have one month. That way you can decide calmly instead of under time pressure.