Parental allowance is a support benefit for parents after the birth of a child. Parental allowance replaces part of the lost income if you want to be there for your child after the birth and interrupt or limit your professional work.

If your child was born after July 1, 2015, you can choose between receiving the previous parental allowance (basic parental allowance) and parental allowance plus or combine the two. As parents, you can decide for yourself who receives parental allowance and for how long. In the application, you must specify the months of your child's life for which you would like to apply for parental allowance and which entitlement variant (Basic Parental Allowance / Parental Allowance Plus) you choose. Retroactive payments are only granted for the last 3 months of your child's life before the application is received.

Basic Parental Allowance can only be drawn within the first 14 months of the child's life.

Parental Allowance Plus can also be drawn beyond the first 14 months of life.

Basic Parental Allowance is also paid to parents who are not employed. The basic parental allowance for non-working parents is at least 300.00 euros per month.

Simultaneous receipt of basic parental allowance has been restructured for births from April 1, 2024: Simultaneous receipt of the family benefit by both parents is now generally only possible for a maximum of one month and only within the first twelve months of the child's life. Parents of newborn children with disabilities, parents of twins or multiples and parents of premature babies born at least six weeks before the expected date of delivery are exempt from the new regulation. These parents can continue to receive basic parental allowance as required, in particular for more than one month at a time.