Bertelsmann study: Over 80% of eligible children miss out on €15 monthly participation benefit amid wide regional gaps

What the study found

The Bertelsmann Stiftung analysis, published on 20 July 2026, estimates that more than eight out of ten eligible children and adolescents do not receive the monthly €15 benefit for social and cultural participation. Among 6- to under-15-year-olds, only 18 percent take up the benefit; for 15- to under-18-year-olds, the figure drops to 12 percent. The uptake is even lower for young people receiving social welfare or covered by the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. The school supplies allowance of €195 per year (€130 for the first school half-year and €65 for the second) reaches 78 percent of younger children whose parents receive basic income support, leaving one in five without help for notebooks, pens and other learning materials. Only 37 percent use the subsidised school lunch, and the rate falls to about one in ten for older adolescents.

Regional disparities

The study highlights stark differences between federal states. In Schleswig-Holstein, 59 percent of eligible younger children receive the participation benefit, the highest rate nationwide. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern follows with 38 percent. At the other end, Berlin, Hamburg and Rhineland-Palatinate each reach only about one in ten eligible children. Hamburg's rate for 6- to 15-year-olds is just 9 percent, tying with Rhineland-Palatinate for last place. Saarland records 15.7 percent for the younger group and 6.7 percent for older adolescents, while Hesse reports 12.3 percent and 6.3 percent respectively. The Bertelsmann Stiftung says it cannot fully explain why the gaps are so large, but notes that the uptake is too strongly dependent on the parents' place of residence.

Bureaucratic hurdles

Antje Funcke, family policy expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, attributes the low uptake to administrative obstacles rather than a lack of need.

The low usage is not because the children have no need. Rather, the amount is small and the path to get there is very cumbersome.

She points to differing approval and application procedures across states, complex forms and extensive documentation requirements that make it difficult for parents to apply. The foundation calls for benefits to be paid out without separate applications, for responsibilities to be bundled and for authorities to be better digitally connected, which would also relieve municipal administrations.

Data gaps and recommendations

The study also notes that no precise statistics exist on how many children are entitled to the benefits and how many actually use them. The Bertelsmann Stiftung derived its estimates by comparing the number of approvals with the number of people receiving the relevant social benefits. For children from families receiving housing benefit or child supplement, it is not even known how many claim the benefits. The foundation urges automatic payment to reduce bureaucracy and ensure the support reaches those in need.

## Background The education and participation package was introduced in 2011 by the then federal government of CDU/CSU and FDP. It covers contributions for school trips and daycare outings, pupil transport, subsidised school lunches, learning support, club sports, music lessons and holiday activities. Fifteen years after its launch, the study concludes that the package is failing to reach the majority of its intended beneficiaries.