Germany Plans to Scrap Leave Pay for Parents Earning Over €150,000
- Measure seen pushing some working women into unpaid childcare
- Social spending cuts come as officials prioritize defense
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Germany plans to halve the income ceiling at which families stop being eligible for government benefits while taking parental leave, a move which critics say risks backfiring on working women.
Parents with a joint taxable income above €150,000 ($163,190) will no longer receive leave payments, Family Affairs Minister Lisa Paus told German broadcaster n-tv on Tuesday. That’s down from a previous threshold of €300,000, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday described as “very, very high” and therefore worth reconsidering.