Finance Minister Silke Schneider (Greens) presented the key points of the planned adjustment to the state parliament’s finance committee. The background to this is the requirements of the Federal Constitutional Court, which obliges the federal and state governments to ensure “appropriate alimony”.

According to estimates, the planned measure will cost the country around 460 million euros.

Karlsruhe is forcing the federal and state governments to take action

The additional payment is part of a larger debate about civil servant pay in Germany. The The Federal Constitutional Court had already made it clear in 2020 that that the salaries of civil servants must not fall too far behind the general development of income.

Who could particularly benefit

According to initial calculations, civil servants in lower salary groups, such as those in the prison system or the police, could receive additional payments of around 3,000 euros.

For other groups, the lookup from “Kieler Nachrichten” is significantly higher:

• young teachers (salary group A13): around 4,500 euros
• Top civil servants in the B salary: more than 13,000 euros

According to the Ministry of Finance, ministers are entitled to an even higher additional payment, but want to forego this “for political reasons”.

The amounts are currently only estimates. How high the individual allowance is also depends on factors such as family allowances or experience levels.

Salaries should continue to rise in the future

In addition to the additional payment, the salary should be increased structurally. An adjustment of around 3.2 percent is planned for 2025 – with a minimum amount of around 125 euros per month.

For higher salary groups, the increase can even be up to five percent.

From January 2026, the increased salary is expected to rise again by up to four percent.

Civil service costs are rising nationwide

The discussion about higher salaries affects public budgets at a sensitive time. The costs for civil servants and pensioners are already enormous.

The state now pays almost as much money for around 1.4 million pensioners as it does for around 20 million Pensioner. Pension expenditure alone is around 90 billion euros annually – and the trend is rising.

The federal government is therefore also working on a new reform of civil servant pay. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has announced that he will soon present a draft law.

Criticism from politics

The additional expenses are already met with criticism. The CDU financial politician Ole Plambeck warned in the state parliament that the higher salaries of civil servants would noticeably restrict the country’s financial flexibility.

The Civil Service Association defends the adjustment, however. State leader Kai Tellkamp explained that the state cannot simultaneously demand a functioning public service and maintain unconstitutional salaries.