Nearly 5.4 million people in Germany receive Bürgergeld — social benefit payments that cover a wide range of needs, from the unemployed to the working poor to adults with disabilities.

Bürgergeld has been controversial since its inception in 2022, it became a routine talking point for conservatives who opposed its creation.

However, a new study by the Bertelsmann Foundation shows that administration is the main force driving up the cost of welfare, and that too little is invested in getting the unemployed into work.

The federal government deputizes regional and municipal agencies called Jobcenters to oversee who qualifies for Bürgergeld, as well as provide career counseling and shepherd the unemployed into training and education programs. For that, they received €10.7 billion ($11.6 billion) in 2024. However, "in the past 10 years, administrative costs have risen by 39%, reaching 6.5 billion euros," the study found.

"Some Jobcenters spend as much as 70% of their budget" on bureaucracy, it added.

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Tobias Ortmann, who worked on the project for Bertelsmann, told DW that major budget reforms and a drastic reworking of the Jobcenters' one-size-fits-all approach are needed to fight the bloat.

"The heterogeneity of benefit recipients must be taken into account so that funds are not only allocated on a flat-rate basis," he said, highlighting that issues like disability,

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