You are eligible for an interest-free loan for the time you are caring for close family members.
The loan:
- Is intended to help cushion the loss of earnings you incur due to the reduction, or elimination, of earned income,
- is paid out in monthly installments,
- must be repaid in installments after the end of the leave of absence,
- is applied for at the Federal Office for Family and Civil Society Tasks.
The monthly loan installments are granted in the amount of half the difference between the flat-rate monthly net salaries before and during the family caregiver leave, or caregiver leave.
The decisive factor for calculating the flat-rate monthly net salary before the leave of absence is the monthly gross salary without taking into account benefits in kind paid in the last 12 months. One-time payments and other remuneration (such as vacation pay or bonuses) are taken into account in the calculation.
Even in the case of a complete leave of absence during the caregiver leave, a fictitious gainful employment of 15 hours is assumed for the calculation of the loan. Therefore, the loan replaces a maximum of half of the difference between the income before the care leave and the fictitious income from 15 hours per week.
The loan installments are transferred to the specified account at the beginning of each calendar month in which the eligibility requirements are met.
You also have the option of applying for a lower loan - up to a minimum of 50 euros per month. You have to take the loan as a priority before receiving means-tested social benefits. When calculating social benefits, a loan granted will always be counted as income to you.
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