Geschwisterbonus: Extra Elterngeld for Young Siblings

The Geschwisterbonus (sibling bonus) gives you extra Elterngeld if you have other young children at home. The idea is that families with multiple small kids need more support.

You can get the sibling bonus if the relevant children live in your household and you meet the statutory care requirements for them. In everyday terms, that usually means:

• •At least one other child under 3 years old, or
• •At least two other children under 6 years old

For a child with a qualifying disability, the age limit is 14. For adopted children, the law uses the time since the child joined your household rather than simply the child's age.

For Basiselterngeld, the sibling bonus is 10% of the Elterngeld amount, with a minimum of €75 per month.

€1,000 Basiselterngeld → €100 sibling bonus €500 Basiselterngeld → €50 would be below the minimum, so the bonus is €75

For ElterngeldPlus, the percentage remains 10%, but the minimum bonus is halved to €37.50.

There is no separate Geschwisterbonus application. Include the relevant children and requested evidence in your Elterngeld application. The Elterngeldstelle then checks whether the conditions are met.

The bonus ends after the month in which an age condition is no longer met.