At its meeting today, the City Council decided to allocate additional funds totalling €11.19 million to the social welfare budget. The additional funds are required to cover rising expenditure in several areas of social security and to reliably guarantee the legally guaranteed support for eligible Chemnitz residents.
The additional expenditure primarily relates to benefits under SGB II, SGB XII and SGB IX. These areas are mandatory tasks that ensure that people in different life situations receive reliable basic services. The main reasons for the rising costs are the higher number of cases, growing scope of services and rising living and care costs nationwide.
In the area of SGB II, expenditure is rising primarily in the area of accommodation and heating costs. The number of benefit communities in 2025 has so far exceeded expectations: Instead of the planned 12,211, an average of 12,616 benefit communities are receiving benefits in the first half of the year. There is also a significant increase in demand for initial furnishings for homes and for the education and participation package - such as for school trips, lunchtime meals or school supplies.
In the area of SGB XII, there has been an increase in expenditure, particularly for basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity, as well as for care and healthcare assistance. More people in Chemnitz are dependent on support, while the costs for accommodation, heating and care are rising at the same time.
Particularly in the area of inpatient care, many of those affected are unable to cover their own contributions from their own resources. In addition, expenditure is increasing for people without health insurance cover, including many Ukrainian benefit recipients, as treatment costs and case numbers are rising.
Costs are also rising in SGB IX, partly due to the nationwide reforms of the Federal Participation Act. Higher remuneration rates, rising case numbers and more cost-intensive individual cases - such as school support or curative education services - are leading to additional requirements.
The additional expenditure can be offset by various sources of funding. For example, the City of Chemnitz has access to a higher federal share of the costs of accommodation due to the Federal Participation Determination Ordinance 2025. There will also be higher reimbursements of federal funds for basic security benefits. Further savings in individual areas, including lower expenses in the area of asylum, unused funds in the area of sport, such as cleaning and energy costs in indoor swimming pools, as well as lower expenditure on central personnel expenses. In addition, the City of Chemnitz received higher needs-based allocations from the Free State of Saxony in 2025 for special burdens in the social sector.
The resolution ensures that all statutory benefits can continue to be granted in full and that people who are dependent on support will continue to receive it reliably.
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