People with Low Income (July 2024)

The study on people with low incomes was conducted by Veian on behalf of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government. In the survey period from 4 July 2024 to 15 July 2024, 1,019 German-speaking people aged 18 and over with a needs-weighted monthly net income of up to EUR 1,500 in Germany (low-income earners) were surveyed in online interviews (CAWI) on the following topics: Burden of inflation and future prospects, ideas of justice, insecurities, financial situation, awareness of reforms of social benefits, assessment of relief measures, use of social benefits and assessment of the new regulations on the Citizen´s Income. The respondents were selected using a quota sample from an online access panel.<br>Concerns about inflation: extent of the impact of general price increases.
Block A - Future prospects: Confidence vs. worries with regard to personal future in the following areas: financial situation, housing situation, health, old-age provision and career prospects; assessment of own children´s future prospects.

Block B - Ideas of justice: Importance of different aspects of justice (intergenerational justice; performance justice, opportunity justice, family justice, distributive justice and needs justice); most important aspects of justice (order).

Block C - (In)certainties: Agreement with statements on own lifeworld (changes in society frighten me, I feel left alone by the state, I have good friends who support me, I am flexible enough to be able to adapt to difficult situations, I can largely determine my own life, in financial emergencies I can rely on the financial support of my parents/siblings or other relatives, I perceive life as a constant struggle, I feel marginalized in society, within the scope of my possibilities I support my friends and family when necessary).

Block D - Financial situation: Change in financial situation in recent years; perceived burden of current price increases in various areas (fuel, purchase of food, costs for craftsmen, heating, electricity, costs for public transport, restaurant visits, visits to events, leisure activities, clothing purchases, costs for hobbies, costs for vacations, travel, hotels, purchase of household items such as furniture, household appliances, rental costs); changes in everyday behavior due to higher prices (I drive less, I heat my home more conservatively, I set the temperature at home lower than usual, I pay more attention to the price when shopping, I only buy food and everyday products that I really need, I buy more expensive products in installments, I make sure I use less hot water, I do without certain leisure activities, I make sure I save electricity, I now use public transport more often, I have postponed larger purchases for the time being, I do without vacation trips, I have canceled memberships and subscriptions, I meet fewer people than before, as joint activities are often associated with additional costs); characterization of the household´s financial situation (my household can usually put some money aside at the end of the month, my household cannot put any money aside at the end of the month, but the money is enough to cover running costs, my household currently has to draw on savings to cover running costs, my household uses credit (consumer credit, instalment credit, overdraft/overdraft facility); use of state benefits by persons in my own household (parental allowance, child benefit, advance maintenance payments, reductions via a social or family pass, unemployment benefit, citizen´s allowance, housing benefit/ Housing Benefit Plus, certificate of eligibility for social housing, education grant/ BAföG); reasons for not claiming the above-mentioned state benefits (because I am not entitled to the benefit, because I do not know whether I am entitled or not, because I do not know who to contact, because I do not feel comfortable applying for such benefits, because I do not want to be dependent on the state).

Block E - Expectations of politics and the welfare state: strength of state support for the household; need for further state support measures; information about state social benefits (I actively inform myself about state social benefits, i.e. I specifically look for information about them, I tend to get information about state social benefits by chance, e.g. via my normal media consumption, neither, both); level of information about state social benefits; awareness of various reforms of social benefits that have already been decided or are planned (introduction of the citizen´s income (abolition of Hartz IV), increase in unemployment benefit, introduction of a basic child benefit, increase in the minimum wage, guarantee of a minimum pension level, increase in child benefit, increase in care allowance for people in need of care, increase in housing benefit and expansion of the group of people entitled to it, increase in contributions to be paid into the pension insurance scheme); evaluation of these reforms of social benefits with regard to more or less social justice in Germany; evaluation of the state relief measures (sufficient, go too far or do not go far enough); Citizen´s income: knowledge of detailed regulations on citizen´s income (e.g. amount, assumption of rent and heating costs, obligations of unemployed persons to cooperate, top-up option, sanctions for breaches of obligations, etc.); assessment of citizen´s income; assessment of these regulations as appropriate; assessment of the gap between citizen´s income and low income as appropriate or large or small; suitable measures to increase the gap between earned income and support income again. Evaluation of the Citizen´s Income; evaluation of these regulations as appropriate; evaluation of the gap between Citizen´s Income and low income as appropriate or difference too large or too small; suitable measures to increase the gap between earned income and support income again (reduce Citizen´s Income, increase minimum wage, reduce income tax, other); current level of Citizen´s Income as an obstacle to work for many recipients of Citizen´s Income; Opinion on the special regulation for Ukrainian refugees (regulation is fine, all refugees should receive Citizen´s Income, Ukrainians should receive less); usefulness of automatic means-testing for social benefits; willingness to agree to automatic means-testing; concerns about the protection of personal data in automatic means-testing.

Demography: sex; age; age groups; federal state; western/eastern region; education; household size; household composition; net household income (threshold value); employment; housing situation (renting/own apartment, own house); location size; party sympathy, migration background (respondent or parents).

Additionally coded: serial number; weighting factor.