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Berlin – Poverty continues to hit single-parent families particularly hard. Of the approximately 1.7 million single parents with minor children, around 41 percent were low-income in 2023. This is reported by the Bertelsmann Foundation.

By comparison, between eight percent of couples (with one child) and 30 percent (with three or more minor children) were considered at risk of poverty.

A good 82 percent of single-parent families consist of a single mother with her children, and just under 18 percent of families consist of a single father. Despite occasional relief, their often precarious situation, which has been known for years, has hardly improved.

Relative income poverty – or the risk of poverty – affects people who have less than 60 percent of the median income of all households. Of the 8.5 million families in Germany with children under 18, single-parent families make up around 20 percent.

The slight increase since 2019 to currently around 1.7 million single-parent families with minor children can also be attributed to refugees from Ukraine. There are regional differences in the proportion of single parents.

The study concludes that the relative poverty among many single parents cannot be attributed to a lack of employment. “71 percent of single mothers and 87 percent of single fathers work.”

The financially difficult situation is often due to a lack of maintenance payments – only about half of single parents receive regular and complete maintenance for their children. Reforms such as maintenance advances or child allowances have not yet significantly improved the stressful situation for many single parents.

According to a Bertelsmann study, basic child benefit could improve the situation of some single parents. However, the amount – i.e. the subsistence level – would have to be re-determined, which the current draft does not do. The current benefits are inadequate.

Associations spoke of a “scandal”, called for more support and pointed out above all that the children are suffering. “It is a scandal that the federal government is not finally putting an end to the poverty of families and their children,” criticized the Diakonie.

The children’s welfare organization emphasized: “Child poverty must not be a question of family structure.” In order to break the cycle of poverty, in addition to material security, there is also a need for an appropriate infrastructure for single parents, “poverty-proof” wages, affordable housing and flexible childcare options.

The German Social Association sees “alarming results” and, among other things, demands that the “unfair wage gap between men and women” be closed. According to the DGB, politicians have a responsibility to create better framework conditions.

The social association VdK called for a “good basic child benefit at a sufficient level.” The Association of Single Mothers and Fathers also sees “a lot of room for improvement” here. According to the Bertelsmann Foundation, the reform is “only” a first step. © dpa/aerzteblatt.de