Do you regularly help a person in need of care in your neighbourhood? Then you could be entitled to 131 euros a month for this. Since 2017, all people in need of care have been entitled to the relief amount (Entlastungsbetrag) paid by the long-term care insurance funds.
The relief amount is intended to enable people in need of care to live a self-determined life in their own four walls and to relieve their relatives. The relief amount is often claimed by care services, but people who support neighbours in their free time can also benefit from it.
Since 2023, a neighbourhood assistance network has been in development in Saxony-Anhalt. It trains and advises volunteer helpers and matches them with people in need of care. The support services include help with shopping or household tasks, accompaniment to appointments with doctors or authorities, as well as shared outings or walks. Regular contact is intended to counteract loneliness among those affected and strengthen neighbourly relationships. Neighbourhood helpers may support up to two people in their everyday lives.
131 euros a month: how to claim the Entlastungsbetrag
“It really is straightforward assistance: without bureaucracy and hurdles, quickly from one person to another,” says Nina Kaiser from AWO SPI, who is responsible for the service point in Halle (Saale) and oversees the free training courses there. In these training sessions, helpers learn to recognise patterns of illness at an early stage and how to respond correctly in an emergency.
Nevertheless, neighbourhood assistance is not a nursing or medical service. “It’s about an exchange of time, attention and small gestures that can make a big difference,” says Kaiser. After successfully completing the training, participants are admitted to the neighbourhood assistance network. Almost 250 people in Halle (Saale) are already taking part.
The requirements are that neighbourhood helpers do not work as professional care workers, are neither related nor related by marriage to the person in need of care, and do not live in the same household. The person in need of care must also have at least care level 1 (Pflegegrad 1). What remains unclear, however, is whether income from the relief amount is tax-free for neighbourhood helpers.
Yvonne Jahn, project manager of neighbourhood assistance in Saxony-Anhalt, recommends making use of the “Übungsleiterpauschale” (tax-free allowance for certain voluntary roles) for volunteer carers of up to 3,000 euros. However, it is not legally certain whether neighbourhood assistance actually counts as voluntary work. They are in dialogue with the Ministry of Social Affairs. So far, however, there have been no queries from the tax offices. People who receive Bürgergeld (citizens’ income) should also discuss in advance with their local Jobcenter whether the expense allowance will be counted as income.
Contact Service Point Halle (Saale):
Nina Kaiser
Mail: n.kaiser@awo-spi.de
Telephone: 0345 68694824
Further Infos: nh-sachsen-anhalt.de