If you receive assistance with living expenses or basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity, you can receive one-off needs in addition to the standard needs in the following special situations.

You can also receive benefits for one-off needs,

• if you do not receive social assistance benefits and
• cannot finance the one-off needs yourself.

The one-off needs include

• Initial furnishings for the home including household appliances, for example:
  • when moving into your own home for the first time
  • after a house fire or flood
  • when renting for the first time after serving a longer prison sentence
  • after moving from shared accommodation
  • when leaving a women's or men's home
  • after separation and division of household contents
• Initial provision of clothing, for example
  • after a house fire or flooding
  • in the event of total loss or new needs due to exceptional circumstances. This also includes blatant weight loss due to illness
  • after homelessness
• Initial equipment during pregnancy and childbirth:
  • Initial equipment
  • Maternity clothes
  • Purchase of furniture and other items such as changing table with mat, crib with mattress, bathtub, baby carriage with accessories
• Purchase and repair of orthopaedic shoes
• Repair of therapeutic devices and equipment
• Hire of therapeutic equipment, e.g. subsidizing the personal contribution if the costs are covered by health insurance and, under certain circumstances, if the costs are not covered by health insurance.

As with all social assistance benefits, one-off benefits are subject to financial need. If you do not live alone, the income of all household members living together in the same home will be taken into account, provided they live together. This includes, for example

• earned income
• maintenance payments
• Pension income

Child benefit paid for minors and any maintenance payments for a child are attributed to this child in order to cover their needs.

Certain assets are not considered to be protected assets, for example

• small amounts of cash and financial assets
  • per adult: EUR 10,000
  • per child: EUR 500
• an appropriate house property
• an adequate motor vehicle

These are not taken into account in the calculation of benefits.

Apart from a few exceptional cases, you will not receive benefits for past periods.

• Valid identity card or passport, confirmation of registration if applicable
• Proof of a temporary or permanent full reduction in earning capacity
• Proof of income, for example:
  • Pension,
  • sickness benefit,
  • child benefit,
  • maintenance payments or
  • maintenance advance
• Proof of assets, for example
  • bank statements
  • savings
• Tenancy agreement and subsequent changes, especially with regard to the rent amount
• Proof of expenditure:
  • Rent amount and rent payment
  • Advance payments and statements for service charges and heating costs
  • Documents on insurance premiums
• Proof of health and long-term care insurance, i.e:
  • Details of health insurance company and insurance status or
  • Contract for private health and long-term care insurance
• The scope of the documents required, especially for proof of income and assets, depends on the individual case. Your local social welfare office may request further documents from you, for example
  • current bank statements
  • divorce decrees
  • Contracts for the transfer of assets
  • maintenance titles