Hartz IV calculation: contributions for motor vehicle liability insurance can be deducted from income. The income of a basic security receiver is to be credited thereby in smaller height on ALG II requirement.
By judgment of 27. November 2015, the Eleventh Senate of the Lower Saxony-Bremen Regional Social Court ruled that motor vehicle liability insurance must be deducted from the income of a basic income support recipient even if the recipient is merely the keeper and not the owner of the vehicle or the policyholder of the liability insurance policy.
As a result, the income of the basic security recipient is to be credited to a lesser extent against his or her unemployment benefit II entitlement, which increases the amount of unemployment benefit II paid out.
Jobcenter does not recognize contributions for car insurance
The plaintiff was a recipient of basic social security benefits who received child benefit and supplementary unemployment benefit II. The defendant Jobcenter considered the child benefit as income, from which an insurance lump sum of 30 euros was deducted.
The remaining amount was deducted as income from the woman's entitlement to unemployment benefit II. The plaintiff did not agree with this method of calculation. You also wanted to have the premiums for a motor vehicle liability insurance policy deducted from the income, so that only a smaller amount of your own income should be counted towards the basic income support entitlement.
This would increase the entitlement to unemployment benefit II. It is undisputed that the motor vehicle is registered in the name of her mother and that she is also the policyholder, but she herself is the owner of the vehicle, uses it alone and also pays the insurance premiums. In the first instance, the plaintiff was unsuccessful. With judgement of 12. June 2013, the Social Court of Hanover dismissed the claim.
Beneficiary does not have to be the owner of the vehicle
Reversing the decision of the Social Court, the Lower Saxony-Bremen Regional Social Court stated in its ruling that, in addition to the flat-rate insurance allowance of 30 euros per month, contributions for legally required private insurance, such as motor vehicle liability insurance, are separately deductible from income.
For this to be the case, the Ninth Senta judges* said, it is not necessary that the beneficiary be the owner of the vehicle or the policyholder of the automobile liability insurance policy, or that the vehicle be registered to him or her. It is sufficient if the policyholder is the owner of the vehicle, i.e. if he actually uses the vehicle himself and also demonstrably bears all costs associated with the operation of the vehicle.
A recipient of unemployment benefits is allowed to take advantage of the financial benefits that can occur when the owner of a vehicle is not the policyholder, just like anyone else.
Beneficiary may be eligible for benefits related to holder status
Unambiguously the national social court pointed out that the opinion of the job center, according to which only the policyholder can deduct the contributions of the motor vehicle insurance, finds no support in the law.
The SGB II basically allows every person entitled to benefits who is capable of working an appropriate motor vehicle without a necessity test, since this serves to promote mobility and thus to facilitate the taking up of employment. In this respect, it must also be possible for the beneficiary to claim the benefits in connection with the holder's status.
Due to the fundamental importance of the case, the Lower Saxony-Bremen Regional Social Court allowed an appeal to the Federal Social Court.
Annotation:
The deduction of premiums for a motor vehicle liability insurance from the income of the beneficiary in accordance with § 11 para. 2 sentence 1 no. 3 Social Code II (old version), § 11 para.1 sentence 1 no. 3 Social Code II (new version) does not require that the beneficiary be the policyholder of the motor vehicle liability insurance taken out for the relevant vehicle.
It is therefore sufficient that he is holder. The owner of a vehicle is the person to whom the vehicle in question is given for his or her own use on a more than very temporary basis and who actually pays for all costs associated with the operation of the vehicle.
Because the claimant met these requirements, the outcome of the state welfare court's decision that she can claim benefits related to holder status is a welcome one.