The parental allowance replaces the previous child-raising allowance. It is intended to provide parents with a financial basis to enable them to interrupt or reduce their employment due to a newborn child. This support is only granted on a temporary basis.

Parental allowance is paid to the father and mother for a maximum of 14 months, and both parents are free to divide the period between them. One parent can receive parental allowance alone for a maximum of twelve months, with a further two months reserved for the other parent. Furthermore, in order to receive parental allowance for a total of 14 months, one parent must have a reduction in earned income for at least two months.

Since 01.07.2015, parental allowance and parental leave have become much more flexible than before thanks to "Parental Allowance Plus".

For each multiple sibling, the parental allowance, as well as the Parental Allowance Plus, increases by 300.00 euros per month.

Responsibility lies with the district, municipality, joint municipality and town in which the parents reside and must be applied for in writing. Information, explanations and applications as well as the parental allowance office responsible for the place of residence are also available on the website of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Social Affairs, Health and Equality.

Parental Allowance Plus is paid for double the period and can be applied for births from July 1, 2015. In concrete terms, this means that 1 month of parental allowance then corresponds to 2 months of Parental Allowance Plus.

If the parents share the care of their child and work between 25 and 30 hours per week for 4 months at the same time, they will also receive the partnership bonus in the form of 4 additional Parental Allowance Plus months each. The eligibility requirements must be met by both parents for 4 consecutive months.

Responsibility lies with the district, the independent city, some municipalities and cities belonging to the district as well as the cities and municipalities of the Hannover region. Information, explanations and applications, as well as the office responsible for the place of residence, are also available on the website of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Social Affairs, Health and Equality (MS).