How this site works out payment days

Every date on this site has one of three origins, and every table says which: an official list (Kindergeld, the 2026 pension dates), a statutory rule we apply against the calendar of bank business days (pension 2027, Grundsicherungsgeld, unemployment benefit), or a guide date where the statute only says "in advance" or "during the month" and the office picks the day (housing benefit, BAföG, parental allowance). All tools run in your browser; nothing you select leaves your device. Sources last read on 28 October 2026.

The bank business day calendar

Money is only credited on days when banks post transfers. We count Monday to Friday as bank business days, except the nine nationwide holidays: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, 3 October under Article 2(2) of the Unification Treaty, and 25 and 26 December. Six of them are also closing days of the TARGET payment system. Holidays that only apply in some states, such as Corpus Christi, do not move nationwide payment runs. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are bank business days: the pension insurance pays on 31 December. Easter comes from the PTB version of Gauss's formula, checked against a second method for 1900 to 2200.

The rule for each benefit

  • Pension starting April 2004 or later: last bank business day of the month it covers (section 118(1) SGB VI).
  • Pension starting before April 2004: last bank business day of the month before (section 272a SGB VI), also for a survivor's pension that directly follows such a pension.
  • Grundsicherungsgeld (formerly Bürgergeld): monthly in advance (section 42 SGB II); according to the Federal Employment Agency the money is usually there one calendar day before the month. If that day is a weekend or holiday, we use the bank business day before.
  • Unemployment benefit: monthly in arrears (section 337(2) SGB III); per leaflet 1, available on the first working day of the next month.
  • Housing benefit and BAföG: monthly in advance (section 26(2) WoGG, section 51(1) BAföG). There is no nationwide day; we show the first bank business day of the month as a guide.
  • Parental allowance: during the month of life it covers (section 6 BEEG). A month of life starts on the birth date and ends the day before the same date next month; if that date does not exist (31 January), it ends on the last day of the month.

Kindergeld: the Familienkasse list, never extrapolated

The Familienkasse pays by the last digit of the Kindergeld number, spread over the month, with no published formula. We therefore copy the Familienkasse payment list day by day. The live page shows October to December 2026 and all of 2027; January to September 2026 come from the Internet Archive copy of that page from 1 January 2026. For 2028 the site shows nothing until the Familienkasse publishes. A test checks that each of the 240 dates is a bank business day and that the digits run in order within a month.

Tests

Automated tests run on every change: the engine must reproduce the twelve 2026 dates of the German Pension Insurance, from 30 January 2026 to 31 December 2026; the TARGET closing days for 2026 and 2027 must match the ECB list; months of life must follow each other without a gap; the calendar file must follow the iCalendar format.

Limits

A date here is the day the money should be in your account under the rule. For Kindergeld there is expressly no right to a particular day. A first payment after an application, back payments, garnishment, a new bank account or a check by the office can move it. This site does not calculate amounts. Your award notice has the final word.

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Publisher of an independent calendar of German benefit payment days: child benefit, pension, basic income support, unemployment benefit, parental allowance, housing benefit and BAföG

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As of 2026, dates and statutes checked on