How secure is your household really if the income stops?

Two households, similar income, very different protection. What makes a real safety buffer, and what most people forget to factor in.

Most people roughly know what's in their account. Few know how long that money lasts if the income stops tomorrow. That isn't an academic question. Short-time work, dismissal, illness, caring for a relative, divorce: for most households, one of these triggers isn't a question of whether, but of when.

The figures below are model calculations with plausible example assumptions. Your household is different. Miravel calculates with your numbers.

The same starting point, two very different outcomes

Miriam is 34, works as a marketing manager, and earns €3,200 gross a month. Her partner earns €2,400 gross. Together: €5,600 gross, around €3,800 net. Their monthly spending: €2,900. Reserves: €8,200.

Jörg is 41, an engineer, €5,800 gross. His partner doesn't work. Net: around €3,500. Spending: €2,200. Reserves: €40,000.

At first glance, similar households: both in the dual-earner range or just below it, both with no conspicuous spending, both with reserves. What happens if Miriam loses her job?

Miriam's household: protected by two incomes

Miriam has worked continuously in employment subject to social insurance over the last twelve months and so meets the qualifying period for unemployment benefit I (ALG I, Arbeitslosengeld I). Her ALG I isn't calculated from her actual net pay, but from a flat-rate net pay: gross minus a flat 20 percent social insurance, minus flat-rate wage tax by tax class. At €3,200 gross, the flat-rate net pay is around €2,220. ALG I is 60 percent of that: around €1,330 a month.

Miriam's household income while drawing ALG I: €1,180 partner income net plus €1,330 ALG I = around €2,510. Spending: €2,900. Monthly gap: around €390. With €8,200 in reserves, that gap can be bridged for around 21 months. For that long, the second income keeps the household stable without spending having to fall.

It can be bridged as long as the second income keeps running, and that's exactly where Miriam's real protection lies. The risk is in the dependence on both incomes: if the second one stops too, the small gap immediately becomes a large one, and the same reserves only carry the household for a few weeks. A single-person household with the same numbers wouldn't have this buffer at all.

Miravel factors this in as soon as you enter your household income and spending. You see the gap, the time buffer, and what needs to change for the household to stay stable.

Jörg's household: a buffer without a second income

Jörg has no second source of income. If he loses his job, his entire household income falls away. His ALG I is calculated on the same principle: a flat-rate net pay is derived from €5,800 gross, and 60 percent of that is taken. That comes to around €2,180 a month. So his ALG I covers his spending of €2,200 in the first year almost exactly, leaving a small gap of around €20 a month that he absorbs from his reserves without them shrinking noticeably.

After twelve months, the ALG I ends (with two years of employment in the reference period). Then his running costs of €2,200 have to be covered entirely from reserves. With €40,000 in reserves and €2,200 of monthly need: around 18 months until the savings are used up. After that, Bürgergeld would come into play for him, which for a single earner with assets above the allowance only kicks in once those are used up.

Jörg is more comfortably placed than Miriam. But not forever. One year of ALG I, then 18 months of reserves: that gives him around two and a half years of runway before he runs into financial trouble. That sounds long. It's shorter than most people would intuitively guess when someone with €40,000 in reserves is standing in front of them.

Miravel works through the trajectory: what falls away first, how long the reserves carry, when the household slips into a coverage gap.

What ALG I is and who gets it

Unemployment benefit I is an insurance benefit, not a welfare benefit. Anyone who was in employment subject to social insurance and paid contributions for at least 12 of the last 30 months (the reference period under § 142 SGB III) is entitled. The benefit runs between 6 and 24 months depending on how long you were employed.

Anyone who resigns or signs a termination agreement risks a blocking period (Sperrzeit) of up to 12 weeks, during which no ALG I is paid. The insurance entitlements don't lapse, but the start is delayed. That's a concrete financial difference many people only notice once they file the claim.

Anyone who comes to Germany without a job, or who has never worked here in employment subject to social insurance, has no ALG I entitlement. That also affects many migrants who arrive from countries with which Germany has no social security agreement. In those cases, where need is established, there's Bürgergeld, but the entitlement depends on residence status and asset limits.

A special situation: moving from Ukraine

Many Ukrainians who have come to Germany since 2022 worked in Ukraine and paid pension contributions. A social security agreement between Germany and Ukraine was indeed signed in 2018 and ratified by Germany, but it hasn't yet come into force, because the Ukrainian parliament hasn't ratified it so far (as of June 2026). That means: Ukrainian employment periods currently don't count toward German ALG I entitlements.

Anyone who moved to Germany from Ukraine and started working here builds up ALG I entitlements only through German employment periods. After 12 months of employment subject to social insurance in Germany, an entitlement to 6 months of ALG I arises. Before that, this buffer doesn't exist. That's a concrete gap that shows up in household planning.

Miravel factors this in as soon as you enter your employment start and history. You see when the buffer kicks in and what the reserves have to do before then.

What long-term security really comes down to

An emergency fund of three months of spending is the standard recommendation. It's roughly right, but it's incomplete. What matters isn't just the size of the reserves, but also: how big is the monthly gap if the income falls away? Which insurance benefits run for how long? How high are the fixed costs that can't be cut at short notice?

Miriam's household is less secure than Jörg's, but not because of the reserves alone. It's less secure because both incomes are needed to cover the running costs. If one falls away, a gap appears immediately. That Jörg doesn't have this gap in the first year is down to his ALG I alone.

Long-term financial security comes from three factors together: a ratio of spending to income that leaves a buffer; reserves that cover at least three to six months of full spending; and insurance entitlements that carry a transition phase without income. Miravel shows all three factors in one simulation.

Frequently asked questions

How exactly is my ALG I calculated? ALG I is 60 percent (without a child) or 67 percent (with a child) of the flat-rate net pay. The flat-rate net pay isn't your actual net pay, but is calculated by law: from gross pay, minus flat-rate taxes and social contributions. The exact amount depends on your tax class and contribution rates.

How long do I get ALG I? That depends on how long you've worked in employment subject to social insurance in the last 30 months. With 12 to 15 months of employment: 6 months of ALG I. With 24 to 30 months: up to 12 months. From age 58 and with long employment: up to 24 months.

What happens after ALG I? If ALG I runs out and you still don't have new work, you can apply for Bürgergeld (formerly Hartz IV). Bürgergeld is means-tested: assets above the protected allowance (in the one-year grace period, €40,000 for the first person plus €15,000 for each additional one, after that around €15,000 per person) have to be used up first. The benefit secures the subsistence minimum, but not your previous standard of living.

I immigrated here and haven't worked long yet. Am I entitled to ALG I? That depends on which country you come from and how long you've worked in employment subject to social insurance in Germany. With EU states and many other countries there are agreements that count foreign employment periods. With Ukraine such an agreement is signed but not yet in force. Without recognition, the rule is: an ALG I entitlement only arises after 12 months of German employment.

What sets Miravel apart from an ALG I calculator? An ALG I calculator shows the monthly amount. Miravel shows what that means for your whole household: how long the reserves last, where the coverage gap appears, and when which measures would be needed. The difference isn't the calculation of the ALG I, but how it fits into your overall financial picture.