From 1 January next year, allowances for families with children will go up. The corresponding bill was tabled at the respective Chamber committee on Monday morning. For a child up to 12, child benefit will climb by €45 a month, while for older children the increase comes to €60.
The so-called school start allowance will be set at €175 in August 2027 for children aged 6 to 11, and at €325 from age 12 upwards.
The opposition was broadly satisfied that the increases went above the reference budget calculated by STATEC.
Claire Delcourt of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) pointed out that the adjustments could also have been applied retroactively, as had been suggested in the opinion of the Chamber of Employees. Under that scenario, the new school start allowance could already have applied for this coming September.
Family Minister Max Hahn replied that a cut-off point had to be chosen. The priority, he said, had been to bring the changes in before the tax reform. If they come into effect at the start of next year, the country will still be a full year ahead of the 2028 reform.
Alongside existing benefits, a socially targeted top-up for school-age children will be introduced from next year. Depending on income, a family may receive up to €3,000 a year.
Here, Hahn said, it had been important also to give households a chance to benefit even where their salary sits slightly above the threshold. For that reason, eligibility has been extended up to 40% above the ceiling that would normally cut families off from the aid. The amount received would then be correspondingly lower, but families would still get something.
According to déi Gréng (Green) MP Djuna Bernard, the adjustments are a step in the right direction. The party now wants to keep a close eye on how easily the aid actually reaches families.
Wherever possible, payments should be made automatic, Hahn told the committee. According to the Zukunftskeess (CAE), the non-take-up rate is currently close to zero. Applying for child benefit is a matter of course for parents after the birth of a child, and the school start allowance is already automated and paid out every August.
For Marc Baum of déi Lénk (the Left), it is important that child benefit remains a universal right and continues to be paid to everyone. That, he said, also strengthens public acceptance of the scheme. The Left welcomed the bill, in particular because the increase comes in above the reference budget.
