The government has scrapped a planned cut to social security benefits. The original plan involved reducing efforts to reach out to people who are entitled to financial support but have not yet claimed it. Scrapping this outreach scheme would have saved the government approximately €30 million per year.
To make up for this shortfall, the Minister for Employment, Thierry Aartsen, is accelerating changes to the child budget. Starting in 2027, the income threshold for these payments will be lowered. Parents earning more than roughly €58,000 per year will see their payments reduced; previously, this threshold was set at approximately €60,000.
Aartsen originally proposed the cuts to cover a financial gap in the disability benefits budget. however, the plan faced significant backlash in the House of Representatives. Opposition parties and even some members of the governing coalition argued against the move, supported by various experts.
The National Ombudsman was particularly critical of the proposed cuts. He described it as a “deplorable situation” that people might be left without enough money to live on simply because they were unaware they were entitled to support. This pressure ultimately led the minister to reverse the decision.
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
