Have those eligible for social assistance heard the calls from the Chamber of Employees (CSL) or the government? A survey carried out by Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (Liser) at the request of the CSL, , explained that potential beneficiaries were not always receiving financial aid for which they were eligible. This could be because they had given it up, because they didn’t know they were entitled to it or because they didn’t even know that it existed.
The latest activity report from the ministry for the family, solidarity, living together and reception of refugees, which is responsible through the National Solidarity Fund (FNS) for granting these social benefits, shows that with regard to the social inclusion income (revenu d'inclusion sociale, or Revis)----the number of applications rose by 15.95% in 2024. This is a record high that hasn’t been seen since 2009, when the number of applications increased by 20.66%. In 2023, the number of new applications was up by 12.2%. Conversely, they were down by 0.36% in 2022.
The coming months will show whether these applications will result in new beneficiaries. As at 31 December 2024, the number of beneficiaries had already risen by around 5.69%, with 10,680 households receiving the inclusion allowance. Of these, around “31.6% have no income to be taken into account,” states the report from the family ministry.
Energy bonus beneficiaries on the rise
Have potential beneficiaries anticipated the forthcoming rise in revis? “As part of the policy to combat poverty and support low-income households, households in precarious situations or living in poverty, and people at risk of social exclusion, many improvements have been made to FNS benefits,” says the report. “The cost-of-living allowance, including an overall 10% increase in its amount, and the energy bonus, the amount of which will triple, are being renewed, a reduced energy bonus is being created and the eligibility criteria for the benefits in question are being substantially lightened.”
Claims for the cost-of-living allowance and energy allowance also rose by 3.46% in 2024, to 35,702. The number of recipients is also up, by 6.72% for the cost-of-living allowance (25,966 households) and by 5.63% for the energy allowance (30,540 households). In 2024, as in 2023, recipients of the cost-of-living allowance received the energy allowance, worth between €200 and €400 depending on the composition of the household. This bonus was also paid to households that were not eligible for the cost-of-living allowance, but whose income did not exceed the limits for this benefit by more than 25%.
Revis is made up of the inclusion allowance--financial assistance that provides basic means of subsistence for people who have no income or whose income does not reach a certain threshold--and the activation allowance-- compensation for people who participate in activation measures under the revis. The amount of the allowance is determined on the basis of the domestic household and its income--the number of adults and children in the household. Applicants must declare their full gross income and all their assets as well as those of their domestic household to the National Solidarity Fund, explains the FNS website.
This article was originally published in .