Minister Corinne Cahen; Credit: ©SIP / Yves Kortum

On Wednesday 20 May 2020, Luxembourg's Ministry of Family, Integration and the Greater Region announced that the government has doubled the cost of living allowance for 2020.

The purpose of this amendment is to provide specific support to low-income people who have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 crisis. Thus, people working in sectors where incomes often correspond to, or are slightly higher than, the social minimum wage have been particularly affected by partial unemployment.

Corinne Cahen, Luxembourg's Minister of Families and Integration, welcomed the adoption of the amendment to the regulation and stressed that this measure was intended to meet the objective of social equity.

Thanks to the modification of the rules, the amount of the allowance will increase from the new rules to (old amounts in brackets):

• €2,640 for a single person (€1,320)
• €3,300 for a household of 2 people (€1,650)
• €3,960 for a household of 3 people (€1,980)
• €4,620 for a household of 4 people (€2,310)
• €5,280 for a household of 5 or more people (€2,640)

Requesting the cost of living allowance

The allowance is granted by the National Solidarity Fund (FNS); on request and under certain conditions. To benefit from the cost of living allowance, the overall annual household income, which is estimated over a reference period of 12 months preceding the month in which the request is made, cannot exceed a certain threshold, as follows:
 
1 person: €25,744.00
2 people: €38,616.00
3 people: €46,339.20
4 people: €54,062.40
5 people: €61,785.60
6 people: €69.508,80
7 people: €77,232.00
8 people: €84,955.19
9 people: €92,678.39
10 people: €100,401.59

Households with a gross annual income that falls between the two thresholds indicated in the table below are entitled to a reduced cost of living allowance, which corresponds to the difference between the amounts of the cost of living allowance obtained normally by an applicant in a comparable situation and the part of the amount of income which exceeds the threshold.

1 person €25,744.01 - €28,383.99
2 people €38,616.01 - €41,915.99
3 people €46,339.21 - €50,299.19
4 people €54,062.41 - €58,682.39
5 people €61,785.61 - €67,065.59
6 people €69,508.81 - €74,788.79
7 people €77,232.01 - €82,511.99
8 people €84,955.20 - €90,235.18
9 people €92,678.40 - €97,958.38
10 people €100,401.60 - €105,681.58

In addition to the condition that the income cannot exceed a certain threshold, the applicant must:

• benefit from a right of residence in Luxembourg;
• be registered in the main register of the National Register of Natural Persons (RNPP);
• actually reside in the place where their habitual residence is established;
• have resided in Luxembourg continuously for 12 months before the month in which the request is made;
• have a modest income, alone or with people who are part of the domestic community at the time of filing the request.

The request for the allowance must be submitted to the SNSF, using a form which is available:

• from the SNSF or on its website www.fns.lu;
• on guichet.lu;
• with municipal administrations.

People who have already had an allowance for this year should not reapply; the difference between the new amount and the amount already received will be paid on 1 July 2020 without any other formality.

People who have already applied to the SNSF for the year 2020 and where the application is still being processed will receive the new allowance amount if all the conditions are met.

People who have not yet applied for an allowance must submit their complete application before 30 September 2020.

For further information, interested parties can consult the SNSF website www.fns.lu or contact the cost of living allowance service at tel: 491081-999 from 08:30 to 11:30.