More than one third of adults received care allowance

Under the Care Allowance Act  Dutch tax authorities paid an allowance to more than 38 percent of the population aged 18 years and older in 2006. A total 2.4 billion euro was paid out in these allowances.

Care allowance paid to 4.9 million people

In 2006 4.9 million people in the Netherlands, one third of the adult population, received  the so-called care allowance. This is the equivalent of 480 euro per claimant. The care allowance varied between 24 euro (minimum amount) and 1,155 euro (maximum amount) per year. As it is income-related,  the lower the (combined) income, the higher the allowance.

Care allowance claimants, 2006

Claimants with partner receive 690 euro on average

Nearly 1.3 billion euro of the total care allowances was paid to 1.8 million people who had a partner. This is an average 690 euro. The average combined income of the claimant and his/her partner was 25.6 thousand euro.

Some 800 million of the 2.4 billion euro was paid to people younger than 65 years. With an average combined income of 26.8 thousand euro the average amount of the combined care allowance came to 620 euro. One in four of the claimants older than 65 years with a partner received the maximum amount of 1,155 euro. 

Amounts of care allowance received, 2006

Over 3 million claimants without partner

The more than 3 million people without a partner receiving a care allowance received 360 euro on average. The average income of these recipients was 11.6 thousand euro. Some 1.3 million of them were younger than 30 years. They received 370 euro on average. Four out of five received the maximum allowance of 403 euro.

Annual income of care allowance claimants, 2006

Eighty percent of claimants have foreign background

Four out of five of the 4.9 million people claiming the care allowance had a native Dutch background. They received an average 480 euro. People with a western foreign background received the same amount.
One in ten claimants had a non-western foreign background, they received 530 euro on average. 

Hans Kasperski and Peter Meuwissen