Mistakes made in purchasing power figures; workers have less spending money

Working Dutch have less money left over this year than Minister Wouter Koolmees of Social Affairs and Employment reported on Budget Day, due to an error made in the purchasing power figures. The figures for next year are correct, the Minister wrote in a letter to parliament, RTL Z reports.

All workers saw their purchasing power decrease. Single parents with a modal income even saw their purchasing power decrease by 0.3 percent, instead of the 0.1 percent increase Koolmees reported in September.

Due to the error, the purchasing power of non-workers was also wrongly calculated, but with a positive effect. Pensioners and people on welfare did have less to spend this year, but the setback is not as large as reported. For some, such as single pensioners, there was even an increase in purchasing power.

The error came in during the calculations of what households spend on their healthcare deductibles. As pensioners spend more on their own care than working people, they pay more, according to the broadcaster. This difference was taken into account when calculating the purchasing power figures for this year, but not for last year. As a result, elderly people's expense suddenly appeared to skyrocket, while this was not the case. On the other side, working people's expenses seemed to drop, but that was also not the case.