450,000 never claimed healthcare allowances

A massive 450 thousand Dutch people did not claim the healthcare allowance they were entitled to last year, according to an analysis by comparison website Independer. Some 100 million euros was left unclaimed, RTL Nieuws reports.

Dutch persons are entitled healthcare allowance up to an income of 29,500 euros. For couples, the cutoff point is a joint income of 37,500 euros.  People with the lowest incomes get up to 1,128 euros per person per year in healthcare allowance. 

According to Independer, people often don't claim their allowance because they fear they will have to pay money back later. That fear is not completely unfounded - if you take your healthcare allowance in advance and earn more money than you expected, there is a good chance that you will have to repay part of it. But if you claim your allowance for last year now, there is no risk of having to pay money back, because you already know exactly how much you earned last year. 

You still have until September 1st to claim your healthcare allowance for last year, according to the broadcaster.