Social minimum income not enough, more people in trouble: National Ombudsman

The social minimum income is not sufficient, the National Ombudsman said in a report. According to Reinier van Zutphen, citizens with a minimum income are increasingly facing problems. The government’s planned minimum wage and benefits increases will only solve those problems to a limited extent. He advocates for a more active and social government.

According to the Ombudsman, whether someone can make ends meet depends too much on where they happen to live. There are significant differences between the support municipalities offer, including in the income limits they apply. Citizens also often do not know what financial support they are entitled to. The rules in the social domain are complicated, and the financial administration takes a lot of time. In addition, people living on the social minimum experience few future prospects and do not see many opportunities to improve their situation.

“Everyone should be able to participate. But we’re still not there yet,” said the ombudsman. “As long as people are in financial trouble, they can’t work on their future.” About a million Netherlands residents have to get by on an income around the social minimum - the minimum amount needed to cover basic living expenses. Current inflation and high energy and housing costs are causing additional problems.

The ombudsman argued for an adequate social minimum income regulated by the government. Municipalities can then invest their people, resources, and time in guiding citizens to work and education. He believes the government should visit citizens on its own initiatives and point them toward the facilities and support they are entitled to. It would be even better if these were automatically allocated, Van Zutphen said. He also believes the government should use wider bandwidths to classify income groups. Changing circumstances in people’s lives would then not immediately lead to them having to repay received benefits.