Amsterdam begins €150 monthly cash trial for 300 families to study poverty relief
Three hundred families in Amsterdam began receiving 150 euros per month in unconditional cash payments Thursday as part of a city-run pilot to study the effects of direct financial support on poverty, stress, and well-being, according to a press release from the Municipality of Amsterdam.
The payments are part of Gewoon geld geven (“Just Give Money”), a two-year research program launched in cooperation with Kansfonds and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. The first payments were made May 15, the city said in the statement. Families selected for the program live in the districts of Noord, Nieuw-West, and Zuidoost, receive welfare benefits, and have at least one child under 18 living at home. The participating households were chosen through a lottery system.
The 150 euros monthly gift comes with no conditions or reporting requirements. Families may spend the money however they choose, even if their income later increases or their welfare status changes. “This program gives families breathing room, stability, and dignity,” Deputy Mayor Marjolein Moorman (Poverty and Debt Assistance) said in the press release. “The problem of poverty is simple: people don’t have enough money. And that brings constant stress. Measures from The Hague do not provide relief for these people—on the contrary. That’s why we are taking matters into our own hands. I’m glad that we are now truly getting started in Amsterdam.”
The unconditional payments, which will be reduced gradually after the two-year mark, are funded by Stichting RCOAK, a long-standing Amsterdam philanthropic foundation. The municipality said the total budget for the project is 2.2 million euros, with roughly 1.6 million euros going directly to families. The remaining 600,000 euros will cover implementation and research costs and will be funded by the city of Amsterdam, Kansfonds, Stichting Doen, and Nieuw Geluk Philosophy.
Researchers at the University of Applied Sciences will monitor the 300 participating families, tracking their well-being, health, and financial situations. A separate control group of 300 similar families—who do not receive the 150 euros—will also be followed, according to the press release. The results will be monitored and widely shared once the research concludes. The city called Thursday’s first payout a “key milestone” in the broader study.
Because municipalities are not legally permitted to provide direct income support, the city emphasized that the funds are delivered through independent partners such as Kansfonds and RCOAK.
Moorman said the city is closely tracking how the added income affects household stability and child development. “If some families leave welfare because they find work, that is a beautiful outcome,” she said in the city’s statement. She added that she hopes the national legal minimum income will eventually be raised: “That would reduce social costs in the long term.”
According to the city’s statement, Amsterdam has the highest poverty rate in the Netherlands, with 6.6 percent of residents living below the poverty line. That figure aligns with recent national data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP), and the National Institute for Budget Information (Nibud), which estimate that more than half a million people in the country live in poverty.
The program is part of a larger initiative by Kansfonds, and similar pilots are underway in the municipalities of Tilburg and Zaanstad.
