Half of Luxembourg’s benefits go abroad

In 2024, Luxembourg’s public expenditure on family benefits reached €1.06 billion. These funds were distributed among 121,800 recipients, with the trend in payments showing steady growth: funding increased by 1.1% compared with the previous year and by almost 6% compared with 2022. These figures were presented by the Minister for Family Affairs, Max Han.

An analysis of the geographical distribution of funds shows that 47% of the total amount – around €500 million – is transferred abroad. The main recipient is France, which received €293.1 million (27.6% of the total). Belgium accounts for €102.2 million (9.6%), and Germany for €71 million (6.7%). It is noteworthy that payments to countries outside the European Union account for a statistical margin of error of just 0.04%.

The distribution of social security contributions closely mirrors the employment structure in the Grand Duchy. By the end of 2024, cross-border workers accounted for 47% of the total workforce. At the same time, statistics reveal demographic differences between employee groups: whilst German cross-border workers make up 11.1% of the labour market, they receive only 6.7% of benefits. In contrast, French workers, who make up 25% of the workforce, account for 27.6% of benefit payments, indicating a higher birth rate in this category compared to their German counterparts.