Dutch households with low incomes, who received an energy allowance in 2022, saw their purchasing power increase last year. That appears from new figures which the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) published on Thursday. The purchasing power of social assistance recipients increased by 4.4 percent in 2022. Without the compensatory energy measures, they would have faced a decline of 4.5 percent.
Due to high inflation, the Dutch population as a whole suffered a decline in purchasing power of 1.2 percent last year. If the government had not introduced an energy surcharge, the decrease would have been 2.9 percent, according to CBS calculations.
Pension recipients actually deteriorated. Their purchasing power fell by as much as 3.1 percent. Without the energy measures, the decline in purchasing power for this group would have been 4.4 percent.
Decrease for most incomes
High-income populations also experienced a decline in purchasing power. The 10 percent of Dutch people with the highest incomes saw their purchasing power fall by 4.6 percent.
The lower the income, the lower the decline. But every income group except the 10 percent lowest incomes saw their own purchasing power decline. For example, Dutch people in the second ’10 percent group’ — or the households with the 10 to 20 percent lowest incomes — experienced a decline of 2.2 percent.
In 2022, the government gave low-income households an energy allowance of around 1,300 euros due to high energy prices. In addition, all Dutch households with a so-called small-scale connection received a total of 380 euros discount on their energy bill in November and December of last year.
Students go to court
In many cases, only students could not claim the energy allowance. They therefore went to court in several cities. In Amsterdam, the court ruled that the municipality wrongly made a distinction between low-income households and student households.
In 2023, students who receive a supplementary grant will be able to claim the energy allowance. Meanwhile, outgoing minister Carola Schouten (Poverty Policy, Christian Union) announced in July that the group is entitled to a one-off benefit of 400 euros this year. The allowance for students is still much lower than for other eligible households. They can again receive a maximum of 1,300 euros in 2023.
Statistics Netherlands uses purchasing power trends to calculate how much an average household can buy compared to the previous year. The last time that purchasing power development was negative like this year was in 2013. Then there was a decline of 1.1 percent.
Also read: Inflation is felt by several income groups: ‘I have to choose between fruit or dinner’