Around 7.4 million people in Austria have received the climate bonus so far (500 euros for adults, 250 euros for children and young people). The payment ran from August to October. It is now November, but many people have not yet received the climate bonus. About 400,000 payments have not yet been made, according to the Ministry of Climate Change when asked by OÖ Nachrichten.
According to the ministry, these are people who only fulfilled the basic requirement of 183 days of main residence in Austria after the data collection in July 2022. Secondly, it is about people who have had problems with the automated entitlement check by the Ministry of the Interior. How many cases are due to the first reason and how many to the second reason, this question has not yet been answered.
Climate bonus in February 2023
The around 400,000 people will receive their climate bonus in February 2023, according to the Ministry of Climate. You don’t have to take any active steps. “If there are any questions, people can contact us at any time via the web form at klimabonus.gv.at or the hotline 0800 8000 80,” says the Ministry of Climate Protection.
Those affected report to OÖN that the hotline is overwhelmed, and in some cases that there have been incorrect transfers when payments are made.
“When processing the climate bonus, the Ministry of Climate Protection is dependent on the data from the Ministry of the Interior or Ministry of Finance,” says the Ministry of Climate Protection. Claimants could support smooth payouts by updating their details in FinanzOnline.
Around 1.1 million people have received their climate bonus by RSa letter in the form of Sodexo vouchers. According to the Ministry of Climate Protection, 97,709 vouchers were not picked up by the post office (as of November 4th). Eligible persons who could not collect the climate bonus, for example for health reasons, receive a transfer with the climate bonus in the next step. According to the Ministry of Climate Protection, those who have not reported at all will have their vouchers returned to Sodexo, so these people will not receive a climate bonus.
Source: Nachrichten
