The consumption survey of that time is still the basis for the amount of transfer payments (such as maintenance payments), the values were only valorized annually on the basis of the consumer price index. The current data are intended to better reflect today’s realities of life in different types of families. The most important results at a glance:
TWO ADULT HOUSEHOLDS: In a household with two adults, a child costs an average of 494 euros per month (the indirect measurement includes direct expenses for children as well as indirect expenses, for example when a larger apartment is needed). The following applies: the older the child, the more expensive it is. While the average cost for under-14s is 395 euros, for children over 14 it is already 659 euros (data for the first quarter of 2021). More specifically: According to the study, a child under five costs 308 euros a month, and a 20 to 24-year-old costs 703 euros more than twice as much.
SINGLE ADULT HOUSEHOLD: In contrast to the child cost study of the 1960s, this time the focus was not only on a “normal family” made up of father, mother and two children, but also examined the situation of single parents (6.6 percent of Austrian families). In comparison, this is much more expensive for a child, mainly because of the higher fixed costs with a small household size, but also because single parents have older children on average, who generate correspondingly more costs. Specifically, it is an average of 900 euros per month (under 14: 727, over 14: 1,384; under 5: 493 euros, 20 to 24 years: 1,525).
EQUIVALENCE: Statistics Austria has calculated how much more financial resources a household with children would need compared to a household without children in order to achieve the same standard of living. Here, too, single parents are at a disadvantage: A two-adult household would need an income of eleven percent more for one child and 23 percent more for two children. Meanwhile, a single parent would need an increase of 43 percent for one child and 68 percent for two children.
DIRECT MONEY SERVICES: In the study “Monetary Family Benefits 2021”, Wifo also examined which benefits and to what extent one-parent and two-adult households receive. The direct cash benefits (excluding child care and maternity allowance) are still very similar for two-adult households (209 euros per month) and single parents (217 euros for older children on average).
INDIRECT MONEY BENEFITS: From tax benefits, two-adult households get a little more than single parents (EUR 104) at EUR 119 per month, the difference is particularly large with the Family Bonus Plus (EUR 105 compared to EUR 62). Single parents can take advantage of the latter less often because access is more difficult without a partner income. According to the study, you can take advantage of the bonus less often with more children; the restrictions add up for single parents with several children. According to the study, the single parent tax credit can only compensate for part of the disadvantage.
INCOME GROUPS: There is also a big difference when it comes to making full use of monetary family benefits, depending on the income group. Overall, families from the lowest income fifth receive a below-average amount of funds per month at EUR 298, families from the highest income fifth receive an above-average amount at EUR 345. With direct cash benefits, the top earners receive a little more because they are older on average and also have older children (225 versus 214 euros per month). The difference is particularly pronounced when it comes to tax benefits (120 versus 84 euros per month).
Source: Nachrichten
