Social Assistance in Austria: Who Gets How Much and Why?

The federal government has anchored a reform of social assistance in its government program. The "Social Assistance NEW" is intended to bring, among other things, a standardization of daily rates across all federal states. Also planned are measures to provide work incentives for parents and a "basic child security" detached from social assistance. The implementation will take longer but is expected to occur within this legislative period.

Partially Different Regulations for Social Assistance in the Federal States

The nationwide requirements are regulated in the Social Assistance Basic Law (SH-GG) created in 2019. The federal states must implement these requirements in more detail (state legislation), with numerous leeways left to them, resulting in partially different regulations depending on the federal state. So far, there has been no comprehensive implementation of the SH-GG in all federal states; in Vienna, there is only partial implementation, and in Tyrol, the old minimum security laws still apply. Below is an overview of the current situation.

Entitlement, Amount, Supplements: The Current Social Assistance Regulations

Who is entitled?

Austrians and persons equated with nationals. Citizens from EU or EEA states only have an unrestricted entitlement to social assistance if they are residing in Austria as employees - or have been living legally in Austria for more than five years. Third-country nationals, on the other hand, generally only have an entitlement to social assistance if they have already lived legally in Austria for more than five years.

Asylum seekers are entitled to social assistance or minimum security from the moment they are granted refugee status. Asylum applicants and persons with the status of "displaced" (such as refugees from Ukraine) are not entitled. Instead, they receive benefits from the so-called "basic provision" (significantly lower than social assistance).

Is there a work obligation?

Social assistance or minimum security is linked to the willingness to use one's own labor force for able-bodied persons. Exempt from this are people of retirement age, persons with childcare responsibilities for children who have not yet reached the age of three (if no suitable childcare option is available) - and also those affected who care for relatives receiving care allowance of at least level three. There is also no work obligation for recipients who provide end-of-life care or care for severely ill children, or those who are in vocational or school training that began before their 18th birthday - and all those affected by disability.

The majority of recipients (55 percent) are not available to the labor market. 36.5 percent are seeking employment and registered with the employment service, 8.5 percent are employed but earn so little that they rely on social assistance. Among those who cannot work, 43 percent are of preschool or compulsory school age or are retired.

Must Assets Be Utilized?

Before social assistance or minimum security can be claimed, existing assets must be utilized. However, there are exceptions: items necessary for employment or the "satisfaction of reasonable intellectual-cultural needs" do not need to be sold. Also exempt are motor vehicles required for professional reasons or due to special circumstances (such as disability or lack of infrastructure). "Reasonable household goods" may also be retained. There is also a so-called "protected asset," which was 7,254 euros in 2025. Condominiums or houses do not need to be utilized if they serve immediate housing needs.

What Is the Amount of the Benefit?

The Social Assistance Basic Law introduced in 2019 provides for maximum amounts instead of minimum levels. For individuals living alone and single parents, the amount in 2025 is a maximum of 1,209 euros. For couples, a maximum amount of around 1,693 euros has been set. Payments are made twelve times a year. In Tyrol, where no social assistance implementation law has been enacted, the rates differ from the other countries with social assistance (for couples around 1,814 euros minimum security instead of around 1,693 euros social assistance).

There are additional cash benefits for children. These can be freely determined by the states, as the Constitutional Court annulled the progressively staggered maximum rates for minors set in the Social Assistance Basic Law in December 2019.

According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, the average benefit amount in 2023 was 802 euros per month per need-based community (this refers to the eligible recipients and can consist of one or more persons, e.g., in a shared household). The highest benefit was in Vorarlberg (921 euros), the lowest in Burgenland (671 euros), with the federal capital Vienna averaging 805 euros among the states.

What Are the Child Supplements?

For children, different regulations apply depending on the federal state. The Basic Law originally provided for maximum rates for children - specifically, that for the third and each additional child, only 5 percent of the equalization supplement reference rate would be granted as social assistance. This regulation was overturned by the Constitutional Court in December 2019, as it was deemed a disadvantage for families with multiple children and thus unconstitutional.

The child reference rates are currently set by the states themselves, with no federal guidelines. An equal cash benefit for each child exists in Burgenland, Carinthia, Salzburg, and Vienna. In the other federal states, benefits decrease with an increasing number of children, e.g., from the second child in Lower Austria and Upper Austria or from the third or fourth child in Tyrol or Vorarlberg. In Vienna, the supplement per child is currently 326.44 euros, the highest, and in Vorarlberg, it is the lowest at 232.13 euros.

Furthermore, the federal states can grant a surcharge for single parents, staggered according to the number of children. The surcharge amount ranges between approximately 145 euros (1st child) and approximately 36 euros (from the 4th child) per month and child (= maximum rates, values 2025).

Is there a "cap" on the benefit amount?

According to the Basic Social Assistance Act, there is already a "cap" on the cash benefit for "household communities," which also applies beyond the maximum amounts for individuals living alone and couples. However, this only applies to adults living in household communities. It must not exceed 175 percent of the so-called net equalization supplement rate for individuals living alone - in 2025, this is approximately 2,116 euros according to the Ministry of Social Affairs. For families with children, this limit does not apply due to the aforementioned decision of the Constitutional Court.

How many affected individuals live solely on social assistance?

Only 27 percent of household communities receive social assistance in full - and thus live solely on it. The rest (73 percent) are so-called "top-up recipients." These individuals also have other income - such as low work income, low unemployment benefits, or low emergency assistance, alimony, sickness benefits, and others. However, since this income is at a level that only partially covers living expenses, social assistance is granted as a supplement.

According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, 16.5 percent of top-up recipients have (low) work income, 36.1 percent receive benefits from the employment service. Another 47.4 percent have other credited income (maintenance, pension, childcare allowance, or others).

What are the expenditures?

The total expenditures for social assistance or minimum security account for only a fraction of the gross domestic product. In 2023, 1.1 billion euros were spent on this according to the Ministry of Social Affairs, which corresponds to 0.23 percent of GDP. Measured against all social expenditures in Austria (146 billion euros), the expenditures for social assistance and minimum security account for 0.8 percent.

(APA/Red)

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