Starting March 1, Parents of Teens to See Major Cut in Child Benefits

For many households, child benefits are a crucial support in their daily lives. Available from the second dependent child under the age of 20, these benefits vary depending on the household’s income. For instance, for two children, the monthly amount can range from 37.77 euros to over 150 euros, and this amount increases with the number of children. This financial aid is designed to assist parents throughout their children’s growth, especially helping with the rising costs associated with schooling, activities, or equipment, which typically surge during adolescence.

However, starting March 1, 2026, parents of teenagers will no longer receive the same benefits as before. A governmental decree will change a key component of this aid. The aim is to reallocate funds to finance a new birth leave policy, set to start in the summer of 2026. To support new parents, the government will reduce the aid provided to families with older children. This measure is expected to save the government approximately 210 million euros in 2026, and nearly 1.2 billion euros by 2030.

Specifically, the reform targets the increase in family allowances. Until now, families received a monthly supplement for each child starting at age 14. Going forward, this benefit will not kick in until the child turns 18. This means that during the four years of high school, parents will have to cover additional costs without this financial boost. For a family with modest income, this could mean a loss of more than 75 euros per month per affected child, adding up to a total loss of over 3,600 euros between the ages of 14 and 18. The increased payments will then continue until the month before the child’s 20th birthday, provided the child is still considered a dependent.

The response from family advocacy groups to this announcement has been strongly negative. The National Union of Family Associations (Unaf) has labeled this decision as “highly detrimental” at a time when expenses, especially those related to schooling, are significant. They also challenge the government’s rationale, noting that the savings will far exceed the cost of the new birth leave. For Unaf, this reform, implemented by decree to avoid a broad parliamentary debate, amounts to an almost complete elimination of this aid, reducing its budget from 1.6 billion euros to merely 300 million euros.

This reform represents a significant shift in support for families, moving financial assistance from adolescence to early adulthood. While the state sees it as a rationalization of expenses, it presents many parents with an unprecedented budgetary challenge for the coming years. It is advisable for parents to anticipate this drop in income and to actively explore other available supports, such as educational scholarships or local aid, to navigate this period smoothly.