New case in Vienna

5000 euros in social welfare for extended Syrian family

The whole of Austria is talking about social welfare in Vienna. Now a new case has been leaked to the "Krone": A large Syrian family with eight children receives 5000 euros per month! Figures that suggest a reform of the system.

A family of nine from Syria receives just under 4600 euros a month in minimum benefits - this case is causing a nationwide debate following a report in "Heute".

New case makes headlines
Now the "Krone" has also learned of a similar case that has left people baffled. Large family from Syria, living in Vienna. Father, mother, eight children. Minimum income per month: more than 5000 euros. An acquaintance of the family: "The father explained to me that the current rent subsidy in particular is very high for his family".

The "Krone" was given the family's details in black and white by the acquaintance, which have of course been anonymized here for legal reasons (names and current address known to the editors).

ÖVP Vienna leader Karl Mahrer(Bild: krone.tv)

Staggering of the minimum income
5000 euros for a family - this is becoming a political issue in the election campaign. "While many people no longer know how to pay their bills due to the massive increases in fees, the City of Vienna is transferring thousands of euros a month to people entitled to subsidiary protection and recognized refugees without any benefit of their own," says ÖVP Vienna leader Karl Mahrer indignantly. And he demands: "Vienna, like other federal states, should implement a graduated system of minimum benefits for multi-child families." The FPÖ, on the other hand, wants a special state parliament and has announced a motion of censure.

"A person is a person is a person"
Tanja Wehsely, Managing Director of Volkshilfe Wien, naturally sees things differently: "A person is a person is a person. Vienna's policy of leaving no child behind is good and right." Nevertheless: 5000 euros net without work and without a cap - very few people understand that.

Social City Councillor Peter Hacker (SPÖ)(Bild: Zwefo)

For Social Welfare Councillor Peter Hacker from the SPÖ, social welfare payments of this amount are only exceptional cases. The figures from his office: In Vienna there are 982 families with five children who receive minimum benefits - of these, 860 are so-called top-up recipients, who top up their earnings to social welfare level (often this "income" is only the basic level), 122 families receive full benefits. According to these figures, there are 12 families with nine children (two families in full receipt) and three families with eleven children as top-up recipients.

However, the number of families with six children or more is rising rapidly. From 2012 (386 households) to 2022 (631) by 63.5 percent.