On Wednesday 14 October 2026, Luxembourg trade union LCGB welcomed the planned reform of family benefits under Bill 8746, describing it as an important measure to strengthen families’ purchasing power.
According to the LCGB, when the reform enters into force on 1 January 2027, it will provide a lasting boost to families’ purchasing power through a structural increase in family allowances and the now guaranteed indexation of all family benefits.
The trade union welcomed the implementation of two of its main demands: compensation for the loss of purchasing power of family allowances between their de-indexation in 2006 and the return to indexation in 2021, as well as the indexation of the special supplementary allowance for children with a disability of more than 50% and the birth allowance. The LCGB nevertheless said it would continue to campaign for a structural increase in the amount of these two allowances, noting that the reform “does not provide for any catch-up for their loss in value”.
The LCGB also welcomed what it described as the end of the “discriminatory policy” pursued since 2016 with regard to cross-border step-parents. According to the trade union, the new law will comply with judgment C-296/24 of 18 December 2025 of the Court of Justice of the European Union by guaranteeing that a cross-border worker is entitled to family allowances for the child of their spouse or partner when they share a common household, regardless of whether there is a parent-child relationship or whether maintenance is paid by the biological or adoptive parent.
