Hungary's Family Support System Is Exemplary Globally

"Achieving a family-friendly country rests on two pillars: one is the government's commitment to promoting the spread of family-friendly attitudes in all areas of life, and the other is the extensive and complex family support system, which has become a model worth following throughout the world, Attila Beneda, deputy state secretary for family affairs, said in an interview for Magyar Nemzet. The politician operating in Hungary's Ministry of Culture considers the prenatal financial support scheme introduced five years ago a great success, and spoke of a number of innovations and changes implemented this year in the spirit of fairness and equity.

Attila Beneda, deputy state secretary for family affairs in Hungary (Photo: Zoltan Havran)

"A vital element of the government's policy is seeing the future and the key to Hungary's strength and survival in a nation built on strong families. To this end, we are constantly fortifying what we mean by family-friendly country, including assuring families that the right-wing government views family benefits as an investment in the future and will always protect and stand by them even in difficult times," the Family Affairs Deputy State Secretary Attila Beneda, told Magyar Nemzet. The policy expert of the Ministry for Culture and Innovation stressed that the Hungarian family support system is comprised of more than thirty elements, complemented by a family-friendly approach, which the government is trying to implement in everyday life.

An unprecedented scheme

This family support system, which is unprecedented internationally, has been steadily built up since 2010. Furthermore, in 2019 the government announced the Family Protection Action Plan, whose most successful and most widely used element is the baby expectancy loan.

The baby expectancy program is unique compared to other types of help because it is a discretionary prenatal loan that turns into a grant once the intended child is born. It is a scheme that is based on the anticipation of children, unlike, for example, the family home loan, which also takes into account the existing number of children, as well as the planned future children,

the politician explained. Moreover, the maximum amount that can be borrowed within the baby expectancy loan has been increased to HUF 11 million (about EUR 28,000) this year. Couples can apply for the prenatal loan interest-free if they agree to have at least one baby or adopt a child within five years of the date of the loan. Once the first child arrives (or the fetus is 12 weeks old), installment repayments are suspended for three years. With the arrival of a second child, repayments are again suspended for three years, with the state assuming 30% of the debt. With the birth of a third child, the state assumes repayment of the remainder of the debt, i.e. the family's outstanding debt on the loan is waived.

211,000 children

Attila Beneda pointed out that repayment discipline by families with baby expectancy loans is high with no arrears for over 95 percent, and three percent of the loan contracts have already been closed either with the families either paying back the loan themselves or the desired third child was born and the state assumed the outstanding debt.
Statistics show that the prenatal loan scheme is proving more popular than expected, according to figures released by the deputy state secretary: 246,000 couples have already contracted for the scheme, which has lent out a total of HUF 2,400 billion (over EUR 6 billion).

Some 158 thousand families expecting to have a baby have already welcomed their first or even their second child. In total, 211,000 children have already been born, in conjunction with the prenatal loan.

The deputy state secretary also highlighted that in the case of families who took out the baby expectancy loan in the first two years of its introduction i.e. between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2021, but who have not yet had the pledged child, the government has extended the deadline, giving these couples until June 30, 2026 to have their first child.

 

Beneda Attila ugyanakkor azt is elmondta: azon házaspárok esetében, ahol a babaváró támogatás igénybevételét követően kiderül, hogy egészségi okokból nem lehet gyermekük, a méltányosság elve érvényesül. –

Principle of fairness and equity

However, Attila Beneda also said that in the case of couples who, after claiming the prenatal loan, find that they cannot have a child for health reasons, the principle of fairness equity will apply.

Fairness and equity has been part of the system from the beginning. If it is subsequently the case that for whatever reason couples are unable to have children, or have undergone all available and social security assisted reproductive interventions without resulting births, the sanctions do not necessarily apply and they have an equitable option.

The deputy state secretary stressed that the system does not make exclusions for adopted children. The conditions of the loan apply equally to adopted or biological children.
Based on the number of people claiming the baby expectancy loan, he said that the statistics from the first six months of 2024 also show that the sense of security of young people planning to start a family has returned.

The growing number of beneficiaries is confirmation that we have succeeded in introducing a scheme that is attractive to young people. We have been able to expand the family support scheme every year since 2010 and, as a result, the number of marriages and the number of children born has increased compared to the figures of 2010.

In recent years, despite the economic situation caused by the war, the government is doing everything to ensure that the family support system can continue to help young people and help couples start a family, the deputy state secretary said.

Cover photo: Attila Beneda, deputy state secretary for family affairs in Hungary (Photo: Zoltan Havran)