Compared to 2022, this is an increase of 17 percent and the highest value in twelve years, says Clemens Mitterlehner. The managing director of asb, the umbrella organization for debt advice, presented the current debt report together with Social and Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens).
Almost one in three people who sought help from debt counseling for the first time in the previous year fell into debt due to unemployment or a deterioration in income. A fifth report how they deal with money.
For 18 percent, previous self-employment was the reason for excessive indebtedness. Twelve percent of applicants mentioned the increased cost of living; in 2022 this only affected five percent.
Living at the subsistence level
According to the data, the median income of debt counseling clients is 1,400 euros. Around a third of the counseling centers’ clients live on the subsistence level – this is the amount that cannot be seized and must remain with the debtor. Currently that’s 1,217 euros, not enough for many people to live on, said Mitterlehner.
He is calling for the amount to be increased to around 1,700 euros and for unemployment benefits to be increased. Unemployed people should therefore receive a net replacement rate of 70 instead of the current 55 percent. 33 percent of debt counseling clients are unemployed, 46 percent are in debt despite working.
Minister of Social Affairs Rauch, who was involved in debt counseling before politics, drew attention to the consequences of debt. “Debt makes you sick, those affected are under constant pressure.” Debt is not just an individual fault, there are also structural causes – but these are often swept under the table for private individuals. The federal government spent a total of more than 40 billion euros on measures, and social and family benefits were adjusted to inflation.
Video: The current debt report was presented on Monday
Criticism of the coalition partner
But other projects cannot be implemented, said Rauch, who repeatedly criticized his coalition partner ÖVP. A nationwide minimum security is needed instead of the existing social assistance, federal states such as Upper Austria and Lower Austria would use their leeway and pay out less.
The government partner would block the planned plan to more strictly regulate debt collection agencies – which “make stupid and stupid money from indebted people” -. Rauch specifically mentioned the Chamber of Commerce.
The collection of data on the debt situation will soon improve. In the future, execution data can be linked anonymously with other statistical and administrative data.
The number of private bankruptcies rose by eight percent to 8,857 last year; the average age of those affected is 45 years. “Many people cannot afford personal bankruptcy,” said Mitterlehner. The opportunity for private individuals to manage debt relief within three years instead of five is legally limited to mid-2026. The debt advisors demand that this option should continue to exist.
Author
Verena Mitterlechner
Verena Mitterlechner
