Low-income Dutch families are failing to claim hundreds of thousands of euros in benefits, even though they are entitled to the money, the government’s macro-economic think tank CPB said on Thursday.

In 2021 alone, officials were left with over €1 billion in unclaimed rent, healthcare, and child benefits, the agency said. Freelancers and people who have recently retired are the least likely to claim the financial support they qualify for.

Some 25% of low-income self-employed workers did not apply for additional support to help pay for rental housing.  Some 20% did not request healthcare benefits, even though half of them were entitled to the maximum €107 per month in 2021, the CPB said.

One in five new pensioners did not claim housing benefits, missing out on an average of €67 a month. One in six did not apply for healthcare benefits either.

All three benefits are income-dependent and payable in advance. This means that households with a higher income than expected may have to repay some or all of the extra money the following year.

The CPB research focuses on the period from 2016 to 2021.