Do cross-border workers get Luxembourg family allowance?

Yes. A parent who works in Luxembourg and is affiliated to its social security can claim for a child living in France, Belgium or Germany. If the country of residence also pays a child benefit, Luxembourg pays a differential supplement that tops it up to the Luxembourg amount, settled at the end of January and July.

Until what age is family allowance paid in Luxembourg?

It is paid from the month of birth until the child turns 18. Payment can continue up to age 25 if the young person is in secondary or equivalent education, or in approved vocational training.

How much is the back-to-school allowance?

The allocation de rentrée scolaire is paid automatically each August: €115 for children aged 6 to 11 and €235 from age 12. No separate application is required.

How long does the CAE take to process a claim?

The CAE does not publish a fixed processing time, and it varies with how complete your documents are. Once a claim is approved, payment is backdated to the month of entitlement, so applying a little late does not cost you money.

Family benefits

Family Allowance in Luxembourg: 2026 Amounts and How to Apply

Since the 1 June 2026 indexation, Luxembourg pays €315.04 per child each month, more as the child grows. Here is who qualifies — residents and cross-border workers — and how to claim it from the CAE.

By Léa Hoffmann · 22 June 2026 · 4 min read

Euro banknotes and coins beside a child's school satchel, wooden building blocks and a benefits form on a table in a Luxembourg home. — Luxembourg's family allowance is paid monthly per child by the Caisse pour l'avenir des enfants. Image is illustrative. Illustration: AI-generated — Status

Luxembourg pays a monthly family allowance (allocation familiale) of €315.04 per child to families with dependent children who live in the country, or who are covered by a parent working there — residents and cross-border workers alike. The amount rose with the 1 June 2026 cost-of-living indexation, increases as the child gets older, and carries no income ceiling. It is paid by the Caisse pour l'avenir des enfants (CAE), the Children's Future Fund.

How much is family allowance in 2026?

The basic amount is identical for every child, regardless of family size or household income. It was raised by 2.5% on 1 June 2026, when Luxembourg's automatic wage scale lifted the applicable cost-of-living index from 968.04 to 992.24 points. Two age supplements then stack on top of the basic amount:

€315.04 a month — the basic amount, for children aged 0 to 5.
€338.85 a month — from age 6, after a €23.81 age supplement.
€374.48 a month — from age 12, after a €59.44 age supplement.

So a four-year-old draws €315.04 a month, a nine-year-old €338.85, and a fourteen-year-old €374.48. Until 31 May 2026 the figures were lower — €307.35 basic, rising to €330.58 and €365.34 — so a claim straddling that date will show the step up. Children born before 1 August 2016 may still fall under the older, graduated system, whose amounts were frozen at the 2016 reform.

Since 1 June 2026 the basic family allowance is €315.04 per child per month, rising to €338.85 from age 6 and €374.48 from age 12. — Caisse pour l'avenir des enfants

Who qualifies, and do cross-border workers get it?

Entitlement follows the child and the working parent, not income. In practice the allowance is paid for:

Every child from the month of birth until the age of 18, with no means test.
Young people up to 25 who are in secondary or equivalent education, or approved vocational training.
Children resident in Luxembourg, children of cross-border workers affiliated to Luxembourg social security, and children of Luxembourg pensioners.
Adopted children and stepchildren living in the same household.

The most-missed point is that cross-border (frontalier) workers are entitled too. A parent who works in Luxembourg and pays into its social security can claim for a child living in France, Belgium or Germany. Under EU coordination rules, where the country of residence also pays a child benefit, Luxembourg pays the differential supplement (complément différentiel) — topping the home-country benefit up to the higher Luxembourg amount. These differential top-ups are settled twice a year, at the end of January and the end of July.

How to apply through MyGuichet.lu to the CAE

The allowance is not automatic: you have to file a claim with the CAE. You can do it online or on paper.

Apply online through MyGuichet.lu using a LuxTrust product or an eID, or download the CAE form and send it by post.
Attach the child's birth certificate and a bank account identification (RIB/IBAN) in the recipient's name.
Cross-border workers also attach a recent residence or household-composition certificate and a certificate of entitlement (or non-entitlement) from the family-benefit fund in their country of residence.
State on the form whether another institution already pays family benefits for the child, so the CAE can calculate any differential supplement.

The allowance is paid monthly and runs from the month the child is born or the month entitlement begins. Because payment is backdated to the month of entitlement once a claim is approved, you do not lose money by applying a little late, though sending complete documents speeds things up. The CAE does not publish a fixed processing time.

Birth, back-to-school and other family benefits

The family allowance sits alongside several other CAE benefits worth claiming:

Birth allowance (allocation de naissance): paid on application in three tranches of €580.03 each — prenatal, birth and postnatal — totalling €1,740.09. Each tranche depends on prescribed medical examinations during pregnancy and the child's first two years.
Back-to-school allowance (allocation de rentrée scolaire): paid automatically each August — €115 for children aged 6 to 11 and €235 from age 12. No application is needed.
Special supplementary allowance: €200 a month for a child with a permanent incapacity of at least 50%.

Two related schemes are handled separately. Parental leave is paid by the CAE as a replacement income while a parent reduces or pauses work, but it is a distinct indemnity rather than part of the family allowance. Childcare costs are subsidised through the chèque-service accueil (CSA), administered by the municipalities and the Ministry of Education, not through the monthly allowance. For the exact, indexed figures it is always worth checking the CAE and Guichet.lu pages, since the amounts move each time the cost-of-living index triggers a new indexation.

Frequently asked

Do cross-border workers get Luxembourg family allowance?: Yes. A parent who works in Luxembourg and is affiliated to its social security can claim for a child living in France, Belgium or Germany. If the country of residence also pays a child benefit, Luxembourg pays a differential supplement that tops it up to the Luxembourg amount, settled at the end of January and July.
Until what age is family allowance paid in Luxembourg?: It is paid from the month of birth until the child turns 18. Payment can continue up to age 25 if the young person is in secondary or equivalent education, or in approved vocational training.
How much is the back-to-school allowance?: The allocation de rentrée scolaire is paid automatically each August: €115 for children aged 6 to 11 and €235 from age 12. No separate application is required.
How long does the CAE take to process a claim?: The CAE does not publish a fixed processing time, and it varies with how complete your documents are. Once a claim is approved, payment is backdated to the month of entitlement, so applying a little late does not cost you money.

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