You are concerned if:

1. Your child is aged 18 to 26 (or will turn 18 during the next school year)

• As of the age of 18, family allowances can only be granted if your child continues his or her education or studies – please make sure to declare this in SYSPER.    
• If your child will not continue their education or studies in 2022-2023, you should make a declaration of end of studies or interruption of studies in SYSPER as soon as possible. Please note that the current school year is considered to end 30 June 2022 in those cases.  Any payments of related allowances that are made as of July 2022 and before we receive and fully process this declaration will need to be recovered.

2. Your child is attending one of the European schools (primary or secondary level) and is using the transportation service, organised by the pupils' Parents' Association

• Where applicable, the PMO will pay the cost directly to the Parents' Association on the basis of the education allowance. This direct payment can only be made after you have declared the transportation in your education declaration in SYSPER.  If the direct payment possibility does not exist, the transportation costs will be reimbursed to you as in case 3 below.

3. Your child is attending a fee-paying primary or secondary school or a non-fee payingprimary or secondary school and has to pay transportation costs:

• The school fee and the transportation costs can be reimbursed through the education allowance, up to the maximum amount applicable based on your education declaration in SYSPER. 

4. Your child is doing a (paid) traineeship or any (paid) work outside of studies/training 

• A traineeship or any form of work (including any part-time job not linked to the studies) can have an impact on the entitlement to allowances, especially when  the child receives payment (including payment in kind). It is therefore important to declare all traineeship/internships or work via SYSPER to avoid any overpayment of financial entitlements which would then have to be recovered. 

Documents you need to submit:

Once you complete your education declaration, SYSPER will guide you on what documents you need to submit. In most cases, you will be requested to provide a school/university attendance certificate and a copy of the invoice for the costs of studying for which you are claiming reimbursement. In some cases, additional documents may be requested: for instance, if your child is doing distance learning, you will have to submit proof of participation in the final exams. Please make sure to provide these additional documents, because failing to do so may result in recovery of the allowances paid on a provisional basis throughout the school year.

Deadlines to be met:

• The deadline to declare an education or studies for 2022/2023 is Tuesday, 15 November 2022.
• No deadline applies for other declarations, such as traineeships or end/interruption of education and studies. It is, however, advisable to declare such events as soon as possible in order to avoid any overpayments.
• Resuming of studies declarations can be introduced during the course of the school year.

Please note that:

If you are currently receiving family allowances for a child attending higher education:

• payments will provisionally continue until the end of this year, giving you enough time to submit your declaration for the 2022-2023 school year.
• If you do not submit the education declaration (or a declaration of end of studies or interruption of studies) by the end of the year, payments will cease on 31.12.2022, and the amounts overpaid between 1 July 2022 and 31 December 2022 will be recovered. Any rights derived from the education allowance may also be impacted by this recovery - such as payment of the dependent child allowance, the annual travel cost, financial impact on expatriation or foreign residence allowance, or tax abatement for your child.

If an allowance is paid in full to a third party (for example, to your ex-spouse):

• payment of the education allowance will automatically cease on 31.08.2022.
• Payments will restart (with retroactive application where applicable) once the education declaration for 2022-23 has been made and fully processed.

As from the 2022-2023 school year, this end date will be 30.09. each year.

For colleagues based in Luxembourg - CEDIES grants

Officials/staff with dependent children in higher education - National grants and CEDIES

If your child is in higher education or will start in 2022-2023 – please remind him/her to apply first for financial aid provided by his/her country of residence, and then by CEDIES as soon as the 2022-2023 form is available (generally from 31 August).

For those whose children were already in higher education in 2021/2022: please complete your 2021-2022 declaration by adding the CEDIES Summer Semester, second instalment certificate if you have not already done so.

Officials/staff whose children reside in Luxembourg and who are following vocational training outside Luxembourg - CEDIES grants

If your children reside in Luxembourg, they can receive financial aid for the secondary-level, vocational training, on condition that they have been authorised to follow their vocational training abroad by the Ministry of National Education, Children and Youth (article 2, point 4, of the amended law of 24 July 2014). Authorisation from the Department of Vocational Training must be requested in writing.

Need additional information and guidance?

You can find detailed information on how to introduce your education declaration on My IntraComm and in the practical guide on education declarations.

Our education allowances tool has been created to guide you through the financial benefits you can receive during each stage of your child's education and studies.  Do try it out if you haven’t already done so.

PMO colleagues also always stand ready to provide personalised help and advice via Staff Contact on the Staff Matters portal .

With my best wishes for a successful new school year,

Anya ORAM 

Head of Unit

PMO.1 – Rights and Salaries