You are concerned if:

1. Your child is aged 18 to 26 (or will turn 18 during the next school year).
   
   From the age of 18, family allowances can only be granted if your child continues their education or studies. Please make sure to declare this in SYSPER.
   
   If your child will not continue their education or studies in 2023/2024, please submit a declaration of end of studies or interruption of studies in SYSPER as soon as possible. Please be aware that, in such cases, the 2022/2023 academic year is considered to end on 30 June 2023. Any allowance related payments made from July 2023 until 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 school’s Parents' Association. 
   
   Where applicable, the PMO will pay the transportation costs directly to the Parents' Association based on the education allowance. This direct payment can only be made after you have declared the transportation in your education declaration in SYSPER. If direct payment to the Parents’ Association is not possible, transportation costs will be reimbursed to you as explained in case 3 below.
   
   
3. Your child is attending a fee-paying primary or secondary school, or a non-fee paying primary or secondary school and must pay boarding or transportation costs.
   
   The school fee, as well as any boarding and 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 as part of, or in addition to, their studies.
   
   A traineeship or any form of paid work (including any part-time job unrelated to studies) can affect the entitlement to allowances, particularly when the child receives payment. It is important to declare all traineeships, internships, grants or work via SYSPER to avoid 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 supporting documents you need to provide. In most cases, you will be asked to provide an official school/university attendance certificate and a copy of the invoice for the claimed study related costs. Additional documents may be requested in certain cases. For example, if your child is engaged in distance learning, you will need to provide proof of participation in the final exams. Please ensure you provide these additional documents, as failing to do so may result in the recovery of allowances paid provisionally throughout the school year.

Deadlines to be met:

• The deadline to declare education or studies for 2023/2024 is 15 November 2023.
  
  
• No deadline applies to other declarations, such as traineeships or end/interruption of education and studies. However, it is advisable to declare such events as soon as possible to avoid overpayments.
  
  
• Declarations of resuming studies can be made during the school year.

Please note that:

• If your child has moved to a different school or university, you should make your declaration in SYSPER using the option “New education declaration”. Do not use the option “New education declaration on the basis of the previous one”.

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

• Payments will provisionally continue until the end of 2023, giving you enough time to submit your declaration for the 2023/2024 school year.
  
  
• If you do not submit the education declaration (or a declaration of end of studies or interruption of studies) by 15 November 2023, payments will cease on 31 December 2023, and any overpaid amounts between 1 July 2023 and 31 December 2023 will be recovered. This recovery may also impact any rights derived from the education allowance, such as dependent child allowance or annual travel costs. It may also have a financial impact on expatriation or foreign residence allowance, as well as tax abatement for your child.
  
  
• If your child changes degree type (e.g., moving from undergraduate to postgraduate studies)

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 30.09.2023 (this end date is applicable each year).
  
  
• Payments will resume (with retroactive application where applicable) once the education declaration for 2023/2024 has been submitted and the AIPN decision granting the education allowance has been validated.

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 2023/2024, please remind them to first apply for financial aid provided by their country of residence, and then by CEDIES as soon as the 2023/2024 form becomes available (generally from 31 August).

For those whose children were already in higher education in 2022/2023: please complete your 2022/2023 declaration by adding the CEDIES Summer Semester second instalment certificate if you have not done so already.

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

If your children normally reside in Luxembourg and are pursuing vocational training abroad, they can receive financial aid for secondary-level vocational training provided they have been authorised 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.

Education Allowance Transfer

If your child is attending higher education in an EU country other than your place of employment in the 2023/2024 academic year, you have the option to request the transfer of the education allowance to their bank account. Transfer requests for the current academic year (2022/2023) will expire on 31 October 2023. Transfer requests do not automatically carry forward to the next academic year and cannot be applied retroactively. If needed, you must renew the request through the 2023/2024 education declaration in SYSPER.

To ensure timely processing and inclusion in your November salary, it is crucial to submit the education declaration as soon as possible and no later than 15 October 2023. Please note that a transfer would only be beneficial if the weighting for the country where your child is studying is higher than that of your place of employment. If the weighting is not higher, there is no need to request this transfer as it would not be advantageous.

For further information, please refer to the dedicated MyIntraComm page.

If you have a new bank account to pay the transfer to, you will also need to register it in the FiLIP application. The link to FiLIP is also available in the education declaration in SYSPER.

Need additional information and guidance?

You can find detailed information on how to submit your education declaration on MyIntraComm 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 at each stage of your child's education and studies. If you haven't done so already, please give it a read.

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

PMO.1 processed approximately 37,000 education declarations for the 2022/2023 academic year. 

The period 1 September to Christmas is a very busy one for the team that processes education declarations.

The files of colleagues who face high costs for their children’s education are given priority treatment (e.g., private schools, university attendance in another Member State, taking up studies).

We are doing our best to process all the declarations in a timely manner and we thank you for your patience.

With my best wishes for a successful new school year,

Anya ORAM,

Head of Unit PMO.1
Rights and Salaries