28 April 2025
Each year, child and spousal maintenance payments are increased through statutory indexation. Today, I’ll explain more about the indexation of child and spousal maintenance in 2025.
Every year, around October/November, the Minister of Justice and Security determines the percentage by which maintenance payments will increase as of 1 January of the following year. This applies to both child and spousal maintenance that has been agreed in a divorce settlement, parenting plan, or set by the court. If you are the person responsible for paying maintenance, this means that from 1 January 2025, your monthly payments will increase.
The percentage by which maintenance increases is set by the Minister of Justice and Security. In determining the percentage, the Minister considers wage increases and/or decreases. The wage index is established by Statistics Netherlands (CBS), which monitors salary trends across the private sector, public sector, and other sectors.
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| 1.3% | 1.7% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 2.1% | 1.5% | 2% | 2.5% | 3% | 1.9% | 3.4% | 6.2% |
For the year 2025, the indexation percentage is 6.5%.
It is the responsibility of the maintenance payer (the obligated party) to apply the increase and transfer the correct, indexed amount to the recipient of maintenance (the entitled party). Sometimes, the payer may not be aware of the statutory indexation. If so, do not hesitate to remind them as the recipient. The payer is legally required to apply the increase unless indexation has been excluded.
According to Article 1:402a(1) of the Civil Code, maintenance payments increase annually. However, there are situations where indexation does not apply. This is the case if the court has ruled that statutory indexation is excluded, if different arrangements have been agreed, or if the maintenance was set before 1 January 1973. Note that exclusion of statutory indexation is only possible for spousal maintenance. Indexation of child maintenance cannot be excluded; child maintenance must always be indexed.
If the maintenance payer fails to apply the statutory indexation, it is possible to claim unpaid indexed maintenance retroactively for up to five years. It is, of course, up to the recipient to raise this with the payer and request payment of the outstanding amount. Depending on the level of maintenance, this could add up to a significant sum.
In 2024, maintenance was set (by a court or in a divorce settlement) at €1,000. As of 1 January 2025, this amount increases by 6.5%, which amounts to an increase of €65. Therefore, from 1 January 2025, the maintenance payer must transfer €1,065 to the recipient.
Now let’s imagine that maintenance was set at €1,000 in 2018. From 1 January 2019 onwards, maintenance must be indexed annually. The following table shows how the maintenance amount increases each year from the 2018 base figure:
| Year | Indexation percentage | Amount incl. indexation |
| 2019 | 2.0% | €1.020,00 |
| 2020 | 2.5% | €1.045,50 |
| 2021 | 3.0% | €1.076,87 |
| 2022 | 1.9% | €1.096,33 |
| 2023 | 3.4% | €1.134,64 |
| 2024 | 6.2% | €1.204,99 |
| 2025 | 6.5% | €1.283,31 |
As the table shows, maintenance set at €1,000 in 2018 amounts to €1,283.31 as of 1 January 2025.
Do you have questions about the statutory indexation of maintenance, or other family law matters? Please feel free to contact us.
