Increasing debt burden: More and more Austrians live at the subsistence level!

Increasing debt burden: More and more Austrians live at the subsistence level!

Krone AT, Österreich - In 2024, the number of people who claimed debt counseling in Austria rose to alarming 61,599. This corresponds to an increase of 1.8 percent and has been the highest value since 2018, as The Krone . The increase in clients with income that is maximum at the subsistence level is particularly worrying. According to Clemens Mitterlehner, Managing Director of ASB Debtersberatungen GmbH, 36.2 percent of those seeking advice affected such financial hardship last year. The basic amount of the non -attachable subsistence level was 1217 euros in 2024. This situation shows a worrying trend in dealing with debts and existence in society.

Investigations on the reasons for the accusation show complex factors. The increase in persons who live with their income under the subsistence level coincides with the trend in Germany, where the stable subsistence minimum for single people was increased to 11,940 euros in 2025, as Juraforum Here, too, the minimum amounts differ depending on the life situation: for families, the subsistence level is 19,488 euros for couples and 5,460 euros per child. This illustrates the challenges that many citizens face when it comes to ensuring their basic living costs.

summarized the situation for many people, since the income limits under which no one is attachable are not sufficient to secure the subsistence level. The developments in the area of ​​debt counseling and the legal regulations on the subsistence level reflect an urgent need to increase the financial security of the citizens and to improve support for those affected.