The Austrian government launches a tax-free investment account for children featuring a 500-euro start bonus and annual deposit limits.

Lithuanian lawmakers are considering changes to parental leave rules after few families use fathers’ non-transferable leave, LRT reported. A lawmaker says the current system can shorten the total paid leave available to a family if one parent cannot take their allotted months. Social Democrat Dar…

The Onsernone Valley is offering new residents moving grants and other support, including up to 5,000 francs for couples seeking in-vitro fertilisation, as it tries to counter depopulation, SRF reports. The valley now has about 600 residents. The fertility grants, known as the Assegno Vita, will …

Unpaid child support debts in Latvia have exceeded 400 million euros, while collection remains slow, LSM reported. Around 42,000 people owe maintenance, and 88% of them are men. The state Maintenance Guarantee Fund pays support for tens of thousands of children whose other parent does not meet th…

People appearing on Estonian public broadcaster ERR’s programme Impulss called for more generous and predictable family support, as the country faces a record-low birth rate. Director Madis Ligema, who recently became a father for the third time, said money alone would not necessarily persuade pe…

Social Minister Korinna Schumann proposes a staggered mourning period and partner leave for miscarriages based on pregnancy duration.

A cross-party alliance has submitted 112,517 certified signatures for an initiative seeking 18 weeks of paid parental leave for each parent with custody of a newborn, SRF reported. The signatures were filed with Switzerland’s Federal Chancellery. The initiative, called “A strong society and econo…

The birth rate in Japan is estimated to have fallen even further in 2025 than the government’s worst forecasts. Based on data from the first 10 months of 2025, the number of births is likely to have dropped below the 670,000 figure of 2024 (which excludes children born to foreign residents). This would be the lowest level since government records began. This falling birth rate will mean Japan’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) – the average number of children per woman – will also decline further. Explore the full analysis and implications for global investment.

LRT reported that the government plans to fund a 770 million euro package of measures for families from the state and Sodra social insurance budgets, but opposition politicians say it remains unclear where the money will come from. The package, presented last week, includes nine measures. The mos…

Experts and opposition politicians have questioned the priorities in a family policy package presented by Lithuania’s Ministry of Social Security and Labour, LRT reported. The package would allocate 375.9 million euros of its nearly 770 million euro budget to free lunches for all pupils in grades…

LVŽS chairman Aurelijus Veryga said financial measures alone would not solve Lithuania’s declining birth rate, LRT reported, after the government presented a 770 million euro family support package. Veryga said society needed to recognise that the issue was existential for the state, while stress…

Liberal Movement lawmaker Eugenijus Gentvilas has criticised the government’s proposed family package, saying it is cynical to postpone some measures until a future government takes office, LRT reported. “Social Democrats’ efforts to please people, often overflowing with love, can also have a cyn…

Decades of falling fertility are causing the working-age population of Japan to fall. Simultaneously, retirees are living longer and forming an ever-larger portion of the population. These factors are causing an extraordinary decline in the number of working-age people available to support the expanding number of retirees. Estimates for 2025 suggest that Japan’s birth rate has likely fallen to a new historic low, below even the government’s most - pessimistic projections - . Consequently, the decline in Japan’s worker-to-retiree ratio is unlikely to be reversed. Explore the full analysis and implications for global investment.

Switzerland’s Federal Council supports abolishing the civil status of divorced, SRF reported on Thursday. The proposal, submitted by the FDP parliamentary group, would require changes to the law. Parliament will decide on the motion next. The motion was introduced by Nadine Gobet of the FDP and h…

LRT reported that Lithuania’s opposition has questioned the governing majority’s plan to increase the birth rate, calling it expensive and warning that its measures may not be effective. Parliament Speaker Juozas Olekas said improving the country’s demographic situation would require a comprehens…

Lithuania’s opposition has criticised the ruling majority’s planned family policy package, saying it will be expensive and may not significantly increase the birthrate, LRT reported. Liberal Movement leader Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen described the plan as generous but said some of its measures wer…

Lithuania’s coalition government plans to expand support for families by increasing funding for a first-home programme in the regions and introducing a universal school preparation allowance, LRT reported on Thursday. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said after a meeting with coalition partne…

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said on Thursday that the government would propose significantly increasing funding for a programme supporting first-home purchases in the regions and introducing a universal school-preparation allowance. LRT reported the plans after a meeting with governing c…

Finanzsystem ~ Familienpolitik ~ Energieinsel