Impact of the benefits scandal on the future of affected young people

Report — February 2026

About this Report

This report was drawn up in response to the national hotline “It's not your (study) fault!” for young people affected by the benefits scandal. The hotline and this report were created by five local youth ombudsmen, with the support of Professor Richard Gill for data analysis. Our big thanks go to the 1875 young people who shared their personal story with us and thus showed that they are fighting for recognition and recovery.

1. Introduction

Young people, like their parents, have fallen victim to the benefits scandal. Many grew up in poverty, lost their homes or were evicted. Young people say they were deprived of their childhood. At a young age, they became financially and emotionally responsible for dealing with the threats from the government. It was only many years later that it became clear that the fault was not with the parents, but with the government. The Parliamentary Childcare Allowance Interrogation Committee found that families unprecedented injustice has been affected. Young people say:

“There were days when we slept without power. My mother got power from the neighbors so that we could heat water to shower. We regularly had bailiffs at the door. Sometimes we didn't eat for days.”

“I've worked my ass off since I was 14 and didn't have a good childhood. I was bullied because of poverty.”

The benefits scandal has also had an enormous impact on the future of these young people. Dreams fell apart. Some were unable to get an education or had to quit to work to support the family. Many young people who did study borrowed from DUO to help the family survive. Nevertheless, only parents are recognized by the government as victims — young people are not. Duped young people experience this as very unfair. Their parents are reimbursed for debts and damages, including DUO debts. Even parents' former partners receive compensation. But young people are left with sky-high student debts that are not their fault. They have been asking two things for a long time:

1. Recognition as a victim
2. Cancellation of their DUO debts

Both have not been released to date.

2. Request figures from the government

So far, there are no official figures available about the impact of the benefits scandal on the future prospects of affected young people. In March 2025, the youth ombudsmen of Rotterdam-Rijnmond, Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Nijmegen asked the Secretary of State for Finance, the Minister of Education and the Director General of DUO for insight into:

• how many young people have DUO debts
• how high those debts are
• what effect the scandal has had on their education

Only with this information can an appropriate solution be found for the unprecedented injustice that has been done to these young people.The request was denied.According to the ministers, a change in the law is necessary to collect this data, and they do not want to initiate it — because they are not going to help the young people anyway. The Van Nispen (2025) motion, calling for the House of Representatives to provide insight into the amount of DUO debts, is also not being implemented. The Secretary of State does not want to “set expectations”. The youth ombudsmen think this refusal is at odds with the promise that the government “wants to do everything to offer future prospects for the future again”.

3. Hotline “It's not your (study) fault!”

Because the government did not want to provide insight, the youth ombudsmen decided to collect the information themselves via a national hotline. From the end of September to the end of October 2025, affected young people were able to complete a short questionnaire about:

• the impact of the benefits scandal on their education
• the amount of their DUO debts

More than 1800 young people completed the questionnaire.

Key conclusions

• Duptured young people break up twice as often finished their education as average.
• They have twice as often as high DUO debts.
• The impact of the scandal is working still through in their lives.

Student debts (comparison)

• Duo debts exceed €10,000 much more often for.
• Duo debts above €50,000 reach more than twice as often for.

Study delay and dropout

• 55% took longer to complete the study
• 41% was unable to complete the study
• 30% had to do a lower level
• 4% did not follow any study at all
• Only 9% was not bothered

Using the DUO Loan

• 78%: subsistence + study
• 56%: family support
• 52%: own survival (and that of the family)

4. Impact on the training of affected young people

The figures show how big the consequences are for the education and future of affected young people.

• 40% were unable to complete the course (nationwide: < 20%).
• More than half were delayed in their studies.
• It took almost 10% more than 10 years to complete the course.
• A third had to follow a lower level.

Young people say:

“I had to pause my studies because I was about to burn out. Surely it's not possible that a government error will determine my whole life?”

“I stopped my studies to help my mother financially.”

Many young people want to study again, but are afraid because of the high DUO debts they already have. Municipal support only helps to a limited extent: school fees and educational resources can sometimes be reimbursed, but debts cannot. The Hamer Commission concluded the same: DUO debts are a major obstacle to recovery and development.

5. DUO uses for things other than training

Affected young people are more likely to have high DUO debts than average. Those debts have not always been used for the study.

• 56% used the loan to help the family survive.
• 78% used the loan for subsistence.
• 52% used the loan for both herself and the family.

It was not a free choice to borrow. Due to the benefits scandal, parents were unable to contribute financially. The Duo loan was often the only way to survive. These debts confront young people with the past every day and are a major obstacle to their future.

6. The government does not want to help

The government does not want to cancel the DUO debts of affected young people. That feels very unfair, especially because:

• Parents' duo debts well are waived
• Duo-debts of former partners well are waived
• young people themselves no arrangement having

According to the youth ombudsmen, the government's arguments do not hold up:

Ad 1 — “There are so many young people with DUO debts”

Affected young people are not ordinary students. They are victims of unprecedented injustice.

Ad 2 — “They can ask for money from their parents”

This misses that young people independent victim are. In addition, many relationships have been damaged or broken.

Ad 3 — “They can go to the municipality”

Municipalities can have DUO debts not solve. Moreover, the problematic debt settlement has largely been closed.

Ad 4 — “DUO has exceptions”

These exceptions apply to all students and do not take into account the benefits scandal.

7. Other concerns about affected young people

Many young people are still struggling with:

• financial stress
• fear of debt
• childhood traumas
• limited development opportunities
• lack of trust in government

8. Recommendations

The youth ombudsmen make an urgent appeal:

1. Recognize young people as victims of the benefits scandal.
2. Separate the position of young people from that of their parents.
3. Cancellation of DUO debts for affected young people.
4. Develop a national scheme that does work, as recommended by the Hamer Commission.
5. Ensure peace, stability and development opportunities, so that young people can build their future.

Source

📄 Original report:It's not your (study) fault! — Impact of the benefits scandal on the future of affected young peopleJuvenile Ombudsmen, February 2026