How do I keep my child benefit as a student worker?
If you are younger than 18, you always have the right to child benefit, no matter how much you work. From 18 onwards, the number of hours you can work per calendar year without losing your child benefit depends on where you live. If you work more than the permitted number, you may lose your child benefit. So keep track of your hours per calendar year and check the limit for your situation before you accept a student job.
How do I keep my child benefit as a student worker?
In Flanders, child benefit is called the Groeipakket. Whether you keep it as a student worker depends on two things: your age and the number of hours you work.
- Younger than 18: you always have the right to it, no matter how much you work.
- From 18: the number of hours you can work per calendar year determines whether you keep your entitlement. The limit depends on where you live.
- Too many hours: if you work more than permitted, you may lose your child benefit.
Important: what counts is the calendar year (1 January to 31 December) and not the academic year. A summer job in July therefore counts in the same year as a weekend job in March.
Who is entitled to a Groeipakket?
For student workers, the answer to this question comes down to two rules from the official Student@work information:
- If you are younger than 18, you always have the right to child benefit, even if you do a student job.
- If you are 18 or older, you have the right as long as you stay within the permitted number of hours per calendar year. That number depends on where you live.
A student job therefore does not exclude you from the Groeipakket. What matters is the hour count from age 18. If you want to know whether your personal situation must meet other conditions, for example because of your studies or your age, the Groeipakket itself gives the definitive answer. Your parents or you can have your file checked there.
What is the impact of a student job on your Groeipakket?
As long as you are younger than 18, there is no impact. You can work during the holidays and on weekends without putting your right to child benefit at risk.
Once you turn 18, that changes. Every hour worked then counts towards the limit for your calendar year. Anyone who exceeds that limit risks losing the child benefit. That loss is no small matter, because it concerns an income that is often already built into the family budget. So it pays to do the math in advance.
A practical approach:
- For each contract, note the number of hours you expect to work.
- Add those to the hours of other student jobs in the same calendar year.
- Compare the total with the limit that applies to your situation.
The 650-hour package: not the same as the limit for your Groeipakket
Many student workers mix up two things. The 650-hour package determines how much you pay in social contributions. It is therefore something different from the hour limit for your child benefit.
This is how the hours package works:
- During those 650 hours you pay lower social contributions: 2.71% instead of 13.07% for a regular employee.
- Your employer pays a solidarity contribution of 5.42% of your gross wage.
- Since 1 January 2025, the package contains 650 hours. It starts counting again every year from 1 January.
- You may work more than 650 hours. For every hour above your hours package, you then pay the normal social contributions.
- Even after your 650 hours you remain a student and you sign a student agreement with your employer.
- In consultation with your employer, you decide whether or not to use your 650 hours.
The fact that you may work more than 650 hours therefore says nothing about your child benefit. It only says something about your social contributions. Always check the hour limit for your Groeipakket separately.
Do you work in the hospitality sector? Then, in consultation with your employer, you can choose between your 650 student hours or the 50 days of occasional work. During those 50 days, social contributions are calculated on a fixed low amount (a flat rate) and not on your actual wage. How those hospitality days count towards your Groeipakket, you should ask the Groeipakket before you use them.
Do you keep your right to the Groeipakket all academic year as a working student?
The count is done per calendar year. This has a few consequences:
- Your hours from January to June (still in one academic year) and from July to December (the start of the next) are added together.
- A busy summer can already use up a large part of your limit, even if you work little in the autumn.
- A new calendar year means a new count. What you worked last year no longer matters for the new limit.
So spread your hours deliberately. If you want to work a lot in the summer, take into account the hours you already worked in the spring. If you are looking for a job that fits your class schedule, check the student jobs and see what is available near you on the page with locations for flexi-jobs and student jobs.
Do you still get child benefit if you have just graduated?
After your studies you are no longer a student. That means you can no longer sign a student agreement and the 650-hour package for students no longer applies to you. Whether you still have the right to the Groeipakket afterwards depends on your personal situation and your age. You check this directly with the Groeipakket, preferably before your diploma comes in and before you sign a first job.
Are you already working a lot during your final months? Then keep an extra close eye on your hours per calendar year, so you get no surprises at the moment your studies end.
Why a flexi-job is usually not an alternative
A flexi-job is generally not available to students. For that you need a main job of at least 4/5, or a pension. So if you are considering shifting your hours to another form, that is usually not an option for a student. You can find more explanation about that status on our page about flexi-jobs. For you, the student agreement remains the framework, with the hours you may work per calendar year.
Practical: contract and Dimona
Good administration prevents most problems. This is what you need to know:
- Student agreement: you sign a student agreement or student contract with your employer. This also applies to hours above your 650-hour package.
- Dimona: your employer registers you through a Dimona declaration before you start. Feel free to check that this is in order.
- Tracking hours: keep your contracts and payslips. They show how many hours you have already worked in the calendar year.
- Multiple employers: note your hours per employer and add them up yourself.
- Wage: social contributions and withholding tax are deducted from your gross wage. What remains is your net wage.
On the page for shifters you can read how to get started with AnyShift and how to follow up on assignments. Employers who hire students can find information on the page for companies.
Five tips to keep your child benefit
- 1. Know when you turn 18. Until you are 18, you always have the right. After that, the hour count starts to matter.
- 2. Count per calendar year. Start every year on 1 January with an empty overview and note every hour you plan or work.
- 3. Check the limit for your place of residence. It differs depending on where you live, so do not copy a figure from a friend in another region.
- 4. Keep a buffer. Do not plan down to the last hour. An extra shift or a contract extension can push you just over the limit.
- 5. Ask when in doubt. The Groeipakket or your payment institution can look at your personal situation before you accept extra hours.
Frequently asked questions about child benefit as a student worker
Am I entitled to child benefit as a 17-year-old if I work a lot?
Yes. If you are younger than 18, you always have the right to child benefit, no matter how much you work.
Can I lose my child benefit by working too much?
Yes, from 18. If you work more hours than the permitted number per calendar year, you may lose your child benefit.
Is the 650-hour limit also the limit for my child benefit?
No. The 650-hour package determines your social contributions. The hour limit for your Groeipakket depends on where you live, so check it separately.
Does my summer work count towards the hours for the whole year?
Yes. The count is done per calendar year, so summer jobs count together with the hours you worked earlier that year.
Can I do a flexi-job as a student to spread my hours?
Usually not. For a flexi-job you need a main job of at least 4/5 or a pension.
In summary
Under 18, you always keep your child benefit. From 18, the number of hours per calendar year counts, and that depends on where you live. Working more than permitted can cost you your child benefit. Track your hours, spread them smartly and check the limit with the Groeipakket before you sign a contract.
Looking for a job that fits your schedule? Check the student jobs, discover the locations near you or read more tips on our blog.
