A Dictionary of Dutchness

ANW

ANW (Algemene nabestaandenwet) is the law covering benefit payments to widows, widowers and orphans. The number of people claiming ANW fell to 118,000 in September 2008, some 8,000 down from a year earlier, according to the national statistics office. Tougher criteria introduced in 1996 for people born after 1950 are the cause of the decline.