Government rules meant to soften the impact of local taxes on the country’s poorest families stop them from building up a responsible amount of savings, the family spending institute Nibud said on Thursday.

In many cases, families lose all sorts of benefits if they have more than €1,500 to €2,000 set aside for emergencies, but Nibud says they should have at least €3,500 in savings.

The institute says the maximum amount of savings should be raised to €5,940 for a single person and €11,800 for a couple, in line with the limit to qualify for welfare benefits (bijstand).

The institute, which advises the government on all sorts of family spending issues, says that 2.5 million Dutch households don’t have sufficient savings to pay for emergencies and that more should be done to encourage people to put cash aside.

‘Most households are aware that saving is important but it is not in people’s nature to worry about the future,’ Nibud said. The fact that many savings accounts are paying hardly any interest is an added problem, the institute said.