The Danish government has included a proposal related to SU in the 2027 Finance Bill (Budget), entitled “A Stronger Defense for Denmark – A Denmark Worth Defending.”.
SU stands for Statens Uddannelsesstøtte, meaning "State Education Support," and is a financial aid system provided by the Danish government to students to help cover living expenses while studying. The amount of support and its conditions vary depending on the student's age, type of study, and living situation. One category of SU is specifically for students living with their parents. SU is a cornerstone of Denmark's welfare system, in a country known for having one of the highest tax rates in the world.
According to information published by TV2, the proposal concerning SU represents one of the measures that the government announced it intends to include in the next draft finance law, along with other measures relating to taxes and the labor market.
The proposal remains part of the draft budget law, which will be subject to political negotiations, and therefore its final details may depend on the political course of the negotiations before the legislation is finally approved.
The government is targeting 81,000 young men and women living with their families with this condition.
According to TV2, the Danish government has proposed cancelling SU for about 81,000 young people living in their family home, if their parents’ total annual income exceeds 710,000 kroner before tax.
Finance Minister Peter Hummelgaard of the Social Democratic Party, Economy Minister Pia Olsen Dyhr of the Socialist People's Party, Tax Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt of the Moderate Party, and Business Minister Martin Lidegaard of the Radical Party, said this in a joint interview with the Berlingske newspaper.
Danish Finance Minister: SU cut is part of the government plan funding
Finance Minister Peter Humlgaard said the government will put forward a budget bill which, from its point of view, achieves a balance in the distribution of resources.
He explained that the project is not only about the investments that the government wants to implement, but also about how to finance these investments, and linked the reduction of SU for students living with their families to the goal of reducing inequality.
Around 147,000 young people received SU (supervised) to live with their parents.
Figures from the Danish Ministry of Education and Research show that 147,463 young people received SU during 2025, which is allocated to students living with their families.
Based on the government proposal, about 81,000 of them will lose their right to this support if their parents' income exceeds the limit set by the government.
This means that approximately 55% of all young people who received SU for students living with their families in 2025 may be affected by the proposed change.
What happens if the parents are separated?
The method of calculating income differs in the case of parental separation.
If the parents are separated, the income that goes into the SU entitlement calculation is the income of the parent with whom the young man’s address is registered in the civil registry.
Therefore, in this case, the parents' incomes are not combined when determining whether the student exceeds the suggested income limit.
Who can currently obtain SU while living with their parents?
All young people over the age of 18, who are studying in an accredited education to obtain SU, and who live in their parents’ home, can obtain the SU designated for students living with their families, according to the current rules referred to in the TV2 report.
The government proposal specifically targets this group, as continued access to support will be linked to the parents' income level.
The income limit is 710,000 kronor before tax.
The government wants to set an income limit of 710,000 kroner per year before tax for the student's parents.
If the combined annual income of the parents exceeds this level, the young person living with his family will, according to the proposal, lose his right to obtain SU.
TV2 noted that the average income of a family with children is 717,900 kroner after tax, according to data from Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik).
The government links the measure to revenues of 2.4 billion kroner.
The proposed change in SU does not come in isolation, as the government places it within a set of financial measures.
The government also plans to raise the work requirements imposed on graduates applying for unemployment benefits, as well as cap the tax deduction on loan interest.
The Ministry of Finance estimates that these measures combined will generate revenues for the public treasury of approximately 2.4 billion kroner by 2030.
High school students accuse the government of reneging on its promises.
Danske Gymnasieelevers Sammenslutning, the Danish high school students' association, strongly criticized the proposal, accusing the government of what it called a "clear retreat from promises.".
The association's president, Oscar Tønsberg Hoffmann, said in a press release that the proposal was not just a disappointment, but a clear retreat from election promises.
He added that the SF and Radkale parties had, according to the association, opposed weakening the SU system, and had pledged to make improvements to it during the election campaign.
The association warns of the proposal's impact on students.
Oscar Tunsberg Hoffman said the proposal could have significant implications for the country's students.
He added that the association strongly opposes interference in the SU system, noting that it involves canceling support for 81,000 students who go to youth education every day, and he believes that their education benefits them and society.
He stressed that the association opposes the proposed measure, and considered that canceling SU for this category represents a broad interference in the educational support system.
SU funds are part of the 2027 Finance Bill negotiations
The proposal to change the SU rules comes as part of the 2027 Finance Bill, which the government has dubbed “A Stronger Defense for Denmark – A Denmark Worth Defending.”.
The proposed bill includes a number of other measures, but the government has placed changing the SU rules for students living with their families within the funding measures from which the Ministry of Finance expects to generate additional revenue in the coming years.
Announcing the proposal does not mean that the change has already taken effect, as the draft finance law still needs to go through the political process and negotiations between the parties before it is approved in its final form.
