Queen Máxima at hackathon Debt Assistance for Everyone

News report | 21-01-2026 | 17:20

Queen Máxima was present at the final meeting where participating teams presented their results. After the plenary program, Queen Máxima spoke with several hackathon participants about their experiences.

Statistics from CBS show that nearly 750,000 households (9%) struggle with problematic debts. Despite efforts from many parties, this percentage has remained the same for years. This is partly due to the lack of a complete debt overview, limited knowledge about the causes of dropout in debt restructuring processes, and debt assistance methods that are not effective enough. Problematic debts cause health problems, reduced labor productivity, and dropout. This leads to at least 8.5 billion euros in social costs annually (source: Nibud, Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Panteia 2024). SFGN aims with the hackathon to encourage its public and private partners to devise solutions that force a breakthrough in tackling debts and arrears, with respect for privacy.

On January 28 and 29, four themes were central: problem analysis of debts and debt assistance, early detection of financial problems based on data; development of a fully digital debt overview and Next Best Actions, human-centered and proportional measures against debts that fit the situation.

The Financially Healthy Netherlands Foundation was launched in November 2025 after merging SchuldenlabNL and the National Coalition Financial Health. The foundation stimulates public-private cooperation to structurally improve financial health. The joint ambition of the partners within SFGN is to reduce by fifty percent the number of households that are financially vulnerable or unhealthy by 2030.  

RVD, no. 24