2025/333

27.2.2025

GUIDELINE (EU) 2025/333 OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 31 January 2025

on statistical information to be reported on household wealth, income and consumption (

ECB/2025/3

)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular Article 5.1 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Household-level information on the main components of wealth, income and consumption is highly valuable to understand trends in the economic and financial situation of different groups of citizens resident in the euro area. This information is necessary to analyse the effects of monetary policy measures across different households, which represents a key component of the proportionality assessment for the conduct of monetary policy, conducted in line with Article 127(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Household-level information is also necessary for the European System of Central Banks’ (ESCB’s) contribution to the smooth conduct of policies pursued by the competent authorities relating to the stability of the financial system in line with Article 127(5) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

(2) Household-level information on net wealth (assets and liabilities), collected in a comparable manner across euro-area countries, is currently available only through the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS). The HFCS is conducted in each Member State by national central banks (NCBs) or by other competent authorities on the basis of national laws which allow for the collection of household-level information by survey from natural persons. Given the necessity of such information to undertake the tasks of the ESCB, the collection of statistical information on household wealth, income and consumption by the ECB from the NCBs should be regulated by a Guideline adopted on the basis of Article 12.1 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (hereinafter the ‘Statute of the ESCB’). This should not prevent the relevant statistical information collected for purposes other than, or in addition to, meeting the ECB’s statistical reporting requirements from being used to serve those other purposes.

(3) The Guideline aims to contribute to the harmonisation of the rules and practices governing the collection, compilation and distribution of the statistics produced from information collected by the HFCS in accordance with Article 5.3 of the Statute of the ESCB. This ensures that the statistical information reported by the NCBs to the ECB has the coherence required to produce statistics that are representative of the Member States in the euro area. For this reason, NCBs should be required to report a core set of economic, financial and demographic output variables needed to compile statistical information on household wealth, income and consumption, together with information describing the features of the country surveys undertaken in the respective Member State. In order to reflect differences in the collections across euro-area countries without increasing the reporting burden on NCBs, NCBs may report a non-core set of economic, financial and demographic output variables to the ECB. This information is necessary as it enhances the economic, financial and statistical analyses of the ECB which are used to undertake ESCB tasks, in particular, relating to monetary policy.

(4) In order to assess the impact of geopolitical and other significant unforeseen developments on the economic or financial situation of groups of citizens resident in the euro area, such as a crisis in the provision of energy or the outbreak of a pandemic, which may affect the conduct of monetary policy or the stability of the financial system, it is necessary to further determine the arrangements for the reporting of related statistical information collected by NCBs to the ECB. This ensures such information is also subject to the same protection as the core and non-core sets of economic, financial and demographic output variables collected by the ECB and NCBs under this Guideline.

(5) Statistical information necessary to meet the ECB’s requirements in the field of household wealth, income and consumption may be collected or compiled by competent authorities other than NCBs. Therefore, in some Member States, some of the tasks to be undertaken under this Guideline require cooperation between the ECB or the NCBs and those competent authorities. Articles 2a and 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 (1) require that Member States organise themselves in the field of statistics and cooperate fully with the ESCB and with the European Statistical System (ESS) to fulfill the obligations of Article 5 of the Statute of the ESCB. Such cooperation is also necessary between NCBs and national competent authorities or other bodies in relation to the processing of personal data, including for the purpose of setting up the arrangements for the controllership of the personal data among these authorities or bodies at national level.

(6) In order for the ECB to perform its tasks, it is appropriate that NCBs report the required statistical information by specified dates.

(7) In order to ensure the accuracy and quality of the statistical information collected by the ECB, it is necessary for the ECB to provide for rules on the monitoring, verification and, where appropriate, the revision of statistical information reported by NCBs. For the same reasons, NCBs should provide explanations to the ECB, whenever necessary and upon request by the ECB, on the statistical information reported, particularly with regard to the NCB’s interpretation of aspects of the output variables which are based on national specificities or structural breaks in detail which may impact that statistical information or its quality.

(8) Article 5 of the Statute of the ESCB, together with Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union, implies that non-euro area Member States which plan to adopt the euro should design and implement measures for the collection of the statistical information required to fulfil the ECB’s statistical reporting requirements in preparation for such adoption of the euro. For the purposes of enabling the ECB to obtain a comprehensive overview of the statistical information collected and to carry out relevant analysis, NCBs of non-euro area Member States that adopt the euro should be required to provide the ECB with statistical information covering a specified period prior to their adoption of the euro.

(9) It is appropriate to provide for a common method of transmission of statistical information reported to the ECB for all NCBs. Accordingly, a harmonised electronic transmission format should be agreed and specified by the ESCB.

(10) This Guideline aims to ensure that NCBs are responsible for the processing of personal data collected in connection with the HFCS in their respective Member State. Any such processing of personal data should comply with the relevant Union legislation on personal data protection, namely Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3). Such processing is lawful as it is necessary for the performance of the tasks of the ESCB carried out in the public interest and for compliance with the legal obligations to which each NCB, as controller of the data that it has collected in its country survey, or by other means, as relevant in its Member State, is subject under this Guideline. In accordance with the data minimisation principle set out in those Regulations, statistical information to be reported by the NCBs to the ECB in line with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and in connection with the HFCS should be aggregated or anonymised by the NCBs to such a degree that individuals cannot be directly or indirectly identified.

(11) Where statistical information to be reported to the ECB pursuant to this Guideline is aggregated or anonymised by the NCBs to ensure that natural persons may not be identified, either directly or indirectly through deduction, such information does not fall within the definition of ‘confidential statistical information’ in Regulation (EC) No 2533/98. In addition, the statistical information that must be reported to the ECB in accordance with this Guideline should not allow any other legal persons, entities or branches to be directly or indirectly identified.

(12) The statistical information collected by the ECB should be used exclusively for statistical purposes and to grant access to and/or disseminate statistics and statistical analyses to users. Given that the ECB intends to share a subset of the statistical information it collects with scientific research bodies, it is also necessary to set up the appropriate arrangements for such access to be granted.

(13) It is necessary to set up a procedure to carry out technical amendments to the Annexes to this Guideline in an effective manner, provided that such amendments neither change the underlying conceptual framework of the Guideline nor affect the reporting burden of the NCBs. Accordingly, the Executive Board of the ECB should be able to make such technical amendments and account should be taken of the views of the Statistics Committee of the ESCB when following this procedure. It is the practice of the Statistics Committee to take into account the views of the users, specifically the Heads of Research of the ECB and NCBs and the Household Finance and Consumption Network comprising survey specialists, statisticians and economists from the ECB, the NCBs and a number of national statistical institutes,

HAS ADOPTED THIS GUIDELINE:

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

This Guideline establishes the requirements for NCBs to report to the ECB statistical information on household wealth, income and consumption that they have collected on the basis of national law. In particular, this Guideline specifies the statistical information to be reported by the NCBs to the ECB, the treatment of that information, the frequency and timing of that reporting and the standards applied to that reporting.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Guideline, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘HFCS’ (Household Finance and Consumption Survey) means the set of country surveys implemented in individual Member States on the wealth, income and consumption of households;

(2) ‘country survey’ means a survey conducted in a Member State which forms part of the HFCS;

(3) ‘fieldwork period’ means the period during which data is collected from the respondents to a country survey;

(4) ‘reference period’ means the period to which the statistical information relates;

(5) ‘reference date’ means the date to which the statistical information relates;

(6) ‘private household’ means a person living alone or a group of persons who live together in the same private dwelling and share expenditures, including the joint provision of living essentials as well as financial decisions, as further specified in Part 3 of Annex I;

(7) ‘personal data’ has the meaning attributed to the term by Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725;

(8) ‘anonymisation’ means the process by which the possibility of direct or indirect identification has been eliminated such that neither a private household nor a natural person can be identified, and the anonymisation cannot be reversed;

(9) ‘output variables’ means the standardised data categories covering the statistical information specified in Annex I and Annex II;

(10) ‘imputation’ means assignment of an estimated value to an output variable that could not be collected or was not correctly collected. The estimated value is based on values collected for other households;

(11) ‘administrative data’ mean data generated by a non-statistical source, usually a public body, the main aim of which is not the provision of statistics;

(12) ‘aggregate indicators’ means summary statistics of certain output variables representative of the population that do not contain any confidential statistical information as defined in Article 1(12) of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98;

(13) ‘usual residence’ means ‘usual residence’ as defined in Article 2(11) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parlament and of the Council (4)

;

(14) ‘sampling frames’ shall have the same meaning as defined in Article 2(14) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1700;

(15) ‘research dataset’ means data files including statistical results based on statistical information on households and household members collected in line with this Guideline and made suitable for the performance of ESCB tasks.

Article 3

Statistical information to be reported by the NCBs

1. NCBs shall report to the ECB statistical information on household wealth, income, consumption, and related core economic, financial and demographic output variables in accordance with Annex I.

2. An NCB may report certain non-core economic, financial and demographic output variables in accordance with Annex II.

3. An NCB may decide to voluntarily report non-core economic, financial and demographic output variables, in addition to the output variables referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, where these relate to current or recent developments that may directly affect the economic or financial situation of different groups of citizens resident in the euro area.

4. NCBs shall report to the ECB the information describing the features of the country surveys undertaken by NCBs, as set out in Annex III.

5. The statistical information to be reported pursuant to this Article shall be based on one or a combination of the following sources:

(a) data collected from the country surveys provided directly by respondents of the HFCS, which are preferably collected by computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI). Where CAPI is not used to collect the data, computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI), computer-assisted web-interview (CAWI), computer-assisted self-interview (CASI) or other computer-assisted methods may be used for any or all parts of the data collection. NCBs shall provide explanations to the ECB for using computer-assisted methods, other than CAPI, upon request;

(b) administrative data.

Article 4

Statistical population

1. NCBs shall ensure that the statistical information to be reported is collected within the limits of a statistical population defined as comprising all persons having their usual residence in private households in each euro area Member State.

2. NCBs shall ensure that the statistical information is collected from a representative sample of the statistical population.

Article 5

Sampling

1. NCBs shall draw the statistical information from sampling frames set up at national level that allow private households or natural persons to be selected at random, with a known non-zero probability of selection. The sampling frames shall aim to identify and cover exhaustively the statistical population with a minimum coverage error and shall be regularly updated.

2. Where sub-populations covered by a country survey are significantly under-represented in the achieved sample, NCBs shall take measures such as oversampling or applying other relevant methods to correct the resulting bias, taking into account the need for cost-effectiveness. NCBs shall explain and assess the methods applied, their impact and any drawbacks in the statistical information specified in Annex III.

3. NCBs may allow for the controlled substitution of the sample private households or natural persons if the response rate of the country survey falls below 60 % for those selected to be interviewed for the first time, and one of the following applies:

(a) the sample private household or person cannot be contacted;

(b) the sample private household or person is contacted, but the interview cannot be completed.

The set of sample private households or natural persons for controlled substitution shall be defined prior to the data collection. There shall be no controlled substitution with private households or natural persons not belonging to that set.

Article 6

Imputation

1. Before reporting the statistical information to the ECB, the NCBs shall ensure that each core output variable that is missing due to non-responses is imputed where necessary in accordance with Annex I.

2. Each missing value which is being imputed shall be imputed five times applying multiple stochastic imputation so that the number of implicates is five.

3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply where the NCB considers that the missing information does not impact the overall data output generated by the survey.

Article 7

Fieldwork periods

1. The NCBs shall carry out at least 50 % of the interviews referred to in Article 3(5), point (a), in their country survey during the applicable HFCS reference year as referred to in Article 9.

2. The NCBs shall report the statistical information pursuant to Article 3 based on a fieldwork period that fulfils the following criteria:

(a) the fieldwork period does not exceed 9 months;

(b) the fieldwork period does not begin before October of the year preceding the HFCS reference year or after the end of October in the HFCS reference year;

Article 8

Reference dates and periods

1. For statistical information related to wealth collected from country surveys, the reference date shall be either of the following:

(a) the date when the statistical information was collected by interview; or

(b) 31 December of the calendar year preceding the HFCS reference year referred to in Article 9, provided that the fieldwork period is completed within that HFCS reference year.

2. For statistical information related to wealth based on administrative data, the reference date shall be either of the following:

(a) a date in the HFCS reference year referred to in Article 9; or

(b) 31 December of the calendar year preceding the HFCS reference year referred to in Article 9.

3. For the statistical information related to income collected from country surveys, the reference period shall be a 12-month period ending either:

(a) on 31 December of the calendar year preceding the start of the fieldwork period; or

(b) during the month preceding the date when the statistical information was collected by interview.

4. For the statistical information related to income based on administrative data, the reference period shall be a 12-month period ending either:

(a) on 31 December of the calendar year preceding the HFCS reference year referred to in Article 9; or

(b) on a date in the HFCS reference year referred to in Article 9.

5. The reference dates and periods for all other statistical information referred to in Article 3(1) and (2) are set out in Part 1, paragraph 5, and Table A of Annex I and Part 1, paragraph 3, and Table A of Annex II, respectively.

Article 9

Frequency and timeliness

1. The HFCS reference year of the first transmission of statistical information referred to in Article 3 from NCBs to the ECB shall be 2026.

2. The HFCS reference years for subsequent transmissions shall follow the year 2026 with a three-year frequency.

3. NCBs shall report to the ECB the statistical information pursuant to Article 3 every 3 years.

4. NCBs shall report to the ECB the statistical information pursuant to Article 3 within 19 months following the end of the fieldwork period, and no later than 36 months from the beginning of the HFCS reference year.

5. Where NCBs derive part of the statistical information to be reported pursuant to this Guideline from administrative data, the deadline for the ECB to receive the statistical information referred to in Article 3 is 22 months after the end of the fieldwork period, and not later than 36 months from the beginning of the HFCS reference year.

Article 10

Revisions

1. NCBs may transmit to the ECB revisions of the statistical information reported pursuant to Article 3 that refer to previous HFCS reference years.

2. NCBs shall provide explanations to the ECB for revisions reported pursuant to paragraph 1 upon request.

Article 11

Data protection

1. For the purposes of this Guideline, each NCB is the controller within the meaning of Article 4(7) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the data that it has collected in its country survey, or by other means, as relevant in its Member State, and that it is responsible for reporting to the ECB in accordance with Article 3.

2. NCBs shall ensure that no personal data as referred to in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 is reported to the ECB when reporting statistical information pursuant to Article 3 or where any other information in connection with the HFCS is shared. This means that each data element which would allow a natural person or a household to be identified, either directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person is removed or anonymised before reporting the statistical information to the ECB, including where an NCB receives the statistical information or parts thereof from a third party.

3. If the ECB discovers or is informed by an NCB that personal data were erroneously transmitted, it shall immediately delete that personal data, and shall inform the relevant NCB accordingly.

Article 12

Statistical principles and explanations

1. NCBs shall monitor and ensure the quality and reliability of the statistical information reported to the ECB pursuant to this Guideline, including ensuring that the statistical information is appropriately reported to the ECB according to the statistical principles set out in Article 3a of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98.

2. Where necessary, NCBs shall provide explanations to the ECB on the interpretation of aspects of the output variables which are based on national specificities or structural breaks in detail, including the impact on that statistical information. NCBs shall also provide such explanations upon request by the ECB.

Article 13

Transmission

1. NCBs shall transmit the statistical information to be reported pursuant to this Guideline electronically, using the means specified by the ECB. The format developed for this electronic exchange of statistical information shall be the format agreed by the ESCB.

2. Where paragraph 1 does not apply, NCBs may use other means of transmitting statistical information with the ECB’s prior consent.

Article 14

Cooperation with competent authorities or bodies other than NCBs

1. Where the sources for part or all of the statistical information described in Article 3 are competent authorities or bodies other than NCBs, NCBs may establish the appropriate cooperation arrangements with these authorities or bodies to ensure a permanent structure for transmission of data which fulfils the ECB’s requirements set out in this Guideline, unless the same result is already achieved by national legislation.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, NCBs shall be responsible for ensuring that the ECB’s requirements set out in this Guideline are complied with when it relies on cooperation arrangements with other competent authorities or bodies to collect the statistical information described in Article 3.

Article 15

Use and dissemination of statistical information

The ECB shall use the statistical information collected under Article 3 for statistical purposes as follows:

(a) to grant access to the research dataset (i) within the ESCB; and (ii) to scientific research bodies in accordance with the criteria and procedure set out in Annex IV; and

(b) to disseminate reports which include aggregate indicators.

Each NCB is deemed to have provided its prior explicit consent and to have secured the prior explicit consent of any other authority which provided the statistical information collected under Article 3 to them prior to the granting of access under point (a).

Article 16

Grandfathering

Where the ECB has granted access to the research dataset to persons fulfilling the criteria for designating eligible researchers in accordance with Annex IV, those researchers may continue to have access to that research datatset in accordance with those criteria.

Article 17

Simplified amendment procedure

Taking account of the views of the Statistics Committee of the ESCB, the ECB’s Executive Board may make any technical amendments to the Annexes provided that such amendments neither change the underlying conceptual framework of this Guideline nor affect the reporting burden of NCBs. The Executive Board shall inform the Governing Council of any such amendment without undue delay.

Article 18

Transitional provisions

1. For the first transmission, NCBs may report to the ECB the statistical information referred to in Article 3 as follows:

(a) within 21 months following the end of the fieldwork period, and not later than 36 months from the beginning of the HFCS reference year;

(b) where NCBs derive part of the statistical information to be reported pursuant to this Guideline from administrative data, within 25 months following the end of the fieldwork period, and not later than 36 months from the beginning of the HFCS reference year.

2. Where an NCB requires a longer phase-in period for collecting the necessary statistical information referred to in Article 3, the Governing Council may grant an individual temporary derogation from the obligation to report to the ECB the required statistical information for the first transmission in line with Article 9(1). The individual temporary derogation shall only apply to the first transmission as referred to in Article 9(1).

3. Where an individual temporary derogation is granted pursuant to paragraph 2, the NCB concerned shall report at least once a year to the ESCB Statistics Committee on its progress in achieving full compliance with the obligation to report to the ECB for the subsequent transmissions as referred to in Article 9(2).

4. The Governing Council may decide that further restrictions are to be imposed on individual NCBs benefitting from any derogation under this Article.

Article 19

Taking effect and implementation

This Guideline shall take effect on the day of its notification to the national central banks of the Member States whose currency is the euro.

Article 20

Addressees

This Guideline is addressed to all Eurosystem central banks.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 31 January 2025.

For the Governing Council of the ECB

The President of the ECB

Christine LAGARDE

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (

OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8

(2) Regulation (EU)

2018/1725

of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (

OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39

(3) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (

OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1

(4) Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 October 2019 establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to persons and households, based on data at individual level collected from samples, amending Regulations (EC) No 808/2004, (EC) No 452/2008 and (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 (

OJ L 261 I, 14.10.2019, p. 1

ANNEX I

Core output variables

National central banks (NCBs) must report core output variables on (i) a household-level basis; (ii) an individual-level basis for all household members; or (iii) an individual-level basis for household members of 16 years and older.

Part 1 – Core output variables to be reported

Table A sets out the core output variables to be reported by NCBs to the European Central Bank (ECB).

NCBs report core output variables to the ECB for all respondents. Core output variables may include missing values for some respondents where the output variable is not applicable (i.e. skipped due to routing, or the relevant country survey has no panel component). All remaining missing values and special answers (don’t know answer/no answer) must be imputed before reporting the statistical information to the ECB unless stated otherwise in Table A, i.e. codes -1 (don’t know) and -2 (no answer) are admissible for the output variable.

Core output variables may also be reported with missing values for anonymisation purposes. Output variables in brackets/grouped by categories (i.e. Age in brackets – RA0300_B, and Self-employment business $x: number of employees in brackets – HD050$x_B) must always be reported with actual values (1), irrespective of whether the corresponding core output variables with more detailed statistical information (i.e. Age – RA0300, and Self-employment business $x: number of employees – HD050$x) are reported as missing for anonymisation purposes.

Reference date/period refers to the date/period to which a particular output variable relates. ‘Current’ refers to time of data collection. ‘Constant’ refers to information which remains constant and does not change with time (irrespective of time of data collection). ‘Wealth reference date’ refers to the date as defined in Article 8(1) and (2). ‘Income reference period’ refers to the period as defined in Article 8(3) and (4).

Certain core output variables are looped, which implies that several core output variables must be reported in such cases. Output variable identifiers of variables which are looped include the sign ‘$’ (at least 1). This applies to different types of loans, properties, self-employment businesses, gifts/inheritances where the number of loops is by default 3, but NCBs may also apply 2 loops. In the case of pension plans, up to 7 loops may be applied. For example, in the case of 3 loops, 3 variables (HB1701, HB1702 and HB1703) are reported for the variable ‘HMR mortgage $x: current amount outstanding’ (HB170$x in Table A).

Certain core output variables are looped over 2 dimensions. In these cases, the output variable identifiers end with ‘$x$y’. For example, in the case of variable HB330$x$y (‘other property $x mortgage $y: year when loan taken’), 9 variables (HB33011, HB33012, HB33013, HB33021, HB33022, HB33023, HB33031, HB33032, HB33033) are reported (in the event of 3 loops for ‘other properties’ and ‘mortgages’).

For certain core output variables several options are available, which implies that several core output variables must be provided. Output variable identifiers of variables which contain options end with the letter ‘v’. For example, 6 variables (HD1320a, HD1320b, HD1320c, HD1320d, HD1320e, HD1320f) are reported for the variable ‘Types of mutual funds’ (HD1320v in Table A).

For certain core output variables there is a combination of loops and options. In these cases, the output variable identifiers end with ‘$xv’. For example, 6 variables (HB1201a, HB1201b, HB1202a, HB1202b, HB1203a, HB1203b) are reported for the variable ‘HMR mortgage $x: purpose of the loan with a: first choice purpose and b: second choice purpose’ (HB120$xv in Table A).

Table A

Core output variables to be reported by NCBs to the ECB

Output variable identifier

Output variable name

Coding

Description of coding

Collection unit

To be reported when(2):

Reference date/period

TOPIC 1: DEMOGRAPHICS

RA0100

Relationship to reference person

Reference person (RP)

All household members

Always

Current

Spouse or partner of RP

Son/daughter of RP

Parent or parent-in-law of RP

Another relative of RP

Other household (HH) member – not a relative of RP

RA0010

Personal ID

Numerical value of up to 2 digits

Personal identification number, assigned by the NCB

All household members

Always

Constant

RA0011

Longitudinal personal ID

Numerical value of up to 10 digits

Longitudinal personal identification number, assigned by the NCB

All household members (panel)

Country survey has a panel component

Constant

RA0015

Person’s initial household ID

Numerical value of up to 8 digits

Person’s initial household identification number, assigned by the NCB

All household members (panel)

Country survey has a panel component

Constant

RA0020 (discontinued as of HFCS reference year 2029)

Past personal ID

Numerical value of up to 2 digits

Personal identification number used in the last interview, assigned by the NCB

All household members (panel)

Country survey has a panel component

Current

RA0030

Vintage of last interview (individual)

Numerical value of 4 digits

Year of last interview

All household members (panel)

Country survey has a panel component

Current

RA0031

Vintage of first interview (individual)

Numerical value of 4 digits

Year of first interview

All household members (panel)

Country survey has a panel component

Constant

RA0040

Motivation for entering the household

Newborn

New members of panel household

Country survey has a panel component

Current

Other

RA0200

Sex

Male

All household members

Always

Current

Female

RA0300

Age

Numerical value of up to 2 digits, max 85

Age in completed years, top-coded at 85

All household members

Always

Current

RA0300_B

Age in brackets

Age 0 to 6

All household members

Always

Current

Age 7 to 13

Age 14 to 15

Age 16 to 19

Age 20 to 24

Age 25 to 29

Age 30 to 34

Age 35 to 39

Age 40 to 44

Age 45 to 49

Age 50 to 54

Age 55 to 59

Age 60 to 64

Age 65 to 69

Age 70 to 74

Age 75 to 79

Age 80 to 84

Age 85 and above

RA0400

Country of birth

Two-letter ISO 3166-1 alpha 2 code

National (euro area) code

All household members

Always

Constant

OEA

Other euro area countries

OEU

Non-euro area EU countries

OTH

Non-EU countries

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

RA0500

Duration of stay in the country of residence

Numerical value of up to 2 digits, max 85

Length of stay in the country in years, top-coded at 85

All household members

RA0400 ≠ SA0100

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PA0100

Marital status

Single/never married

All household members aged 16 and over

Always

Current

Married or consensual union on a legal basis

Widowed

Divorced

PA0200

Highest level of education completed

Early childhood education or no education (0) or primary education (1)

All household members aged 16 and over

Always

Current

Lower secondary education

Upper secondary education (3) or post-secondary non-tertiary education (4)

Short-cycle tertiary education (5) or Bachelor or equivalent (6) or Master or equivalent (7) or Doctoral or equivalent (8)

HA0100

Financially knowledgeable person

Numerical value of up to 2 digits

Numerical value of the RA0010 personal ID if the financially knowledgeable person (FKP) is a member of the HH

Household

Always

Current

Person not a member of the HH

TOPIC 2: REAL ASSETS AND THEIR FINANCING

HB0100_B

Size of HMR in brackets

0 to 29 square metres

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

30 to 39 square metres

40 to 49 square metres

50 to 59 square metres

60 to 79 square metres

80 to 99 square metres

100 to 119 square metres

120 to 149 square metres

150 to 199 square metres

200 square metres and above

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB0200

Length of stay in HMR

Numerical value of up to 2 digits, max 85

Length of stay in completed years, top-coded at 85

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB0300

HMR – tenure status

Own all

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

Own part

Rented/sublet

Free use

HB0400

Is rent paid for partially owned HMR

Yes

Household

HB0300 = 2

Wealth reference date

HB0410

Amount of rent paid for partially owned HMR

Numerical value

Monthly amount in EUR

Household

HB0400 = 1

Wealth reference date

HB0500

% of ownership of HMR

Numerical value

Percentage

Household

HB0300 = 2

Wealth reference date

HB0600

Way of acquiring property

Purchased

Household

HB0300 = 1 or HB0300 = 2

Wealth reference date

Own construction

Inherited

Gift

50 % purchased or constructed / 50 % inherited or received as a gift

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB0700

Year of property acquisition

Numerical value of 4 digits

Year of acquisition, bottom coded at ‘HFCS reference year’ minus 85

Household

HB0300 = 1 or HB0300 = 2

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB0800

Property value at the time of its acquisition

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB0300 = 1 or HB0300 = 2

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB0900

Current price of HMR

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB0300 = 1 or HB0300 = 2

Wealth reference date

HBZ020

House price expectations – qualitative

Decrease

Household

Always

Current

Unchanged (0 % change)

Increase

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HBZ030

House price expectations – Open-end quantitative

Numerical value

Percentage

Household

Always

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB1000

Mortgages or loans using HMR as collateral

Yes

Household

HB0300 = 1 or HB0300 = 2

Wealth reference date

HB1010

Number of mortgages or loans using HMR as collateral

Numerical value

Number of mortgages and loans

Household

HB1000 = 1

Wealth reference date

HB120$xv

Where v = a,b

HMR mortgage $x: purpose of the loan

a:	first choice purpose of the loan

b:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

To purchase or construct the household main residence (HMR)

Household

HB1010 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

To purchase other real estate

To refurbish or renovate the residence

To buy a vehicle or other means of transport

To finance a business or professional activity

To consolidate or refinance debts

For education purposes

To cover living expenses or other purchases

Other

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB130$x

HMR mortgage $x: year when loan was taken

Numerical value of 4 digits

Year when loan was taken

Household

HB1010 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HB140$x

HMR mortgage $x: initial amount borrowed

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB1010 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HB160$x

HMR mortgage $x: length of the loan at the time of borrowing

Numerical value

Number of years

Household

HB1010 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

-4

Loan has no set term

HB110$x

HMR mortgage $x: mortgage refinancing/renegotiation

Yes

Household

HB1010 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB170$x

HMR mortgage $x: current amount outstanding

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB1010 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HB171$x

HMR mortgage $x: current remaining maturity

Numerical value

Number of years

Household

HB1010 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

-4

No term / No fixed date for repayment

HB180$x

HMR mortgage $x: variable interest rate

Yes

Household

HB1010 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HB190$x

HMR mortgage $x: current interest rate of the HMR mortgage

Numerical value

Interest rate

Household

HB1010 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HB200$x

HMR mortgage $x: monthly amount of payment made on loan

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB1010 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HB2100

Money still owed on additional HMR loans

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB1010 > $loops

Wealth reference date

HB2200

Monthly amount of payment made on additional HMR loans

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB1010 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HB2300

Monthly amount paid as rent

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB0300 = 3

Wealth reference date

HB2400

Household owns other properties than HMR

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HB2410

Number of properties other than HMR

Numerical value of 1 digit, max 5

Number of properties, top-coded at 5

Household

HB2400 = 1

Wealth reference date

HB250$x

Other property $x: property type

House or flat

Household

HB2410 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

Apartment building

Industrial building/ warehouse

Building plot/estate, field, garden, forest and arable land

Garage

Shop

Office

Hotel

Farm

Other

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB260$xv

Where v = a,b,c

Other property $x: use

a:	first choice use of property

b:	secondary choice use of property

c:	secondary choice use of property

Holidays or other private own use

Household

HB2410 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

Own business activities

Rented or leased to a business or people outside the household

Vacant

Free use for others

Other

-1 (only for b and c)

Don’t know

-2 (only for b and c)

No answer

HB270$x

Other property $x: % of the property belonging to household

Numerical value

Percentage

Household

HB2410 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HB280$x

Other property $x: current value

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB2410 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HB300$x

Mortgages or loans using property $x as collateral

Yes

Household

HB2410 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HB301$x

Number of mortgages or loans using property $x as collateral

Numerical value

Number of mortgages or loans

Household

HB300$x = 1

Wealth reference date

HB330$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: year when loan taken

Numerical value of 4 digits

Year

Household

HB301$x > $y-1

Wealth reference date

HB340$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: initial amount borrowed

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB301$x > $y-1

Wealth reference date

HB360$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: length of the loan at the time of borrowing

Numerical value

Duration in years

Household

HB301$x > $y-1

Wealth reference date

-4

Loan has no set term

HB370$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: current amount outstanding

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB301$x > $y-1

Wealth reference date

HB371$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: current remaining maturity

Numerical value

Number of years

Household

HB301$x > $y-1

Wealth reference date

-4

Loan has no set term

HB380$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: variable interest rate

Yes

Household

HB301$x > $y-1

Wealth reference date

HB390$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: current interest rate of the mortgage

Numerical value

Interest rate

Household

HB301$x > $y-1

Wealth reference date

HB400$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: monthly payment on loan

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB301$x > $y-1

Wealth reference date

HB2900

Additional properties’ current value

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB2410 > $loops

Wealth reference date

HB4099

Other loans on other properties

Yes

Household

HB3011 ≤ $loops and HB3012 ≤ $loops and HB3013 ≤ $loops and HB2410 > $loops

Wealth reference date

HB4105

Money still owed on additional other property loans

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB4099 = 1or HB3011 > $loops or HB3012 > $loops or HB3013 > $loops

Wealth reference date

HB4205

Monthly payment on additional other property loans

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB4099 = 1 or HB3011 > $loops or HB3012 > $loops or HB3013 > $loops

Wealth reference date

HB4300

Ownership of cars

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HB4310

Number of cars

Numerical value of 1 digit, max 5

Number of cars, top-coded at 5

Household

HB4300 = 1

Wealth reference date

HB4400

Total value of the cars

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB4300 = 1

Wealth reference date

HB4500

Ownership of other vehicles

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HB4600

Total value of other vehicles

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB4500 = 1

Wealth reference date

HB4700

Ownership of other valuables

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HB4710

Value of other valuables

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB4700 = 1

Wealth reference date

HB4800

Purchase of vehicles

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HB4810

Price of purchased vehicles

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HB4800 = 1

Wealth reference date

TOPIC 3: OTHER LIABILITIES / CREDIT CONSTRAINTS

HC0100

Household has a leasing contract

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HC0110

Monthly leasing payments

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HC0100 = 1

Wealth reference date

HC0200

Household has a credit line or overdraft

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HC0210

Household has outstanding credit line/overdraft balance

Yes

Household

HC0200 = 1

Wealth reference date

HC0220

Amount of outstanding credit line/overdraft balance

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HC0210 = 1

Wealth reference date

HC0300

Household has a credit card

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HC0310

Household has outstanding balance on credit cards

Yes

Household

HC0300 = 1

Wealth reference date

HC0320

Amount of outstanding credit cards balance

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HC0310 = 1

Wealth reference date

HC0330

Has private loans

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HC0340

Number of private loans

Numerical value of 1 digit, max 5

Number of private loans, top-coded at 5

Household

HC0330 = 1

Wealth reference date

HC036$x

Private loan $x: outstanding amount

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HC0340 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HC0370

Additional private loans – outstanding amount

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HC0340 > $loops

Wealth reference date

HC0400

Has any non-collateralised loans

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HC0410

Number of non-collateralised loans

Numerical value of max 1 digit, max 5

Number of loans, top-coded at 5

Household

HC0400 = 1

Wealth reference date

HC060$x

Non-collateralised loan $x: amount initially borrowed

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HC0410 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HC070$x

Non-collateralised loan $x: initial length of loan

Numerical value

Number of years

Household

HC0410 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

-4

Loan has no set term

HC080$x

Non-collateralised loan $x: outstanding balance of loan

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HC0410 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HC090$x

Non-collateralised loan $x: current interest rate of loan

Numerical value

Interest rate

Household

HC0410 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HC100$x

Non-collateralised loan $x: monthly payment on loan

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HC0410 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HC1100

Total amount owed for additional non-collateralised loans

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HC0410 > $loops

Wealth reference date

HC1200

Monthly payment on additional non-collateralised loans

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HC0410 > $loops

Wealth reference date

HC1250

Late or missed payments on loans

All payments paid as scheduled

Household

HB1000 = 1 or (HB3001 = 1 or HB3002 = 1 or HB3003 = 1) or HC0400 = 1

Wealth reference date

Late with payment on one or more occasions or missed some payments because of financial difficulties

Late with payment on one or more occasions or missed some payments for other reasons

Does not apply, because household did not have loan payments in the last 12 months

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HC1270

Any payments overdue by more than 90 days

Yes

Household

HC1250 = 2

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HC1300

Has applied for loan/credit in the last 3 years

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HC1310a

Was denied credit in the last 3 years

Yes, denied

Household

HC1300 = 1

Wealth reference date

Yes, granted at a lower amount

HC1320

Reapplying for credit

Yes

Household

HC1310a = 1

Wealth reference date

HC1400

Not applying for credit due to perceived credit constraints

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

TOPIC 4: PRIVATE BUSINESSES AND FINANCIAL ASSETS

HD0200

Investments in non-traded self-employment businesses with an active role

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HD0210

Number of self-employment businesses

Numerical value of 1 digit, max 5

Number of businesses, top-coded at 5

Household

HD0200 = 1

Wealth reference date

HD0301

Self-employment business: NACE

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

Household

HD0210 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

Mining and quarrying

Manufacturing

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

Construction

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

Transportation and storage

Accommodation and food service activities

Information and communication

Financial and insurance activities

Real estate activities

Professional, scientific and technical activities

Administrative and support service activities

Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

Education

Human health and social work activities

Arts, entertainment and recreation

Other service activities

Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use

Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HD040$x

Self-employment business $x: legal form of the business

Sole proprietorship / independent professional, unincorporated business

Household

HD0210 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

Sole proprietorship / independent professional, incorporated business

Partnership

Limited liability company

Cooperative society

Non-profit making body

Other

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HD050$x_B

Self-employment business $x: number of employees in brackets

1 to 2 employees

Household

HD0210 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

3 to 9 employees

10 employees and above

HD061$x

Self-employment business $x: number of household members working in the business

Numerical value

Number of household members working in the business

Household

HD0210 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HD070$x

Self-employment business $x: % of household ownership

Numerical value

Percentage

Household

HD0210 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HD080$x

Self-employment business $x: value of the business

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HD0210 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

HD0900

Value of additional self-employment businesses

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HD0210 > $loops

Wealth reference date

HD1000

Non-traded shares with passive role

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HD1010

Value of non-self-employment not publicly traded businesses

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HD1000 = 1

Wealth reference date

HD1100

Household holds sight accounts

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HD1110

Value of sight accounts

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HD1100 = 1

Wealth reference date

HD1200

Household holds savings accounts

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HD1210

Value of savings accounts

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HD1200 = 1

Wealth reference date

HD1300

Household holds investments in mutual funds

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HD1310v

Where v = a,b,c,d,e,f

Types of mutual funds

Fund predominantly investing in

equity

bonds

c:	money market instruments

d:	real estate

e:	hedge funds

other

Yes

Household

HD1300 = 1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HD1320v

Where v = a,b,c,d,e,f

Types of mutual funds

Fund predominantly investing in

equity

bonds

c:	money market instruments

d:	real estate

e:	hedge funds

other

Numerical value of up to 9 digits

Amount in EUR

Household

HD1310v = 1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HD1330

Market value of mutual funds – all funds together

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HD1300 = 1

Wealth reference date

HD1400

Household holds bonds

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HD1420

Market value of bonds

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HD1400 = 1

Wealth reference date

HD1500

Household holds publicly traded shares

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HD1510

Value of publicly traded shares

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HD1500 = 1

Wealth reference date

HD1600

Household holds managed accounts

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HD1610

Managed accounts – assets not already recorded

Yes

Household

HD1600 = 1

Wealth reference date

HD1620

Value of additional assets in managed accounts

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HD1610 = 1

Wealth reference date

HD1700

Does anyone owe money to household

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HD1710

Amount owed to household

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HD1700 = 1

Wealth reference date

HD1900

Any other financial assets

Yes

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

HD1920

Value of the other assets

Numerical value of up to 9 digits

Amount in EUR

Household

HD1900 = 1

Wealth reference date

HD1800

Investment attitudes

Take substantial financial risks expecting to earn substantial returns

Household

Always

Wealth reference date

Take above average financial risks expecting to earn above average returns

Take average financial risks expecting to earn average returns

Not willing to take any financial risks

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

TOPIC 5: EMPLOYMENT

PE0100v

Where v = a,b,c,d

Labour status

a:	first choice labour status

b:	secondary choice labour status

c:	secondary choice labour status

d:	secondary choice labour status

Doing regular work for pay / self-employed / working in family business

All household members aged 16 and over

Always

Current

On sick / maternity / other leave (except holidays), planning to return to work

Unemployed

Student / pupil / unpaid intern

Retiree or early retiree

Permanently disabled

Compulsory military service or equivalent social service

Fulfilling domestic tasks

Other not working for pay

-1 (only for c and d)

Don’t know

-2 (only for c and d)

No answer

PE0200

Status in employment

Employee

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0100a in (1,2) or

PE0100b in (1,2) or

PE0100c in (1,2) or

PE0100d in (1,2)

Current

Self-employed with employees

Self-employed without employees

Unpaid family worker

PE0300

Job description / ISCO

Managers

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0100a in (1,2) or

PE0100b in (1,2) or

PE0100c in (1,2) or

PE0100d in (1,2)

Current

Professionals

Technicians and associate professionals

Clerical support workers

Service and sales workers

Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers

Craft and related trades workers

Plant and machine operators, and assemblers

Elementary occupations

Armed forces occupations

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE0400

Main employment – NACE

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0200 = 1

Current

Mining and quarrying

Manufacturing

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

Construction

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

Transportation and storage

Accommodation and food service activities

Information and communication

Financial and insurance activities

Real estate activities

Professional, scientific and technical activities

Administrative and support service activities

Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

Education

Human health and social work activities

Arts, entertainment and recreation

Other service activities

Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use

Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies

PE0500

Type of contract

Permanent position

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0200 = 1

Current

Temporary position

Other (no contract or other labour agreement)

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE0600

Hours working per week – main job

Numerical value

Number of hours per week

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0100a in (1,2) or

PE0100b in (1,2) or

PE0100c in (1,2) or

PE0100d in (1,2)

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE0700

Number of years in main job

Numerical value

Number of years

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0100a in (1,2) or

PE0100b in (1,2) or

PE0100c in (1,2) or

PE0100d in (1,2)

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE0800

Currently more than one job

Yes

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0100a in (1,2) or

PE0100b in (1,2) or

PE0100c in (1,2) or

PE0100d in (1,2)

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE0900

Ever been employed

Yes

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0100a not in (1,2) or

PE0100b not in (1,2) or

PE0100c not in (1,2) or

PE0100d not in (1,2)

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE0270

Main status in employment for retired or other inactive

Employee

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0100a not in (1,2,3) or

PE0100b not in (1,2,3) or

PE0100c not in (1,2,3) or

PE0100d not in (1,2,3) and

PE0900 = 1

Current

Self-employed with employees

Self-employed without employees

Unpaid family worker

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PEZ010

Probability of losing the job

Numerical value between 0 and 100

Number between 0 and 100

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0200 = 1 or PE0200 = 2 or PE0200 = 3

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PEZ020

Probability of finding a job

Numerical value

Number between 0 and 100

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0100a = 3 or PE0100b = 3 or PE0100c = 3 or PE0100d = 3 and

not (PE0100a = 1 or PE0100b = 1 or PE0100c = 1 or PE0100d = 1)

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE1005

Number of years in employment

Numerical value of up to 2 digits, max 73

Number in years, top-coded at 73

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0100a in (1,2) or

PE0100b in (1,2) or

PE0100c in (1,2) or

PE0100d in (1,2) or

PE0900 = 1

Current

PE1100

Expected age to stop working for pay

Numerical value

Age

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0100a in (1,2) or

PE0100b in (1,2) or

PE0100c in (1,2) or

PE0100d in (1,2) or

PE0900 = 1 and PE0100a not in (5,6) and PE0100b not in (5,6) and PE0100c not in (5,6) and PE0100d not in (5,6)

Current

-7

Already stopped working for pay a long time ago

-9

Never / will continue working while possible

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

TOPIC 6: PENSIONS AND LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES

PFA0100

Number of pension plans and life insurance policies

Numerical value

Number of pension plans and life insurance policies

All household members aged 16 and over

Always

Wealth reference date

PFA020$x

Type of pension plan $x

Public

All household members aged 16 and over

PFA0100 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

Occupational

Voluntary pension scheme

Whole life insurance

Other

PFA030$x

Still contributing to pension plan $x

Yes

All household members aged 16 and over

PFA0100 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

-3

Not relevant / undetermined

PFA040$x

Number of years contributed to plan $x

Numerical value

Number of years, top-coded at 73

All household members aged 16 and over

PFA0100 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

-4

Not required

PFA050$x

Monthly contribution to plan $x

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

All household members aged 16 and over

PFA030$x = 1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

-3

Not relevant/undetermined

-4

Not required

PFA060$x

Pension plan $x carries a balance

Yes

All household members aged 16 and over

PFA0100 > $x-1 and PFA020$x ne 1

Wealth reference date

PFA080$x

Current value of pension plan $x

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

All household members aged 16 and over

PFA060$x = 1

Wealth reference date

PFA100$x

Age at which payment from pension plan is expected

Numerical value

Age in completed years

All household members aged 16 and over

PFA0100 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

-8

Is already receiving benefits

-9

Does not intend to collect the benefits / wishes to leave them as inheritance

TOPIC 7: INCOME

PG0100

Received employee income

Yes

All household members aged 16 and over

Always

Income reference period

PG0110

Gross cash employee income

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

All current household members aged 16 and over

PG0100 = 1

Income reference period

PG0200

Received self-employment income

Yes

All current household members aged 16 and over

Always

Income reference period

PG0210

Gross self-employment income (profit/losses of unincorporated enterprises)

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

All current household members aged 16 and over

PG0200 = 1

Income reference period

PG0300

Received income from public pensions

Yes

All current household members aged 16 and over

Always

Income reference period

PG0310

Gross income from public pensions

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

All current household members aged 16 and over

PG0300 = 1

Income reference period

PG0400

Received income from occupational and private pension plans

Yes

All current household members aged 16 and over

Always

Income reference period

PG0410

Gross income from occupational and private pension plans

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

All current household members aged 16 and over

PG0400 = 1

Income reference period

PG0500

Received income from unemployment benefits

Yes

All current household members aged 16 and over

Always

Income reference period

PG0510

Gross income from unemployment benefits

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

All current household members aged 16 and over

PG0500 = 1

Income reference period

HG0100

Received income from public transfers

Yes

Household

Always

Income reference period

HG0110

Gross income from regular social transfers

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HG0100 = 1

Income reference period

HG0200

Received income from regular private transfers

Yes

Household

Always

Income reference period

HG0210

Income from regular private transfers

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HG0200 = 1

Income reference period

HG0250

Received income from other private transfers

Yes

Household

Always

Income reference period

HG0260

Income from other private transfers

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HG0250 = 1

Income reference period

HG0300

Received income from real estate property

Yes

Household

Always

Income reference period

HG0310

Gross rental income from real estate property

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HG0300 = 1

Income reference period

HG0400

Received income from financial investments

Yes

Household

Always

Income reference period

HG0410

Gross income from financial investments

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HG0400 = 1

Income reference period

HG0500

Received income from private business other than self-employment

Yes

Household

Always

Income reference period

HG0510

Gross income from private business other than self-employment

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HG0500 = 1

Income reference period

HG0600

Received income from other income sources

Yes

Household

Always

Income reference period

HG0610

Gross income from other income sources

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HG0600 = 1

Income reference period

HG0700

Is income ‘normal’ in reference period

Higher than normal

Household

Always

Income reference period

Normal

Lower than normal

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HG0800

Future income expectations

More than prices

Household

Always

Income reference period

Less than prices

About the same as price

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

TOPIC 8: GIFTS/INHERITANCES

HH0100

Any substantial gift or inheritance received

Yes

Household

Always

Current

HH0110

Number of substantial gifts/inheritances received

Numerical value

Number of gifts/inheritances received

Household

HH0100 = 1

Current

HH020$x

Substantial gift/inheritance $x: year gift/inheritance received

Numerical value of 4 digits

Year of receipt of gift/inheritance, bottom coded at ‘HFCS reference year’ minus 85

Household

HH0110 > $x-1

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HH030$xv

Where v = a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k

Substantial gift/inheritance $x: type of assets received

money

b:	dwelling, other than HMR

c:	use of a dwelling (under reserve or usufruct)

land

business

f:	securities, shares

g:	jewellery, furniture, artwork

h:	life insurance

j:	car/vehicle

HMR

i:	other assets

Yes, such assets received

Household

HH0110 > $x-1

Current

No, no such assets received

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HH040$x

Substantial gift/inheritance $x: value

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HH0110 > $x-1

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

TOPIC 9: CONSUMPTION

HI0100

Monthly amount spent on food at home

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

Always

Current

HI0200

Monthly amount spent on food outside home

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

Always

Current

HI0210

Monthly amount spent on utilities

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

Always

Current

HI0230

Annual expenses on trips and holidays

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

Always

Current

HI0240

Monthly amount spent on other consumer goods and services

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

Always

Current

HI0220

Monthly amount spent on consumer goods and services – total

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

Always

Current

HI0300

Makes other regular payments

Yes

Household

Always

Current

HI0310

Monthly amount given as alimony etc.

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HI0300 = 1

Current

HI0500

Comparison of last 12 months expenses with average

Higher than normal

Household

Always

Current

Lower than normal

Just about normal

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HI0600

Last 12 months expenses were below/above income

Expenses exceeded income

Household

Always

Current

Expenses about the same as income

Expenses less than income

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HI0400v

Where v = a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l

Purpose of saving:

a:	purchase of own home

b:	other major purchases (other residences, vehicles, furniture, etc.)

c:	set up a private business or finance investments in an existing business

d:	invest in financial assets

e:	provision for unexpected events

f:	paying off debts

g:	old-age provision

h:	travels/holidays

i:	education/support of children or grandchildren or other relatives

bequests

k:	taking advantage of state subsidies (e.g. a subsidy for building society savings)

other

Yes

Household

HI0600 = 3

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HI0700v

Where v =

a,b,c,d,e,f,g

Source of extra liquidity to meet expenses:

a:	sold assets

b:	got a credit card / overdraft facility

c:	got some other loan

d:	spent out of savings

e:	asked for help from relatives or friends

f:	left some bills unpaid

others

Yes

Household

HI0600 = 1

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HIZ040v

Where v = a,b

Unexpected windfall gain – lottery

a:	spend over the next 12 months on goods and services

b:	save or invest for later, or repay debt

Numerical value

Integer 0 to 100

Household

Always

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HI0800

Ability to get financial assistance from friends or relatives

Yes

Household

Always

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

SAMPLE REGISTER FILE

SA0010

Household ID

Numerical value of up to 8 digits

Household identification number, assigned by the NCB

All sampled households

Always

Current

SA0100

Country of residence

2 letter country code (ISO 3166-1 alpha 2)

Country of residence

All sampled households

Always

Current

SA0110

Past household ID

Numerical value of up to 8 digits

Past household identification number, assigned by the NCB

Panel households

Country survey has a panel component

Current

SA0111

Household’s initial household ID

Numerical value of up to 8 digits

Household’s initial household identification number, assigned by the NCB

Panel households

Country survey has a panel component

Constant (unless a new household member joins current household from another panel household)

SA0200

Survey vintage (household)

Numerical value of 4 digits

Year of current interview

All sampled households

Always

Current

SA0210

Vintage of last interview (household)

Numerical value of 4 digits

Year of last interview

Panel households

Country survey has a panel component

Current

SA0300

Area of residence of the household (national code)

Maximum 4 characters

NUTS 2021 level 1 or level 2 (depending on anonymisation needed). Alternatively, comparable country-dependent code. Code starting with two-letter ISO code of the country and 1 to 2 letters or digits

All sampled households

Always

Current

SA0900

Mode of interview

CAPI (computer-assisted personal interview, interviewer present)

All sampled households

Always

Current

CATI (computer-assisted telephone interview, interviewer present)

PAPI (paper-and-pencil personal interview, interviewer present)

CAWI (computer-assisted web-based interview, interviewer absent)

CASI (computer-assisted self-administered interview, interviewer absent)

SAQ (self-administered paper questionnaire, interviewer absent)

SB0100

Interview final outcome code

Complete interview by desired respondent(s), i.e. ‘reference person’ and adult household members

All sampled households

Always

Current

Complete interview: partly by desired respondent(s) and partly by proxy or all by proxy

Partial interview by desired respondents or by proxies

No contact with anyone at sampled dwelling

Contact made at sampled dwelling/household, but not with any responsible resident known to live at the address

Office refusal

Refusal at introduction/ before interview (either by desired respondent or by proxy)

Refusal during the interview/break-off

Broken appointment, no re-contact

Away/in hospital during survey period

Physically or mentally unavailable/incompetent/ill at home during the survey period

Language barrier

Cases that were not completed because of end of fieldwork (and not falling under 44 or 61)

Other non-response

Not attempted

Inaccessible

Unable to locate address

Unknown whether address contains residential housing; other unknown eligibility

Not yet built/under construction/demolished/derelict

Non-residential address/business purpose/communal establishment/institution

Vacant/empty

Address occupied, but no resident household (not the main residency – it is only used as a secondary home)

Address out of sample / other ineligible

Interview completed but discarded after review

SD0100

Stratum

Randomised numerical code

Stratum identifier

All sampled households

Always

At selection

SD0300

Case design weight

Numerical value

Household design weight

All sampled households

Always

Current

SE0100

Survey database outcome

Successfully interviewed and included in the database

All sampled households

Always

Current

Not included in the database

TECHNICAL OUTPUT VARIABLES

IM0100

Implicate ID

Numerical value, 1 digit

Implicate ID

Household and individual

Always

Current

HW0010

Household weight

Numerical value

Household weight

Household

Always

Current

WR$$$$

Replicate weight

Numerical value

Replicate weight

Household

Always

Current

Part 2 – Description of the content of output variables

10.

Table B provides a detailed description of the content of the core output variables which NCBs must report to the ECB pursuant to this Guideline.

11.

Where applicable, the descriptions draw upon definitions and descriptions contained in relevant official documents. For this purpose, the following sources are used:

(a) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1201/2009 (3);

(b) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2181 (4);

(d) Regulation (EU) 2021/379 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2021/2) (6);

(e) Methodological Guidelines and description of the target variables of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), Eurostat;

(f) Standardised key social variables, Implementing Guidelines, May 2020, European Commission;

(g) European System of Accounts, ESA 2010;

(h) System of National Accounts, SNA 2008;

(i) Guideline (EU) 2021/831 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2021/12) (7);

(j) Eurostat – OECD Manual on Business Demography Statistics (2007 edition);

(k) Private Pensions: OECD Classification and Glossary, 2005.

Table B

Description of the content of output variables

Output variable identifier

Output variable name

Description of output variable content

TOPIC: DEMOGRAPHICS

RA0100

Relationship to reference person

The reference person (RP) refers to the interview reference person who is chosen from among the household members at the beginning of the interview. The interview reference person is the person around whom the household is formed.

The interview RP may or may not be the financially knowledgeable person (FKP) – see output variable HA0100.

Note that the RP does not refer to the reference person according to the Canberra Group (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 2011), which defines the reference person based on criteria available post survey, including income.

Spouse is a person related by marriage (husband/wife) or alternative legal arrangement (registered partner, in countries where such an arrangement exists).

Partner is a person, other than a spouse, with whom one cohabits without being married or having alternative partnership on a legal basis to each other (domestic partner, cohabitating partner, consensual union).

Son/daughter includes natural/adopted sons/daughters or stepsons/stepdaughters.

Parent-in-law is the parent of one’s legal or de facto partner.

Another relative (code 9) is a person not belonging to any of the previous categories related to the RP by circumstances of birth or family relationship. This includes e.g. grandparents (including natural, adoptive and stepparent), grandchildren, brothers/sisters (biological, adoptive or stepbrothers or stepsisters), aunts, uncles, cousins, sons in law, daughters in law.

Other household member (code 10) are other persons without a family relationship.

RA0010

Personal ID

Information assigned by the NCB. Special code 99 cannot be used.

RA0011

Longitudinal personal ID

Information assigned by the NCB. Coded as person’s initial household ID (RA0015, up to 8 digits), followed by a personal number (up to 2 digits).

The personal number: number assigned in the ‘household register’ to the person the first time the person is recorded as a household member.

For every new person in the household, 1 is added to the highest person number used (for all the years of the survey and instances of the household ID).

In the cross-sectional component, and in the new households in the longitudinal component, it should correspond to the person’s line position in the ‘household register’.

In the longitudinal survey, the longitudinal personal ID never changes, even if the person moves to another household.

RA0010 (which indicates the person’s line position in the household register) may be different from the personal number that is part of RA0011. RA0011 remains fixed if the person moves to another household or other individuals join the current household.

RA0015

Person’s initial household ID

The household ID (SA0010) of the household the person belonged to when the person was first recorded in the survey (associated with RA0031).

RA0020 (discontinued as of HFCS reference year 2029)

Past personal ID

Past personal identification number which was assigned to the person in data transmission for earlier HFCS reference year.

Should refer to the last interview, so should only be filled for individuals that have been successfully interviewed in at least one previous HFCS reference year.

RA0030

Vintage of last interview (individual)

Indicates the year in which the person was last included in the survey.

Should refer to the last interview, so should only be filled for persons that have been successfully interviewed in at least one previous year.

RA0031

Vintage of first interview (individual)

Indicates the year in which the person was first included in the survey.

Should refer to the first interview, so should only be filled for persons that have been successfully interviewed.

RA0040

Motivation for entering the household

Indicates the reason for the person joining the panel household.

RA0200

Sex

Sex of the household member.

RA0300

Age

Age in completed years of the household member.

RA0300_B

Age in brackets

Age in completed years of the household member, shown by brackets.

RA0400

Country of birth

The country of birth of an individual is defined as the country of usual residence (in its current boundaries) of the individual’s mother at the time of delivery.

The country of birth should refer to the current national boundaries and not to the boundaries in place at the time of birth (entries such as Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, etc. must not be used for this output variable).

The country of birth of a person, who was born during the mother’s short-term visit to a country other than her country of usual residence, should be the country where the mother had her place of usual residence.

Only if information on the place of usual residence of the mother at the time of the birth is not available, should the place where the birth took place be reported.

Particular care is needed in cases where national boundaries have changed and/or where previous countries have split to form two or more new countries. As a rule, an individual should not be regarded as foreign-born (i.e. recorded as born in a country other than the reporting country) simply because the national boundaries of the country of birth have changed. However, there is an important exception to this general rule of considering current national boundaries Where a person whose mother’s place of usual residence was, at the time of his/her birth, part of the person’s actual country of origin (e.g. as indicated by his/her citizenship or current place of usual residence) but is no longer part of that country due to changed national boundaries, the country of birth can exceptionally be recorded in accordance with the boundaries at the time of birth.

Country of birth is grouped into the following 4 categories: national country, other euro area countries, non-euro area EU countries and non-EU countries.

The country of birth is allocated to the euro area, non-euro area EU and non-EU taking into account the composition of the euro area and the EU at the end of the HFCS reference year.

RA0500

Duration of stay in the country of residence

For household members born in another country, number of years the household member has been living in the country.

If the household member has lived in the country for less than half a year, the duration of stay is recorded as zero.

In case of repeated stays in the country of interview, the duration of stay reflects the total length where the household member has lived in the country, i.e. as the sum of all stays longer than 6 months. In case no stay has lasted longer than 6 months, the duration of stay is recorded as zero.

PA0100

Marital status

Marital status is defined as the (legal) conjugal status of an individual in relation to the marriage laws (or customs) of the country (that is the de jure status).

This does not necessarily correspond to the actual situation of the household in terms of e.g. living arrangements. For example, a married person not living with their spouse is classified according to the de jure status as married.

Four main marital statuses can be distinguished: single/never married, married, widowed, and divorced. Other legal marital statuses may exist, such as registered legal partnership or legally separated.

Single/never married: also includes never in a consensual union on a legal basis,

Consensual union on a legal basis includes registered partnerships or other similar national legal arrangements, if they exist in a country,

Widowed: not remarried nor in a consensual union on a legal basis (including widowed from registered partnership, where applicable),

Divorced: not remarried nor in a consensual union on a legal basis (including legally separated and dissolved partnership, where applicable).

PA0200

Highest level of education completed

The highest attainment of an educational programme that the household member has successfully completed. An educational programme is successfully completed if the household member has obtained a certificate or a diploma where there is a certification. In cases where there is no certification, successful completion is associated with full attendance.

To determine the highest level, both general and vocational education/training are considered.

The categories of educational programmes are based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED-2011).

Official mappings exist at national level to map national systems of education to the international ISCED scheme (used for compiling EU statistics on education and in surveys coordinated by Eurostat). These mappings are used as a reference to allocate the level of education of the household members to the ISCED categories for HFCS purposes.

For HFCS purposes the ISCED-2011 categories are grouped into four categories.

HA0100

Financially knowledgeable person

The financially knowledgeable person (FKP) is the person most knowledgeable on financial matters regarding both the household as a whole and its individual members and therefore best suited to provide information on the finances of the household. The FKP may or may not be a member of the household.

TOPIC: REAL ASSETS AND THEIR FINANCING

HB0100_B

Size of HMR in brackets

Size of household main residence (HMR) in square metres, ordered in 10 brackets.

The HMR is the dwelling where the household members usually live, typically a house or an apartment. A household can only have one main residence at any given time but may share the main residence with people not belonging to the household.

In some cases, it may be difficult to define the HMR, e.g. for frequent travellers or people living in multiple houses. In these cases, the criteria to identify the HMR consist mostly of guidelines rather than hard rules and the HMR has to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Possible factors include: time spent at the residence per year, mailing address, tax status, voting registration, location of personal effects, and stated purpose of residence on insurance policies.

The size of the residence is the ‘useful floor space’ using the same definition as for the population and housing census.

The useful floor space is the floor space measured inside the outer walls excluding non-habitable cellars and attics, and, in multi-dwelling buildings, all common spaces. The size covers the area that can be exclusively used by the household.

HB0200

Length of stay in HMR

Length of stay in the HMR in number of years.

HB0300

HMR – tenure status

Tenure status of the HMR. When a HH owns part of the HMR and rents the HMR, the tenure status is considered as ‘owns part’.

The tenure status ‘free use’ includes usufruct.

HB0400

Is rent paid for partially owned HMR

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household pays rent for a partially owned HMR.

HB0410

Amount of rent paid for partially owned HMR

Monthly amount paid as rent in EUR, excluding utilities, heating, etc.

HB0500

% of ownership of HMR

Percentage of the value of the HMR that belongs to the household.

HB0600

Way of acquiring property

The way how the household acquired the HMR (or part of it).

Own construction refers to the case where the household bought the land and constructed the HMR either by itself, with friends and family, or through hired contractors. This also includes existing constructions that were demolished or significantly reconstructed.

A residence bought before construction and to be delivered in a finished state to the household (e.g. flats bought ‘on plans’) should be included under purchased.

HB0700

Year of property acquisition

Year in which the household acquired the HMR or the land it is located on.

If the HMR was acquired or constructed in multiple steps, the year should refer to the first year when part of the HMR was acquired or constructed. If land for construction of the HMR was acquired prior to the construction of the residence, the year of acquisition of the land refers to the first year of acquisition of part of the current HMR.

HB0800

Property value at the time of its acquisition

Value of the property (and/or the associated land) at the time of its acquisition.

If property was acquired for free (gift, inheritance) or only for partial payment below the market value, estimated market value at the time of acquisition.

If the property is only partly owned, estimated market value of the entire residence at the time of acquisition.

If property was acquired in multiple steps, estimated total value at the time of the first acquisition of part of the property.

HB0900

Current price of HMR

Current value of the property, i.e. estimated sale price.

If the property is only partly owned, estimated value of the entire property.

If the HMR is a farm, value of the farmland and buildings (excluding value of farm implements, crops or livestock).

HBZ020

House price expectations – qualitative

Household’s expectation of change in price over the next 12 months of the residence it lives in, in qualitative terms (i.e. decrease, unchanged, increase).

HBZ030

House price expectations – open-end quantitative

If the household expects an increase or decrease in the price of the residence it lives in (over the next 12 months) as indicated by output variable HBZ020, this variable indicates by how much (in percentage terms), the household expects the price to increase or decrease.

HB1000

Mortgages or loans using HMR as collateral

Indicates (Yes/No) if there are outstanding mortgages or loans that use the HMR as collateral.

Mortgage loans are a type of debt instrument used by individuals to borrow money to purchase a property. The financial institution is given security by housing until the mortgage is paid off in full. Under a mortgage loan, the lender has the possibility to sell (foreclose, repossess or seize) the property under certain circumstances (principally non-payment of the mortgage loan) and to apply the amount received to the original debt.

Mortgage lending is the primary mechanism used in many countries to finance private ownership of residential property. Although the terminology and precise forms will differ from country to country, the basic components tend to be similar.

Collateral refers to an asset or a set of assets that are pledged as a guarantee for the repayment of loans. A house, a car, a property or equipment are all examples of tangible assets that could be used as collateral. If the borrower is unable to pay off the loan as scheduled, the assets used as collateral will be seized and sold, and the money raised by selling the assets will be used to repay the loan.

Only mortgages taken by household members are taken into account. If the HMR is used as collateral for mortgages of persons who are not members of the household (e.g. HMR used as collateral for loans for a son, daughter or other relative, who are not members of the household), these should not be included in the household’s mortgage debt. It is only if and when such contingent debt materialises and the members of the household have to take responsibility for the debt that the mortgage should be reported as part of household debt.

If the HMR is used as collateral together with some other properties, the loan should be included as collateralised on the HMR.

HB1010

Number of mortgages or loans using HMR as collateral

Number of mortgages or loans held by the household that use the HMR as collateral.

HB120$xv

Where v = a,b

HMR mortgage $x: purpose of the loan

a:	first choice purpose of the loan

b:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Purpose for which the money was used when the mortgage was first taken out, starting with the main purpose (a), followed by secondary purpose (b), i.e. total of 2 output variables (v = a and b) for each HMR mortgage.

Debt consolidation (item 6): practice of taking out one unique loan to pay off several others. This is often done to secure a lower interest rate, secure a fixed interest rate or for the convenience of servicing only one loan within the same household. Debt consolidation can simply involve consolidation of a number of unsecured loans into another unsecured loan, but more often it involves a secured loan against an asset that serves as collateral, most commonly a house, so as to obtain a lower interest rate from the lenders.

HB130$x

HMR mortgage $x: year when loan was taken

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Date (year) when current mortgage was taken out.

In the case of a reverse mortgage, year when the payments to the household began.

HB140$x

HMR mortgage $x: initial amount borrowed

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Total amount borrowed when the mortgage was taken out.

In the case of a reverse mortgage, amount of the initial payment, if there was one. The initial payment may be zero or the refinanced amount of a previous loan.

HB160$x

HMR mortgage $x: length of the loan at the time of borrowing

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Years agreed for the length of the loan at the time it was taken out.

In the case of a reverse mortgage, number of years during which loan annuity is expected to be received. If the annuity is for life, there is no term.

HB110$x

HMR mortgage $x: mortgage refinancing / renegotiation

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Indicates (Yes/No) if the loan refinances or replaces a previous loan that had this property as collateral.

Debt (loan) refinancing refers to the replacement of an existing debt instrument (loan), including any arrears, with a new debt instrument (loan). Overdue payments or future debt-service obligations are ‘paid off’ using a new debt obligation. Loan refinancing involves paying off an existing loan with the proceeds from a new loan, usually of the same size (but could also be larger, if the borrower needs more money; or lower, if additional resources are used to pay back the previous one). Replacing a loan can be a way for the borrower to benefit from better terms, possibly in terms of a lower interest rate and/or a longer period for paying off the loan.

Renegotiation refers to the active involvement of the household in adjusting the terms and conditions of an existing loan contract. This includes changing the maturity or interest rate, including a change from fixed to variable rates and vice versa. It also includes borrowing additional money.

Extensions and other adjustments of the terms and conditions that are carried out automatically, i.e. without any active involvement of the household are not renegotiations.

If the loan is a reverse annuity mortgage, any reworking of an earlier loan should be treated as refinancing.

HB170$x

HMR mortgage $x: current amount outstanding

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Outstanding principal amount of loan still owed, excluding interest, fees, etc., i.e. not the sum of future payments.

In the case of a reverse mortgage, the amount needed to repay the loan at the current date (i.e. not the sum of future payments).

HB171$x

HMR mortgage $x: current remaining maturity

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Current remaining maturity of the loan in number of complete years.

In the case of a reverse mortgage, the remaining number of years during which income annuity should be received. If the annuity is for life, there is no term.

HB180$x

HMR mortgage $x: variable interest rate

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Indicates (Yes/No) if the loan has a variable interest rate which can vary during the life of the contract.

HB190$x

HMR mortgage $x: current interest rate of the HMR mortgage

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Current (annual) rate of interest charged on the loan. In the case of variable interest rates, this refers to the interest rate after the most recent change.

If countries experience difficulties in collecting reliable information on interest rates, information on this output variable may refer only to loans with variable interest rates (HB180$x = 1) and to loans with a fixed interest rate taken or refinanced less than 3 years ago (HB180$x = 2 and HB130$x = current year – 3).

HB200$x

HMR mortgage $x: monthly amount of payment made on loan

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Monthly amount currently paid including interest and repayment but excluding any payments for taxes, insurance or other fees. This may not be the amount contractually agreed.

In the case of a reverse mortgage which provides an income, the amounts are negative.

HB2100

Money still owed on additional HMR loans

Total outstanding balance of remaining loan(s) on the residence, not covered by the HMR mortgages in the loop of HB170$x (2 to 3 mortgages).

The outstanding balance refers to the outstanding principal amount of loan still owed, excluding interest, fees, etc.; i.e. not the sum of future payments.

HB2200

Monthly amount of payment made on additional HMR loans

Monthly amount currently paid including interest and repayment but excluding any payments for taxes, insurance or other fees. This may not be the amount contractually agreed.

In the case of a reverse mortgage which provides an income, the amounts are negative.

HB2300

Monthly amount paid as rent

Monthly amount paid as rent (excluding utilities, heating, etc. if possible).

HB2400

Household owns other properties than HMR

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household owns other properties (other than an HMR) such as houses, flats, garages, offices, hotels, other commercial buildings, farms, land, etc.

Business properties may be included if they are fully or partially directly owned by the household. Properties directly owned by the business are excluded.

HB2410

Number of properties other than HMR

Number of properties owned, other than the HMR.

Properties which are similar to each other and are managed as a group (e.g. building with several flats) may be counted as one.

HB250$x

Other property $x: property type

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR.

Type of the other property x owned.

‘House or flat’ also includes maisonettes, villas, terraced houses, cottages and chalets.

‘Apartment building’ refers to a block of flats, i.e. the whole building.

HB260$xv

Where v = a,b,c

Other property $x: use

a:	first choice use of property

b:	secondary choice use of property

c:	secondary choice use of property

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR.

Describes what the household uses the property for. For each ‘other property’ up to 3 uses, i.e. total of 3 output variables (v = a to c) for each other property.

Own business activities involve personal involvement in the business.

If the property is rented to a business not operated or majority owned by household members, ‘rented or leased to a business or people outside the household’ applies.

HB270$x

Other property $x: % of the property belonging to household

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR.

Percentage of the value of property x that belongs to the household.

HB280$x

Other property $x: current value

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR.

Estimated current value of other property x. Refers to the price of the entire property and not to the household’s share of the property (if the household only owns a share).

If the property is a farm, it should include the value of the farmland and buildings. The value of farm implements, crops and livestock should not be included.

HB300$x

Mortgages or loans using property $x as collateral

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR.

Indicates (Yes/No) if there are any outstanding mortgages or loans that use the other property x as collateral.

If the HMR and other property belonging to the household are used as collateral for the same loan, the loan is included as HMR collateralised loan (HB1000) and not reported again under this output variable.

HB301$x

Number of mortgages or loans using property $x as collateral

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR.

Number of mortgages or loans on other property x.

HB330$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: year when loan taken

Loop on $y for loans using property $x as collateral.

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR, $y: Loop for 2 or 3 mortgages.

Year when the current mortgage was taken out.

In the case of a reverse mortgage, the year when the payments to the household began.

HB340$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: initial amount borrowed

Loop on $y for loans using property $x as collateral.

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR, $y: Loop for 2 or 3 mortgages.

Total amount borrowed when taking out the mortgage.

In the case of a reverse mortgage, the amount of the initial payment if there was one. The initial payment may be zero or may be the refinancing amount of a previous loan.

HB360$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: length of the loan at the time of borrowing

Loop on $y for loans using property $x as collateral.

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR, $y: Loop for 2 or 3 mortgages.

Number of years agreed for the length of the loan at the time the loan was taken out.

In the case of a reverse annuity mortgage, the number of years that payments to the household are expected.

HB370$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: current amount outstanding

Loop on $y for loans using property $x as collateral.

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR, $y: Loop for 2 or 3 mortgages.

Outstanding principal amount of loan still owed, excluding interest, fees, etc., i.e. not the sum of future payments.

In the case of a reverse mortgage, the amount needed to repay the loan at the current date (i.e. not the sum of future payments).

HB371$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: current remaining maturity

Loop on $y for loans using property $x as collateral.

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR, $y: Loop for 2 or 3 mortgages.

Number of years until the loan will be fully repaid according to the agreed conditions of the loan. Amounts to 0 if the remaining maturity is less than one year.

In the case of a reverse mortgage, number of years during which the income annuity will be received by the household, or ‘no term’, if the annuity is for life.

HB380$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: variable interest rate

Loop on $y for loans using property $x as collateral.

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR, $y: Loop for 2 or 3 mortgages.

Indicates (Yes/No) if the loan has a variable interest rate, i.e. the loan agreement allows the interest rate to vary from time to time during the life of the contract.

HB390$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: current interest rate of the mortgage

Loop on $y for loans using property $x as collateral.

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR, $y: Loop for 2 or 3 mortgages.

Current (annual) rate of interest charged on the loan. Refers to the most recent rate fixation in the case of a loan with a variable interest rate.

HB400$x$y

Other property $x mortgage $y: monthly payment on loan

Loop on $y for loans using property $x as collateral.

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR, $y: Loop for 2 or 3 mortgages.

Monthly amount currently paid including interest and repayment but excluding any payments for taxes, insurance or other fees. This may not be the amount contractually agreed.

In the case of a reverse mortgage which provides an income, the amounts are negative.

HB2900

Additional properties current value

Current value of the property, i.e. estimated sale price.

If the property is only partly owned, estimated value of the part owned.

HB4099

Other loans on other properties

Indicates (Yes/No) if there are any other outstanding mortgages or loans that use any properties as collateral that are not included elsewhere.

HB4105

Money still owed on additional other property loans

Amount still owed on all the other loans (total), when ‘other loans on other properties’ (HB4099) exist.

The outstanding balance refers to the outstanding principal amount of loan still owed, excluding interest, fees, etc., i.e. not the sum of future payments.

HB4205

Monthly payment on additional other property loans

Monthly payment on all the other loans (total), when ‘other loans on other properties’ (HB4099) exist.

The monthly payment should include interest and repayment and exclude any required payments for taxes, insurance or other fees.

If the monthly payment of the loan has changed over time over the duration of the loan, it is the current amount paid which is to be coded in this output variable.

HB4300

Ownership of cars

Cars owned by the household.

Includes vehicles used for business activities if they are fully or partially owned directly by the household. Vehicles owned directly by the business are not included.

Leased cars are excluded.

HB4310

Number of cars

Number of cars owned by the household.

HB4400

Total value of the cars

Current value of the cars, i.e. estimated sale price.

HB4500

Ownership of other vehicles

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household owns any other vehicles, in addition to cars. These may include bikes, scooters, motorbikes, trucks, vans, planes, boats or yachts, trailers, campers, caravans, etc.

Includes vehicles used for business activities if they are fully or partially owned directly by the household. Vehicles owned directly by the business are not included.

Leased vehicles are excluded.

HB4600

Total value of other vehicles

Current value of the other vehicles, i.e. estimated sale value.

HB4700

Ownership of other valuables

Other valuables (such as jewellery, works of art, antiques, etc.) owned by the household.

HB4710

Value of other valuables

Current value of the other valuables, i.e. estimated sale value.

HB4800

Purchase of vehicles

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household purchased any vehicles (e.g. cars, trucks, motorcycles) in the past 12 months.

HB4810

Price of purchased vehicles

Total amount in EUR that the household paid for the vehicles purchased in the last 12 months, net of any amount received from selling or trading in any vehicles.

TOPIC: OTHER LIABILITIES / CREDIT CONSTRAINTS

HC0100

Household has a leasing contract

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household has any leasing contract (e.g. on a car etc.).

Financial leases are defined for statistical purposes as contracts whereby the legal owner of a durable good (the ‘lessor’) lends it to a third party (the ‘lessee’) for most if not all of the economic lifetime of the good, in exchange for instalments covering the cost of the good, plus an imputed interest charge. The lessee is in fact assumed to receive all of the benefits derivable from the use of the good and to incur the costs and risks associated with ownership.

HC0110

Monthly leasing payments

Total amount of lease payments per month. Any rent paid on the household residence is excluded.

HC0200

Household has a credit line or overdraft

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household has a credit line or an account with an overdraft facility with a financial institution.

A credit line is an agreement between a lender (bank) and borrower (household) that allows the borrower to take advances, during a defined period and up to a certain limit and repay the advances at the borrower’s discretion before a defined date.

Bank account overdrafts are debit balances on bank accounts that allow the borrower (household) to withdraw funds above the balance available.

A household has an overdraft if it maintains a negative balance on at least one of its bank accounts. Interest is charged on the amount owed. The bank accounts need not necessarily be current accounts. Negative balances should be reported as debt in output variables HC0200 and HC0210 (both in the case of a standard overdraft facility agreed with the bank or an unauthorised overdraft).

Credit cards are excluded.

HC0210

Household has outstanding credit line/overdraft balance

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household has any balance outstanding on any credit line and/or bank account overdraft.

HC0220

Amount of outstanding credit line/overdraft balance

Total amount of outstanding credit line/overdraft balance.

HC0300

Household has a credit card

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household has a credit card.

Credit cards refer to cards with a credit function.

Credit granted via credit cards includes convenience credit and extended credit recorded on dedicated card accounts and not on current or overdraft accounts. Convenience credit is the credit granted at 0 % interest in the period between the use of the card and the relevant billing date. Extended credit is the amount of convenience credit left outstanding on the account after the relevant billing date on which interest is usually charged. Extended credit typically required minimum monthly instalments in order to make full or partial repayments.

Store cards are credit cards issued by a single company/store, which can only be used for payments to that company/store.

Credit cards paid by employers are excluded.

Debit cards, where the money spent is immediately deducted from the bank account, are excluded.

HC0310

Household has outstanding balance on credit cards

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household has any balance outstanding on credit cards for which they are being charged interest (i.e. extended credit).

HC0320

Amount of outstanding credit cards balance

Total amount of outstanding credit card balance (i.e. extended credit).

HC0330

Has private loans

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household has any private loans, e.g. from relatives or friends, which are expected to be repaid.

HC0340

Number of private loans

Number of private loans (which are expected to be repaid) that the household has.

HC036$x

Private loan $x: outstanding amount

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 private loans.

Total outstanding balance of private loan x, i.e. the amount the household is expected to repay for private loan x.

HC0370

Additional private loans – outstanding amount

Total outstanding amount of remaining private loans, not covered by the private loans in the loop of HC036$x.

HC0400

Has any non-collateralised loans

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household has any other non-collateralised loans (not included in previous output variables).

It includes:

—	consumer/personal/instalment loans: loans where a fixed amount of money is borrowed and usually has to be repaid in fixed instalments over a set period (the term). Interest rate may be fixed or variable;

—	other loans from a bank or credit institution (e.g. to finance a business);

—	loans from credit unions;

—	loans from other money lenders: generally short-term loans for small amounts that have to be paid back within 6 months or a year. Usually collected weekly with a higher interest rate (compared to bank credit);

—	student loans from a bank or from the government.

It excludes:

—	bills that are less than 30 days overdue.

HC0410

Number of non-collateralised loans

Number of non-collateralised loans that the household has.

HC060$x

Non-collateralised loan $x: amount initially borrowed

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 non-collateralised loans.

Initial amount borrowed at the time the loan was granted.

HC070$x

Non-collateralised loan $x: initial length of loan

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 non-collateralised loans.

Number of years agreed for repayment at the time the loan was granted.

HC080$x

Non-collateralised loan $x: outstanding balance of loan

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 non-collateralised loans.

Total amount of outstanding balance on the non-collateralised loan x.

HC090$x

Non-collateralised loan $x: current interest rate of loan

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 non-collateralised loans.

Current annual rate of interest charged on the loan.

HC100$x

Non-collateralised loan $x: monthly payment on loan

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 non-collateralised loans.

Monthly amount paid including interest and repayment but excluding any payments for taxes, insurance or other fees.

HC1100

Total amount owed for additional non-collateralised loans

Total outstanding balance of additional non-collateralised loans, not covered by the non-collateralised loans in the loop of HC080$x.

HC1200

Monthly payment on additional non-collateralised loans

Monthly amount paid on additional non-collateralised loans including interest and repayment but excluding any payments for taxes, insurance or other fees.

HC1250

Late or missed payments on loans

Indicates if all loan or mortgage payments due in the last 12 months were made as scheduled or made later or missed.

Only covers loans and mortgages with financial institutions.

HC1270

Any overdue payments by more than 90 days

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household was ever overdue (due to financial difficulties) by 90 days or more on any of the payments on loans and/or mortgages due in the last 12 months.

HC1300

Has applied for loan/credit in the last three years

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household has applied for a loan or other credit in the last 3 years.

HC1310a

Was denied credit in the last 3 years

Indicates if in the last 3 years the household has been denied any credit it applied for or not given as much credit as applied for.

HC1320

Reapplying for credit

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household was able to later obtain the amount requested by reapplying to the same institution or somewhere else.

HC1400

Not applying for credit due to perceived credit constraints

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household considered applying for a loan/credit in the last 3 years, but decided not to, thinking that the application would be rejected.

TOPIC: PRIVATE BUSINESSES AND FINANCIAL ASSETS

HD0200

Investments in non-traded self-employment businesses with an active role

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household owns all or part of a business that is not publicly traded and where it has an active role in running the business.

This includes a self-employment business run as a sole proprietorship, as an independent professional or in partnership, and active participation in running limited liability companies.

Non-publicly traded businesses are those whose shares are not publicly traded, i.e. whose shares are not listed on a stock exchange or other form of secondary market where they can be bought and sold.

HD0210

Number of self-employment businesses

Number of businesses owned entirely or in part by the household.

Legally separate businesses that are managed as one business may be treated as one business.

HD0301

Self-employment business: NACE

Main activity of the main self-employment business coded according to the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Rev. 2 (2008), first level.

HD040$x

Self-employment business $x: legal form of the business

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 self-employment businesses.

Legal form of business x.

The following legal forms can be found in most Member States:

—	sole proprietorship: enterprise owned exclusively by one natural person;

—	partnership: association of persons who conduct a business under a collective name. It can take the form of a limited partnership;

—

limited liability companies: enterprises comprising joint-stock companies, limited partnerships with share capital and private limited companies. Harmonised rules at European level governing the publication of accounts for these types of companies are laid down by Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(8);

—	cooperative societies: bodies established by law in each country. They observe a number of general principles, for example they may only be entitled to provide their services to members, profits are often distributed in proportion to members’ dealings with the society etc.;

—	non-profit-making bodies;

—	enterprises with other forms of legal constitution: this group includes nationalised industries, publicly owned enterprises and state or local authority monopolies.

The term incorporated is used to refer to legally constituted corporations and quasi-corporations.

A legally constituted corporation is a legal entity created for the purpose of producing goods or services for the market, that may be a source of profit or other financial gain to its owner(s). It is owned by shareholders. The existence, name and address of a corporation are usually recorded in a special register kept for this purpose.

Some unincorporated enterprises function in all (or almost all) respects as if they were incorporated (quasi-corporations in SNA). A quasi corporation is an unincorporated enterprise that has sufficient information to compile a complete set of accounts and is operated as if it were a separate corporation and whose de facto relationship to its owner is that of a corporation to its shareholders (SNA 2008).

HD050$x_B

Self-employment business $x: number of employees in brackets

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 self-employment businesses.

Number of persons working in the business, including household members (in 3 brackets).

HD061$x

Self-employment business $x: number of household members working in the business

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 self-employment businesses.

Number of persons working in the business who belong to the household (minimum one).

HD070$x

Self-employment business $x: % of household ownership

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 self-employment businesses.

Percentage of business owned by the household.

HD080$x

Self-employment business $x: value of the business

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 self-employment businesses.

Net value of the household’s share of the business, i.e. price for which the business could be sold, taking into account all the assets associated with the business and deducting all the liabilities. It the business is a farm, value of farm implements, crops or livestock should be included.

This should exclude any assets and debts connected with this business recorded elsewhere.

The value of the business should not include any of the properties reported in output variables HB260$xv (Other property $x: use) and HB280$x (Other property $x: current value).

HD0900

Value of additional self-employment businesses

Net value of the household’s share of the remaining businesses not recorded elsewhere, i.e. price for which the businesses could be sold, taking into account all the assets associated with the businesses and deducting all the liabilities. If the business is a farm, value of farm implements, crops or livestock should be included.

HD1000

Non-traded shares with passive role

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household owns any business that is not publicly traded and where it acts only as an investor or silent partner.

Non-publicly traded businesses are businesses whose shares are not publicly traded, i.e. the shares are not listed on a stock exchange or other form of secondary market where they can be bought and sold.

HD1010

Value of non-self-employment not publicly traded businesses

Value of the household’s share of the non-self-employment business that is not publicly traded and where the household only acts as an investor or silent partner.

HD1100

Household holds sight accounts

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household holds sight accounts.

Sight accounts correspond to ‘transferable deposits’ within the ‘overnight deposits’ category in Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2). Transferable deposits are those deposits which are directly transferable on demand to make payments to other economic agents by commonly used means of payment, such as credit transfer and direct debit, possibly also by credit or debit card, e-money transactions, cheques, or similar means, without significant delay, restriction or penalty.

Sight accounts include all deposits (usually at a bank), against which the account holder is permitted to make daily withdrawals (e.g. from the bank counter or ATM machines) and make transfers for the purpose of making payments to third persons or others, or transfers to other accounts.

HD1110

Value of sight accounts

Total amount in EUR held by the household in sight accounts.

Corresponds to the sum of positive account balances.

If the account balance is negative, zero is to be reported on the assets side in HD1110.

Negative account balances should be reported as overdrafts in HC0210.

HD1200

Household holds savings accounts

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household holds savings accounts.

Savings accounts refer to savings deposits and time deposits.

Savings deposits correspond to ‘deposits redeemable at notice’ and ‘non-transferable overnight deposits’ as defined in Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2). Deposits redeemable at notice are non-transferable deposits without any agreed maturity which cannot be converted into currency without a period of prior notice; before the expiry the conversion into currency is not possible or possible only with a penalty. Non-transferable overnight deposits are those overnight deposits that are not directly transferable on demand to make payments.

Time deposits correspond to ‘deposits with agreed maturity’ in Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2). They are non-transferable deposits which cannot be converted into currency before an agreed fixed term or that can only be converted into currency before that agreed term provided that the holder is charged some kind of penalty.

HD1210

Value of savings accounts

Total amount in EUR held by the household in savings accounts.

Corresponds to the sum of positive account balances.

If the account balance is negative, zero is to be reported on the assets side in HD1210.

Negative account balances should be reported as overdrafts in HC0210.

HD1300

Household holds mutual funds shares/units

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household holds mutual funds shares/units.

Mutual fund shares/units are shares/units issued by mutual funds.

Mutual funds refer to money market funds (MMFs) further defined in Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2) and non-MMF investment funds (non-MMFs) further defined in Regulation (EU) 2024/1988 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2024/17)(9).

Mutual funds are collective investment undertakings that invest in financial and/or non-financial assets, to the extent that the objective is investing capital raised from the public.

Mutual funds pool money from investors and invest this money in e.g. stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, real estate, other mutual funds.

HD1310v

Where v = a,b,c,d,e,f

Types of mutual funds

Fund predominantly investing in

equity

bonds

c:	money market instruments

d:	real estate

e:	hedge funds

other

Types of mutual funds that the household holds.

If the fund is a hedge fund it should be recorded under ‘e: hedge funds’, irrespective of the investment policy of the fund.

‘Predominantly’ refers to the highest percentage.

HD1320v

Where v = a,b,c,d,e,f

Market value of mutual funds – portfolio

Fund predominantly investing in

equity

bonds

c:	money market instruments

d:	real estate

e:	hedge funds

other

Current market value of the household’s investments in each type of fund.

HD1330

Market value of mutual funds – all funds together

Total market value in EUR of mutual funds shares/units held by the household.

HD1400

Household holds bonds

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household holds bonds.

Bonds correspond to ‘debt securities’ in Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2). Debt securities are defined as negotiable financial instruments serving as evidence of debt, which are usually traded on secondary markets or which can be offset on the market, and which do not grant the holder any ownership rights over the issuing institution.

It includes holdings of securities which give the holder the unconditional right to a fixed or contractually determined income in the form of coupon payments and/or a stated fixed sum at a specific date or dates, or starting from a date defined at the time of issue.

HD1420

Market value of bonds

Total market value in EUR of bonds held by the household.

HD1500

Household holds publicly traded shares

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household holds publicly traded shares.

Publicly traded shares correspond to ‘listed shares’ within ‘equity’ in Regulation (EU) 2021/379 (ECB/2021/2). Equity represents property rights on corporations or quasi-corporations; it is a claim on residual value after the claims of all creditors have been met.

Listed shares are equity securities listed on an exchange. Such an exchange may be a recognised stock exchange or any other form of secondary market. Listed shares are also referred to as quoted shares. The existence of quoted prices of shares listed on an exchange means that current market prices are usually readily available.

HD1510

Value of publicly traded shares

Total market value in EUR of publicly traded shares held by the household.

HD1600

Household holds managed accounts

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household holds managed accounts.

Managed accounts are accounts which are owned by the household but managed for a fee by a professional account manager, i.e. the account manager takes decisions on the investments on behalf of the investor.

This does not include pensions or insurance contracts.

HD1610

Managed accounts – assets not already recorded

Indicates (Yes/No) if the managed accounts indicated by the household under HD1600 include any assets which were not yet recorded in previous output variables.

HD1620

Value of additional assets in managed accounts

Total value in EUR of any additional assets in managed accounts not recorded in previous output variables.

HD1700

Does anyone owe money to household

Indicates (Yes/No) if anyone owes money to the household which is expected to be repaid at some point in the future. This may include loans to friends or relatives, other private loans, rent deposits or any other such loans not recorded elsewhere.

HD1710

Amount owed to household

Total amount owed to the household (see HD1700).

HD1900

Any other financial assets

Other financial assets not recorded elsewhere.

This may include for example assets such as options, futures, index certificates, crypto-assets, precious metals, oil and gas leases, future proceeds from a lawsuit or estate that is being settled, royalties.

Jewellery is not included in this output variable since it is included in output variable HB4700 (‘Ownership of other valuables’).

Pension rights and insurance contracts are not included since they are covered by output variables on ‘Pensions and Insurance policies’.

HD1920

Value of the other assets

Total value of the other financial assets not recorded elsewhere (see HD1900).

HD1800

Investment attitudes

Describes the amount of financial risk that the household is willing to take when saving or investing.

TOPIC: EMPLOYMENT

PE0100v

Where v = a,b,c,d

Labour status

a:	first choice labour status

b:	secondary choice labour status

c:	secondary choice labour status

d:	secondary choice labour status

Labour status of the household member, starting with the most important labour status (a), followed by any other labour status (b-d).

The output variable refers to a person’s own perception of his or her current main activity status.

The main status refers to the current situation (situation at the time of the data collection/interview). It follows that any definitive changes in the activity situation are taken into account. For example, if a person has lost a job or has recently retired, or the activity status has changed otherwise in a definitive manner, the situation at the time of the interview is reported.

The self-declared main activity status is, in principle, determined on the basis of the most time spent, but no criteria are specified explicitly.

If respondents hesitate between the answers ‘permanently disabled’ and ‘in retirement’, the code ‘in retirement’ should be used for persons having reached the most frequent legal retirement age or the one in their previous occupation.

The category ‘on sick/maternity/other leave (except holidays), planning to return to work’ applies to situations where a respondent has existing employment contract(s) / self-employment activity from which he or she is only temporarily absent due to sickness, maternity leave period or other transitory reasons and he or she expects to return to that job. These persons are considered to be employed and other core output variables on employment are therefore also applicable to them.

The category ‘compulsory military service or equivalent social service’ may not apply in all countries and can be omitted in this case.

Unpaid family workers fall under category 1 ‘Doing regular work for pay/self-employed/working in family’.

PE0200

Status in employment

Current main job for a person in employment. The output variable is based on the International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE-93).

If multiple jobs are held or were held, the main job refers to the one with the greatest number of hours usually worked.

Employee: person who works for a public or private employer based on a written or oral contract and who receives a payment in cash or in kind. Non-conscripted members of the armed forces are also included. An employee usually works for an outside employer.

The following are also included under ‘employee’:

—	a family member (son or daughter, for example), who is working in the family’s firm and receives a regular wage;

—

a person looking after the children of others in their own home if they are paid to do this by the local authority (or any other public administration) and if they do not take any decision affecting the enterprise (e.g. schedules or number of children). A person doing this privately should be classified as self-employed;

—	apprentices, or trainees receiving renumeration;

—	priests (of any kind of religion).

Self-employed with employees: a person who works in his/her own business, professional practice, or farm for the purpose of earning a profit derived from the goods or services produced, and who employs at least one other person. If a person working in the business, professional practice or farm is not paid then he/she should be considered as self-employed without employees.

Self-employed without employees: a person who works in his/her own business, professional practice, or farm for the purpose of earning a profit derived from the goods or services produced, and who do not employ any other person. Persons who only employ members of their own family or trainees that are not paid should be classified in this category. This includes farmers just using the assistance of family members.

The following are considered self-employed:

—	a person who looks after one or more children that are not their own on a private basis and receives a payment for this service;

—	a freelancer. However, in situations where a freelancer works for a single employer and receives employment rights (e.g. holiday pay) from that employer, they should be classified as an employee.

Unpaid family worker: a person who helps another member of the family to run a farm or other family business, provided they are not considered as employees in a sense that they may not receive payment for their work.

The category ‘unpaid family worker’ includes relatives working for a family business or on a family farm without pay. This includes e.g. a son or daughter working for the parents’ business or on the parents’ farm without pay or a wife who assists her husband, or vice versa, in their business without pay.

Helping family members does not mean having to live in the same household or on the same site.

Special case: Members of producers’ cooperatives

Members of producers’ cooperatives should be considered as self-employed if in the cooperative, each member takes part on an equal footing with other members in determining the organisation of production, sales and/or other work of the establishment, the investments, and the distribution of the proceeds of the establishment among the members.

If a cooperative has hired workers and these workers have an employment contract that gives them a basic wage (which is not directly dependent on the revenue of the cooperative), these workers are identified as employees of the cooperative.

However, even if the cooperative has employees (e.g. an accountant), the members of the cooperative should be considered as ‘self-employed without employees’ because the cooperative as an institution (and not any of its members) is the employer.

Other cases:

—	people who are self-employed for tax purposes but who work under the authority/direction of others and receive a pre-defined salary (salary that does not depend on the economic results of the company/institution in which they work) should be coded as employees;

—	the owner of a limited liability company, working for that company (or having an active role in running it) and receiving a wage, should be considered as self-employed, and be coded as 2 or 3 depending on the existence of other employees besides the owners.

PE0300

Job description / ISCO

Current main job for a person in employment. If multiple jobs are held, the main job should be the one in which the greatest number of hours are usually worked.

The occupation in the main job is coded based on the ISCO-08 classification, International Standard Classification of Occupations (International Labour Organization, ILO).

In the ILO resolution adopting the ISCO-08, an occupation is defined as a set of jobs whose main tasks and duties are characterised by a high degree of similarity.

PE0400

Main employment – NACE

Economic sector of main employer coded according to the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities NACE, Rev 2 (2008), first level.

Refers to the main job. If multiple jobs are held, the main job is the one with the greatest number of hours usually worked.

If the company is a diversified company, it refers to the activity of the subsidiary in which the household member works.

If the employer operates in several localities, the economic activity of the employer refers to the local unit where the household member works. The ‘local unit’ is the geographical location where the job is mainly carried out, or, in the case of itinerant occupations, can be said to be based. Normally it consists of a single building, part of a building, or, at the largest, a self-contained group of buildings. The ‘local unit’ is therefore the group of employees of the enterprise who are geographically located at the same site.

PE0500

Type of contract

Type of contract that the household member holds.

Refers to the main job. If multiple jobs are held, the main job is the one with the greatest number of hours usually worked.

Permanent position refers to a job with a permanent written or verbal contract, also referred to as a work contract of unlimited duration (i.e. job without a fixed end).

Temporary position refers to a job with a fixed-term written or verbal contract, also referred to as a work contract of limited duration (i.e. the job will terminate after a predefined period).

A job is regarded as temporary if it is understood by both employer and employee that the termination of the job is determined by objective criteria such as reaching a certain date, completion of an assignment or return of another employee who has been temporarily replaced. In the case of a work contract of limited duration the condition for its termination is generally mentioned in the contract.

The following are regarded as temporary positions:

—	seasonal workers;

—	persons having a contract for a probationary period, where the contract finishes automatically at the end of the probationary period, necessitating a new contract if the person continues to be employed by the same employer;

—	persons with specific training contracts, unless there exist no objective criterion for the termination of the job contract.

For temporary employment agency workers, the categorisation depends on the type of contract with the employment agency. They are counted as having a permanent position only if there is a work contract of unlimited duration with the employment agency.

What counts is the contractual (or the informal/verbal) arrangement of the employment relationship, and not the expectation that the household member may lose the job, or plan to leave it, or wish to stay, or the probability of staying there permanently.

PE0600

Hours working per week – main job

Number of hours worked per week on average over a year in the main job.

If the household member has multiple jobs, the main job is the one in which the most hours are usually worked.

The number of hours corresponds to the number of hours the person normally works in his/her main job. This covers all hours including extra hours, either paid or unpaid, which the person normally works, but excludes the travel time between the home and the place of work as well as the main meal break. Persons who usually also work at home (within the definitions given below) should also include the number of hours they usually work at home.

Apprentices, trainees, and other persons in vocational training should exclude the time spent in school or other special training centres.

Some persons, particularly self-employed and family workers, may not have usual hours, in the sense that their hours vary considerably from week to week or month to month. When the household member is unable to provide the number of usual hours for this reason, the average of the hours worked per week over the past 4 weeks is used as a measure of usual hours.

For self-employed people in particular, normal hours may also include work done at home, such as planning, record-keeping and so on.

Persons who usually also work at home:

This concept applies to many self-employed people, for example in artistic or professional activities, who work wholly or partly at home, often in a part of their living accommodation set aside for the purpose. However, if the place of work comprises a separate unit (for example, a doctor’s surgery or tax consultant’s practice) which is adjacent to the person’s home but contains a separate entrance, then work performed there should not be considered to be done ‘at home’. Similarly, a farmer is not to be regarded as working ‘at home’ when he/she is occupied in fields or buildings adjacent to his/her house. In the case of employees, ‘working at home’ should be interpreted strictly in terms of formal working arrangements, where it is mutually understood by the employee and the employer that a certain part of the work is to be done at home. Such an arrangement may be explicitly included in the terms of employment or may be recognised in other ways (for example, if the employee explicitly notifies the employer of this work by completing a timesheet, or by requesting additional payment or other form of compensation). This arrangement is also recognised if an employee is equipped with a computer in his/her home in order to perform his/her work. Other typical examples of ‘working at home’ include travelling sales representatives who prepare at home for appointments with clients which are then held at the clients’ offices or homes, or persons who do typing or knitting work which on completion is sent to a central location. ‘Working at home’ does not cover cases where employees carry out tasks at home (because of personal interest or pressure of time), which under their working arrangements might equally have been performed at their place of work.

If the person is a seasonal worker the number of working hours per week to be reported should correspond to the average over the year, i.e. number of hours per week (during active working periods) multiplied by the number of working weeks per year divided by 52.

PE0700

Number of years in main job

Number of consecutive years that the household member has worked for the company/organisation/self-employment activity for which he/she is working for at the time of the interview. Coded as zero if less than one year with this employer.

The duration of current employment is not affected by: (1) a change in position within the company; (2) off-duty leaves during which the employment relationship has not been paused and which have not lasted longer than one year; (3) parental leaves; or (4) changes in the name of company due to ownership changes or mergers and acquisitions.

PE0800

Currently more than one job

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household member has any other job in addition to the main job.

PE0900

Ever been employed

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household member has ever worked (full time or part time) for all or most of a year.

PE0270

Main status in employment for retired or other inactive

Main job of a household member who has worked in the past but is currently retired or inactive. The output variable is based on the International Classification of Status in Employment (ISCE-93).

If multiple jobs were held, the main job refers to the one with the greatest number of hours worked.

A description of the options available for main status in employment (i.e. employee, self-employed with employees, self-employed without employees and unpaid family worker) is provided under output variable PE0200 (‘status in employment’).

PEZ010

Probability of losing the job

Household members’ assessment of the likelihood of losing their current job in the next 12 months (on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 refers to ‘not at all likely’ and 100 refers to ‘extremely likely’).

Employees may lose their job for a variety of reasons beyond their immediate control, such as expiration or termination of their work contract, dismissal, or other similar reason.

Self-employed people may cease being employed for reasons beyond their immediate control, such as loss of clients, bankruptcy of the business, or other similar reasons.

PEZ020

Probability of finding a job

Household members’ assessment of the likelihood of finding a job in the next 12 months (on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 refers to ‘not at all likely’ and 100 refers to ‘extremely likely’).

PE1005

Number of years in employment

Number of years, since starting the first regular job, that the household member has spent at work, whether as an employee or self-employed.

When a person had a job, but was temporarily absent because of maternity leave, injury or temporary disability, lack of work for technical or economic reasons, the relevant period is to be counted as work when computing the number of years spent in paid work.

‘At work’ is self-defined. In cases where there is doubt, such as when the person spent a number of years working on a part-time basis, the person’s own perception of whether their main activity was ‘at work’ or something else should be taken.

PE1100

Expected age to stop working for pay

Age at which the household member plans to stop working for pay.

TOPIC: PENSIONS AND LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES

PFA0100

Number of pension plans and life insurance policies

Number of pension plans and whole life insurance policies that the household member holds.

PFA020$x

Type of pension plan $x

$x: Loop for up to 7 pension plans.

General type (public, occupational, voluntary, whole life insurance, other) of the pension plan.

Occupational pension plans: access to such plans is linked to an employment or professional relationship between the plan member and the entity that establishes the plan (the plan sponsor). Occupational plans may be established by employers or groups thereof (e.g. industry associations) and labour or professional associations, jointly or separately. The plan may be administered directly by the plan sponsor or by an independent entity (a pension fund or a financial institution acting as pension provider). In the latter case, the plan sponsor may still have oversight responsibilities over the operation of the plan. They are also referred to as company pension plans or employer’s pension plans.

Personal (voluntary) pension plans: access to these plans does not have to be linked to an employment relationship. The plans are established and administered directly by a pension fund or a financial institution acting as pension provider without any intervention by employers. Individuals independently purchase and select material aspects of the arrangements. The employer may nonetheless make contributions to personal pension plans. Some personal plans may have restricted membership (e.g. self-employed persons, members of a particular craft or trade association, individuals who do not already belong to an occupational plan etc.).

Participation in these plans is in general voluntary for individuals. By law individuals are not obliged to participate in or make pension contributions to a pension plan.

Life insurance: holders of life insurance policies make payments to an insurer, in return for which the insurer guarantees to pay the policy holder an agreed minimum sum or an annuity, at a given date or at the death of the policy holder, if this occurs earlier. Term life insurance, where benefits are provided in the case of death but in no other circumstances, is excluded.

PFA030$x

Still contributing to pension plan $x

$x: Loop for up to 7 pension plans.

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household member is still contributing to the pension plan.

The household member may not be contributing due to e.g. maternity leave, unemployment.

If it is not possible to determine if the household is still contributing and the amount of the contribution (PFA050x), code -3 (not relevant) should be used.

This output variable is necessary for pension plans which do not carry a balance and can be viewed as defined benefit plans.

In the case of defined benefit plans, the benefits payable (to the employee) on retirement are determined by the use of a formula, either alone or in combination with a guaranteed minimum amount payable.

PFA040$x

Number of years contributed to plan $x

$x: Loop for up to 7 pension plans.

Number of years that the household member has contributed to the pension plan.

This output variable is necessary for pension plans which do not carry a balance and can be viewed as defined benefit plans.

Code -4 (not required) is to be used when the current value of the pension plan (PF080$x) is provided.

PFA050$x

Monthly contribution to plan $x

$x: Loop for up to 7 pension plans.

Average monthly contribution to the pension plan over the last 12 months.

This output variable is necessary for pension plans which do not carry a balance and can be viewed as defined benefit plans.

Code -3 (not relevant/undetermined) is to be used when the information cannot be deduced from the situation of the household member and the characteristics of the plan.

Code -4 (not required) is to be used when the current value of the pension plan (PF080$x) is provided.

PFA060$x

Pension plan $x carries a balance

$x: Loop for up to 7 pension plans.

Indicates (Yes/No) if the pension plan carries a balance and thereby indicates if the plan works in the sense of a defined contribution plan.

In the case of defined contribution plans, the benefits are defined in terms of the level of the fund built up from the contributions made (over the employee’s working life) and the increases in value that result from the investment of such funds.

PFA080$x

Current value of pension plan $x

$x: Loop for up to 7 pension plans.

Current balance of the plan referring to the current value of the accrued and invested contributions (i.e. the amount available in the pension plan).

PFA100$x

Age at which payment from pension plan $x is expected

$x: Loop for up to 7 pension plans.

Age at which the household member expects to start receiving payment from the plan.

TOPIC: INCOME

PG0100

Received employee income

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household member received cash or near-cash employee income during the income reference period.

Gross cash or near-cash employee income refers to the monetary component of the compensation of employees in cash payable by an employer to an employee. It includes the value of any social contributions and income taxes payable by an employee or by the employer on behalf of the employee to social insurance schemes or tax authorities.

Gross cash or near-cash employee income includes the following items (and should be covered, even if in arrears):

—	wages and salaries paid in cash for time worked or work done in main and any secondary or casual job(s);

—	remuneration for time not worked (e.g. holiday payments);

—	higher rates of pay for overtime;

—	fees paid to directors of incorporated enterprises;

—	piece rate payments;

—

payments for fostering children (amount of money that the government or non-profit institutions serving households give to families for taking care of children. These children live in a family instead of living in an institution. The children do not have the legal status of ‘children of the family’);

—	commission, tips and gratuities;

—	supplementary payments (e.g. 13th month payment);

—	profit-sharing and bonuses paid in cash;

—	additional payments based on productivity;

—	allowances paid for working in remote locations (regarded as part of the conditions of the job);

—	allowances for transport to or from work;

—	additional payments made by an employer to an employee or former employee or other eligible person to supplement the sick, disability, maternity leave, or survivor’s pay entitlement from social insurance schemes, where such payments cannot be separately and clearly identified as social benefits;

—	payments made by an employer to an employee in lieu of wages and salaries through a social insurance scheme when the employee is unable to work through sickness, disability or maternity leave where such payment cannot be separately and clearly identified as social benefits;

—	cash subsidies received from the employer for dwelling costs.

Gross cash or near-cash employee income excludes:

—	payments made by an employer to reimburse work-related expenses (e.g. business travel);

—	severance and termination pay to compensate an employee for employment ending before the employee has reached the normal retirement age for that job, and redundancy payments (they are included under ‘income from other income sources’, HG0600/HG0610);

—	allowances for purely work-related expenses such as those for travel and subsistence or for protective clothes;

—	lump-sum payments at the normal retirement date (included under HG0600/HG0610);

—	union strike pay;

—	employers’ social insurance contributions;

—	wages paid to owners of non-publicly traded enterprises working for the business they own.

If a self-employed person has a declared salary for themselves (e.g. from administrative data) which cannot be separated from other annual wages and salaries, the amount can be included in gross cash employee income.

PG0110

Gross cash employee income

Total gross amount in EUR of cash or near-cash employee income received by the household member during the income reference period.

PG0200

Received self-employment income

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household member received self-employment income during the income reference period.

Self-employment income means income received, during the income reference period, by individuals, for themselves or in respect of their family members, as a result of being or having been self-employed. Self-employment refers to jobs in which remuneration depends directly on the profits (or the potential for profits) derived from the goods and services produced (with own consumption considered as parts of profits). A self-employed person makes the operational decisions affecting his or her enterprise or delegates such decisions while retaining responsibility for the welfare of the enterprise. (In this context, ‘enterprise’ includes one-person operations). Remuneration for engaging in a hobby is regarded as an instance of self-employment.

If the income collected or compiled corresponds to a time period earlier than the reference period, basic adjustments must be applied to update the data to the income reference period.

Self-employment income includes:

—	net operating profit and loss accruing to working owners of, or partners in, an unincorporated enterprise, less interest on business loans;

—	royalties earned on writing, inventions and so on, not included in the profit/loss of unincorporated enterprises;

—	rentals from business buildings, vehicles, equipment, etc., not included in the profit/loss of unincorporated enterprises, after deduction of related costs such as interest on associated loans, repairs and maintenance and insurance charges.

It excludes:

—	directors’ fees earned by owners of incorporated enterprises (which are included under ‘gross cash employee income’, PG0110);

—	dividends paid by incorporated enterprises (which are included under ‘gross income from financial investments’, HG0410);

—	profits from capital invested in an unincorporated enterprise in which the person does not work (‘sleeping partners’) (these profits are included under ‘gross income from private business other than self-employment’, HG0510);

—	rent from land and receipts from boarders or lodgers (which are included under ‘gross rental income from real estate property’, HG0310);

—	rentals from dwellings not included in the profit/loss of unincorporated enterprises (which are included under ‘gross rental income from real estate property’, HG0310);

—	value of goods produced for own consumption.

In practice if the self-employed person or business prepares annual accounts for tax purposes, the gross income benefits/losses must be calculated as net operating benefits/losses shown on this tax account for the most recent 12-month period, before deduction of taxes on income and compulsory social insurance contributions.

In the absence of annual accounts, either for tax purposes or as a business account, the alternative approach to measure self-employment income is to record the amount of money (and goods) drawn out of the business for personal use (for consumption or saving, including the market value of goods produced or purchased by the business but taken for personal use).

PG0210

Gross self-employment income (profit/losses of unincorporated enterprises)

Total gross amount in EUR of self-employment income received by the household member during the income reference period.

PG0300

Received income from public pensions

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household member received income from public pension schemes during the income reference period.

Income from public pensions are social benefits received by household members.

Social benefits are defined as current transfers received by household members during the income reference period and intended to relieve them of the financial burden of certain risks or needs, made through collectively organised schemes, or outside such schemes by government units and non-profit institutions serving households.

Social benefits include the value of any social contributions and income tax payable on the benefits by the beneficiary to social insurance schemes or to tax authorities.

To be classified as a social benefit, a transfer must meet one of two criteria:

(1)	coverage is compulsory (under a law, regulation or collective bargaining agreement) for the group in question;

(2)	it is based on the principle of social solidarity (i.e. if it is an insurance-based pension, the premium and entitlements are not proportional to the individual exposure to risk of the people protected).

Old-age benefits cover benefits that provide a replacement income when an elderly person retires from the labour market or that guarantee a certain income when an elderly person has reached a prescribed age.

Survivors’ benefits refer to benefits that provide a temporary or permanent income for people below retirement age after the death of their spouse, partner or next-of-kin, usually when that person was the main breadwinner.

Disability benefits refer to benefits that provide an income for people below standard retirement age whose ability to work and earn is impaired by physical or mental disability, beyond a minimum level laid down by legislation.

Income from public pensions includes (even if in arrears):

—	old-age pension: periodic payments intended to maintain the income of the beneficiary after retirement from gainful employment at the standard age or to support an old person’s income;

—	early old-age pension: periodic payments intended to maintain the income of a beneficiary who retires before the standard age as defined in the relevant scheme or in the scheme of reference. This may occur with or without a reduction in the normal pension;

—	partial retirement pension: periodic payment of a portion of the full retirement pension to an older worker who continues to work but reduces their working hours or whose income from a professional activity is below a defined ceiling;

—	survivors’ pension: periodic payments, even after the standard retirement age, to a person whose entitlement derives from their relationship with a deceased person protected by a scheme (widows, widowers, orphans and similar);

—	disability pension: periodic payments intended to maintain or support the income of a person below standard retirement age who suffers from a disability which impairs his or her ability to work or earn beyond a minimum level laid down by legislation.

Income from public pension systems abroad is also included.

It excludes:

—	pensions received from occupational and private pension plans;

—	unemployment income.

PG0310

Gross income from public pensions

Total gross amount in EUR of income from public pensions received by the household member during the income reference period.

PG0400

Received income from occupational and private pension plans

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household member received income from occupational and individual private pension plans/insurance contracts during the income reference period.

Regular pension from private plans refers to pensions and annuities received, during the income reference period, in the form of interest or dividend income from individual private insurance plans, i.e. schemes where contributions are at the contributor’s discretion, independently of his or her employers or government.

It includes (even if in arrears):

—	old age, survivors, sickness, disability and unemployment pensions received as interest or dividends from individual private insurance plans.

It excludes:

—	pensions from public pension schemes (under PG0310).

PG0410

Gross income from occupational and private pension plans

Total gross amount in EUR of income from occupational and private pension plans received by the household member during the income reference period.

PG0500

Received income from unemployment benefits

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household member received any regular transfers from social security or other governmental agencies in the form of unemployment benefits during the income reference period.

Unemployment benefits are social benefits received by household members. A general definition of social benefits is provided under PG0300.

Unemployment benefits refer to benefits that replace, in whole or in part, income lost by a worker through the loss of gainful employment; provide a subsistence (or better) income for individuals entering or re-entering the labour market; compensate for loss of earnings owing to partial unemployment; replace in whole or in part income lost by an older worker who retires from gainful employment before the legal retirement age because of job reductions for economic reasons; contribute to the cost of training or retraining people looking for employment; or help unemployed people meet the cost of travelling or relocating to obtain employment.

It includes:

—	full unemployment benefits: benefits compensating for loss of earnings where a person is capable of working and available for work but is unable to find suitable employment, including persons who have not previously been employed;

—

partial unemployment benefits: benefits compensating for the loss of wages or salary as a result of formal short-time working arrangements or intermittent work schedules, or both, irrespective of their cause (business recession or slow-down, breakdown of equipment, climatic conditions, accidents and so on), and where the employer-employee relationship continues;

—

early retirement for labour-market reasons: periodic payments to older workers who retire before reaching standard retirement age because of unemployment or job reductions caused by economic measures such as the restructuring of an industrial sector or of a business enterprise. These payments normally cease when the beneficiary becomes entitled to an old-age pension;

—	vocational training allowances: payments by social security funds or public agencies to targeted groups of people in the labour force who take part in training schemes intended to develop their potential for employment;

—	mobility and resettlement: payments by social security funds or public agencies to unemployed persons to encourage them to move to another locality or change their occupation in order to seek or to obtain work;

—	other cash benefits: other financial assistance, particularly payments to the long-term unemployed.

It excludes:

—	family allowances paid for dependent children, even if the eligibility for them is dependent on the household member being unemployed (included under income from public transfers HG0100/HG0110);

—	severance and termination payments (benefits compensating employees for employment ending before they reach the normal retirement age for the job concerned, included under other income sources HG0600/HG0610);

—	redundancy compensation: capital sums paid to employees who have been dismissed through no fault of their own by an enterprise that is ceasing or scaling down its activities (included under other income sources HG0600/HG0610).

PG0510

Gross income from unemployment benefits

Total gross amount in EUR of income from unemployment benefits received by the household member during the income reference period.

HG0100

Received income from regular public transfers

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household received regular public transfers from social security or other governmental agencies which are not included elsewhere during the income reference period.

Income from regular public transfers are social benefits received by households. A general definition of social benefits is provided under PG0300.

Income from regular public transfers includes:

—	family/children-related allowances (e.g. parental leave benefit, family or child allowance);

—	housing allowances: interventions by public authorities to help households meet the cost of housing;

—	education-related allowances: grants, scholarships and other help for educational purposes received by students. In case of doubt regarding the provenance of scholarships, they are included in this output variable;

—	old-age, widows, sickness, disability, etc. regular pensions and allowances that are not employment related or dependent on direct contributions to an insurance scheme by the beneficiary;

—	minimum subsistence allowance paid under minimum income schemes, periodic payments to people with insufficient resources;

—	other types of social benefits.

It excludes:

—	income from public pension schemes (covered under PG0300);

—	unemployment benefits (covered under PG0500);

—	special one-off payments.

HG0110

Gross income from regular public transfers

Total gross amount in EUR of income from regular public transfers received by the household during the income reference period.

HG0200

Received income from regular private transfers

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household received regular transfers from private entities and/or other households during the income reference period.

Regular inter-household cash transfers received refers to regular monetary amounts received, during the income reference period, from other households or persons.

These inter-household transfers should be:

—	regular, i.e. transfer receipts must to some extent be anticipated and relied upon;

—	current, i.e. available for consumption during the income reference period.

‘Regular’ does not imply precise timing and does not require strong periodicity.

Regular inter-household cash transfers received include:

—	compulsory alimony and child support;

—	voluntary alimony and child support received on a regular basis;

—	regular cash support from persons other than household members (e.g. cash received by children studying away from home or by elderly relatives living in another household);

—	regular cash support from households in other countries.

Regular inter-household cash transfers received exclude:

—	inheritances and other capital transfers, i.e. transfers received from other households which the household does not consider as being wholly available for consumption within the income reference period (covered as inheritances under HH0100);

—	gifts and other large, one-off and unexpected cash flows, such as lump sums to buy a car, a house, etc., or to be saved for long-term consumption (more than one year ahead) (covered as gifts under HH0100).

Income from regular private transfers also includes regular support received from non-profit institutions including charities, such as regular assistance provided by non-profit institutions serving households, strike pay from unions received on a regular basis, scholarships from charitable trusts.

Note: the definition mirrors the one applied for inter-household transfers paid under HI0300.

HG0210

Income from regular private transfers

Total gross amount in EUR of income from regular private transfers received by the household during the income reference period.

HG0250

Received income from other private transfers

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household received financial assistance from persons outside the household, such as relatives, friends, or from private organisations during the income reference period.

Excludes support from ex-spouses, ex-partners or other regular transfers already covered in previous output variables.

HG0260

Income from other private transfers

Total amount in EUR of income from other private transfers received by the household during the income reference period.

HG0300

Received income from real estate property

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household received income from renting real estate during the income reference period.

Income from the rental of a property or land refers to the income received, during the income reference period, from renting a property (for example renting a dwelling not included in the profit/loss of unincorporated enterprises, receipts from boarders or lodgers or rent from land) after deducting costs such as mortgage interest repayments, minor repairs, maintenance, insurance and other charges.

If renting the property is part of an unincorporated business (e.g. renting summer apartments as a self-employment business), the income should be included in self-employment income under PG0200.

HG0310

Gross rental income from real estate property

Total gross amount in EUR of income from renting real estate property received by the household during the income reference period.

HG0400

Received income from financial investments

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household received income in the form of interest or dividends from financial investments during the income reference period.

Includes interest and dividends from publicly traded companies (not including the profit/loss of unincorporated enterprises and investments in companies that are not publicly traded). Refers to the amount of interest from assets such as bank accounts, certificates of deposits, bonds, etc. and dividends from publicly traded shares, etc. received during the income reference period less expenses incurred.

Interest is property income receivable by the owners of a financial asset (creditor) for putting it at the disposal of the debtor.

Dividends are a form of property income to which owners of shares become entitled as a result of, for example, placing funds at the disposal of corporations.

Only refers to income received during the reference period. For example, interest from saving accounts that only becomes available at the maturity of the deposit is not included here if the account did not reach the maturity during the reference period.

HG0410

Gross income from financial investments

Total gross amount in EUR of income from financial investments received by the household during the income reference period.

HG0500

Received income from private business other than self-employment

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household received income from a private business or partnership during the income reference period.

Includes profits from capital investment in an unincorporated business other than self-employment income (PG0210) and income from financial investments (HG0400). Refers to profits from capital investments in an unincorporated business and an incorporated not publicly traded private business in which the person does not work, received during the income reference period, minus expenses incurred.

HG0510

Gross income from private business other than self-employment

Total gross amount in EUR of income from a private business other than self-employment received by the household during the income reference period.

HG0600

Received income from other income sources

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household received income from other income sources during the income reference period.

This is a residual item and refers to any other income that is not recorded in any of the other output variables on income sources.

It includes:

—	severance and termination payments (benefits compensating employees for employment ending before they reach the normal retirement age for the job concerned);

—	redundancy compensation: capital sums paid to employees who have been dismissed through no fault of their own by an enterprise that is ceasing or scaling down its activities;

—	lump-sum payments at the normal retirement date;

—	premature withdrawals from private pension schemes;

—	prize winnings;

—	insurance settlements.

It excludes:

—	tax refunds.

HG0610

Gross income from other income sources

Total gross amount in EUR of income from other income sources received by the household during the income reference period.

HG0700

Is income ‘normal’ in reference period

Indicates how the household assesses its income over the last 12 months, considering all sources of income.

HG0800

Future income expectations

Indicates how the household expects its total income to evolve over the next year in comparison to price evolution.

TOPIC: GIFTS/INHERITANCES

HH0100

Any substantial gift or inheritance received

Indicates (Yes/No) if any member of the household has ever received a substantial inheritance or a substantial gift, including money or any other assets, from someone not part of the current household.

Inheritance refers to transfers of assets in connection with the death of a person.

Gift refers to a transfer of assets made during the life of a donor, not connected to the death of that person.

Gifts and donations received regularly are excluded. They are included in HG0200/HG0210 (‘income from regular private transfers’).

All other gifts and donations are included, whether they needed to be reported to the tax authority or not.

Gifts/inheritances in the process of being received are not included.

‘Substantial’ is left to the interpretation of the household. It may be described as a gift or inheritance that has made a significant impact on the financial situation of the household.

HH0110

Number of substantial gifts/inheritance received

Number of substantial gifts or inheritances received by household members.

Gifts or inheritances received at the same time from the same person are treated as one.

HH020$x

Substantial gift/inheritance $x: year gift/inheritance received

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 gifts/inheritances.

Year the household received the gift/inheritance, starting with the most important one for the household’s current wealth, followed by further gifts/inheritances in decreasing order of importance.

HH030$xv

Where v = a to k

Substantial gift/inheritance $x: type of assets received

money

b:	dwelling, other than HMR

c:	use of a dwelling (under reserve or usufruct)

land

business

f:	securities, shares

g:	jewellery, furniture, artwork

h:	life insurance

j:	car/vehicle

HMR

i:	other assets

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 gifts/inheritances.

Describes the assets which were received for each gift/inheritance x, i.e. total of 10 output variables (v = a to i) for each gift/inheritance x.

c –	usufruct: the legal right to enjoy the use and advantages of another person’s property.

e –	business: also includes farm business.

h –

life insurance: covers cases where a person outside the household makes one of the household members a beneficiary of a life insurance policy. If the household member only acknowledges that he/she is the beneficiary of the life insurance policy after it was monetarised, it should be recorded under ‘a – money’.

HH040$x

Substantial gift/inheritance $x: value

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 gifts/inheritances.

Gross value of the gift/inheritance at time of receipt by the household (i.e. inheritance or donation taxes are not deducted).

TOPIC: CONSUMPTION

HI0100

Monthly amount spent on food at home

Amount spent on average per month (over the last 12 months / calendar year) on food and beverages at home.

Food and beverages include the following, in line with the COICOP 2018 classification (Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose):

01.1 –

Food (cereals and cereal products; meat; fish and seafood; milk, other dairy products and eggs; oils and fats; fruits and nuts; vegetables; sugar, confectionery and desserts; ready-made food; other)

01.2 –

Non-alcoholic beverages (fruit and vegetable juices; coffee and coffee substitutes; tea; cocoa drinks, water; soft drinks; other)

02.1 –

Alcoholic beverages (spirits and liquors; wine; beer; other)

Amounts spent on meals delivered to the home from restaurants and catering services are excluded.

HI0200

Monthly amount spent on food outside home

Amount spent on average per month (over the last 12 months / calendar year) on food and beverages outside the home.

Includes expenses at restaurants, canteens, cafes and the like. These are in line with the following COICOP 2018 classification:

11.1.1 –

Restaurants, cafes and the like

11.1.2 –

Canteens, cafeterias and refectories

Amounts spent on meals delivered to the home from restaurants and catering services are included.

If subsidised meals are provided as part of the employment package, only the amount actually paid by the household is included.

HI0210

Monthly amount spent on utilities

Amount spent on average per month (over the last 12 months / calendar year) on utilities.

Includes payments related to the provision of water supply, electricity, gas and other fuels, telephone expenses (fixed and mobile), internet, cable and satellite subscriptions.

These are in line with the following COICOP 2018 classifications:

04.4 –

Water supply and miscellaneous services relating to the dwelling

04.5 –

Electricity, gas and other fuels

08.3 –

Information and communication services

Taxes or tax-like payments related to broadcasting that are compulsory for every household in a country are excluded.

Includes payments related to all the dwellings the household owns and/or rents.

Both contract setup costs incurred during the period and regular expenses are included.

HI0230

Annual expenses on trips and holidays

Amount spent on holiday trips or vacation over the last 12 months / calendar year.

Includes transportation, accommodation, meals, package tours, entertainment and any other related expenses.

HI0240

Monthly amount spent on other consumer goods and services

Amount spent on average per month (over the last 12 months / calendar year) on consumer goods and services not covered elsewhere.

The following are included, in line with the COICOP 2018 classifications:

03 –	Clothing and footwear

05 –	Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance

06 –	Health (medicine and health products, health services)

Parts of 07 – Transport (e.g. fuel, car maintenance, public transport tickets)

Parts of 09 – Recreation, sport and culture (e.g. books, newspapers, cinema tickets, gym fees, veterinary and other services for pets)

10 –	Education services

Part of 13 – Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services (e.g. personal care appliances, hairdresser, childcare, retirement home services)

HI0220

Monthly amount spent on consumer goods and services – total

Total amount spent on average per month (over the last 12 months / calendar year) on consumer goods and services (sum of HI0100, HI0200, HI0210, HI0230/12, HI0240).

HI0300

Makes other regular payments

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household made payments on a regular basis to persons or institutions outside the household (such as alimony, child support, charities, etc.) in the last 12 months. One-off payments are excluded.

Regular inter-household cash transfers paid refers to regular monetary amounts paid to other households during the income reference period. They refer to regular payments, even once a year, out of income.

The inter-household transfers must be:

—	regular, i.e. transfer payments must be to some extent anticipated or relied upon;

—	current, i.e. out of the income from the income reference period.

‘Regular’ does not refer to precise timing and does not require strong periodicity.

Regular inter-household transfers paid include:

—	compulsory alimony and child support;

—	voluntary alimony and child support paid on a regular basis;

—	regular cash support to persons other than household members;

—	regular cash support to households in other countries.

Regular inter-household transfers paid exclude:

—	capital transfers and money drawn from savings;

—	repayments of loans/transfers received.

Other regular payments also include:

—	regular donations given to charities/institutions (e.g. a church).

Definition mirrors inter-household transfers received under HG0200.

HI0310

Monthly amount given as alimony etc.

Amount of other regular payments (HI0300) made per month.

HI0500

Comparison of last 12 months expenses with average

Indicates the respondent’s assessment of the household’s overall expenses (aside from any purchases of assets) over the last 12 months in comparison with the household’s ‘normal’ expenses.

HI0600

Last 12 months expenses were below/above income

Indicates the respondent’s assessment of the household’s overall expenses (aside from any purchases of assets) over the last 12 months in comparison with the household’s income.

HI0400v

Where v = a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,I,j,k,l

Purpose of saving:

a:	purchase of own home

b:	other major purchases (other residences, vehicles, furniture, etc.)

c:	set up a private business or finance investments in an existing business

d:	invest in financial assets

e:	provision for unexpected events

f:	paying off debts

g:	old-age provision

h:	travels/holidays

i:	education/support of children or grandchildren or other relatives

bequests

k:	taking advantage of state subsidies (e.g. a subsidy for building society savings)

other

Indicates the household’s most important reasons for saving.

HI0700v

Where v =a,b,c,d,e,f,g

Source of extra liquidity to meet expenses:

a –	sold assets

b –	got a credit card / overdraft facility

c –	got some other loan

d –	spent out of savings

e –	asked for help from relatives or friends

f –	left some bills unpaid

g –

others

Indicates how the household met expenses which were above income in the last 12 months.

HIZ040v

Where v = a,b

Unexpected windfall gain – lottery

a –	spend over the next 12 months on goods and services

b –	save or invest for later, or repay debt

Indicates, in the event of an unexpected receipt of money from a lottery (equal to the amount of income the household receives in one month), what percent the household would spend over the next 12 months on goods and services as opposed to saving, investing, or repaying debt.

HI0800

Ability to get financial assistance from friends or relatives

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household could receive, in an emergency, financial assistance (EUR 5 000 ) from friends or relatives who do not live with the household.

TOPIC: SAMPLE REGISTER FILE

SA0010

Household ID

Household identification number assigned to each sampled household.

SA0100

Country of residence

Country in which the household has its usual residence.

SA0110

Past household ID

Household identification number which was assigned to a panel household in data transmission for an earlier HFCS reference year.

Should refer to the last interview, so should only be filled in for households that have been successfully interviewed in at least one previous HFCS reference year, e.g. if household was contacted but not interviewed in a previous HFCS reference year, and the household was recontacted in current HFCS reference year, this output variable is transmitted as missing in the data transmission of the current HFCS reference year. If on the other hand the household was interviewed in a previous HFCS reference year and recontacted in the current HFCS reference year, this output variable contains the household ID of the household when it was interviewed in the previous HFCS reference year.

SA0111

Household’s initial household ID

Household identification number (SA0010) associated with the vintage of the first interview (RA0031) of the household member in the current household having been included for the longest period in the survey.

SA0111 remains constant if household members leave the panel household or if non-panel members join an existing household.

If a panel member from another household joins the current household, then SA0111 is reviewed.

If household members leave and form another household that is included in the panel, then SA0111 is redefined for the new household.

SA0200

Survey vintage

Year of the interview in respect of the current data.

SA0210

Vintage of last interview (household)

Indicates the year of interview carried out the last time a household (i.e. panel household) was included in the survey.

Should refer to the last interview, so should only be filled in for households that have been successfully interviewed in at least one previous HFCS reference year. See also output variable SA0110 (past household ID).

SA0300

Area of residence of the household (national code)

Region where the household is resident. This is a country-specific concept, adapted in each country to its size and statistical disclosure risk.

SA0900

Mode of interview

Interviewing mode more predominantly used to collect information from the respondent.

When information is collected combining interview data with administrative data, this output variable reports on the interviewing mode used to collect the interview data.

SB0100

Interview final outcome code

Indicates the outcome regarding the interview for all sampled households.

SD0100

Stratum

The output variable provides the identification code of the stratum each household belongs to, in the event that the sample has been stratified.

SD0300

Case design weight

The design weight of a household is the inverse of its inclusion probability.

Design weights correct the bias resulting from the unequal probability of a household being selected given the sample design.

SE0100

Survey database outcome

Indicates if the sampled household was successfully interviewed and statistical information relating to this household was included in the statistical information transmitted to the ECB or not.

TOPIC: TECHNICAL OUTPUT VARIABLES

IM0100

Implicate ID

In line with Article 6, each missing value which is imputed must be imputed five times. This output variable refers to the number of the imputation and can therefore take the numbers 1 to 5.

HW0010

Household weight

Final cross-sectional weights which indicate how many households of the statistical (target) population each household represents.

These final weights correct imperfections in the unweighted sample with respect to the HFCS statistical (target) population. These imperfections include e.g. unequal probability of the household being selected, unit non-response.

WR$$$$

Replicate weight $$$$

Replicate weights, taking into account the sampling design employed in each country survey, constructed for the purpose of variance estimation.

Countries should use the bootstrap replication method to construct the replicate weights.

1 000 sets of replicate weights should be transmitted, numbered from WR0001 to WR1000 (for each household).

Part 3: Further specifications regarding the definition of a ‘private household’

12.

The definition of a ‘private household’ in Article 2 includes people who do not usually live with the respondent but who are completely or mostly financially dependent on the household, as set out in this Annex.

13.

Employees of other residents (i.e. live-in domestic servants, au pairs, etc.) and flatmates without other family or partnership attachments to household members (e.g. resident boarders, lodgers, tenants, visitors, etc.) are considered as separate households.

14.

Subject to the further and specific conditions set out in this Annex, the following persons must, if they share household expenses and financial decisions, be regarded as household members:

(a) persons usually resident, related to other household members;

(b) persons usually resident, not related to other household members;

(d) children of the household being educated away from home;

(e) persons absent for long periods, but having household ties: persons working away from home;

(f) persons temporarily absent but having household ties: persons in hospital or at a nursing home, boarding school or other institution.

15.

For the purposes of paragraph 14, the following conditions for inclusion as household members also apply:

(a) for paragraph 14(c): the person currently has no private address elsewhere and the actual or intended duration of absence is less than 6 months;

(b) for paragraph 14(d) and (e): irrespective of the actual or intended duration of absence, the person is the partner or child of a household member, continues to retain close ties with the household, regularly returns to this address (for instance, at the end of the academic term) and considers it to be his/her main residence;

(c) for paragraph 14(f): the person has clear financial ties to the household and the actual or expected duration of absence from the household is less than 6 months.

16.

Sharing household expenses includes benefiting from expenses (e.g. children, persons with no income) as well as contributing to expenses. If expenses are not shared and finances are kept separate, then the person constitutes a separate household at the same address.

17.

A person will be considered a usually resident member of the household if they spend most of their daily night-rest there, evaluated over the preceding 6 months (including children in joint custody and elderly parents if they spend more days living in the household dwelling than anywhere else).

18.

Persons forming new households or joining existing households are normally considered members of the household at their new location; similarly, those leaving to live elsewhere will no longer be considered members of the original household. The ‘preceding 6 months’ criterion in paragraph 17 is replaced by the intention to stay for a period of 6 months or more at the new place of residence. Account must be taken of what may be considered as ‘permanent’ movements in or out of households. Thus, a person who has moved into a household for an indefinite period or with the intention to stay for a period of 6 months or more is considered a household member, even though the person has not yet stayed in the household for 6 months and has in fact spent most of that time at another place of residence. Similarly, a person who has moved out of the household to some other place of residence with the intention to stay out of the first household for 6 months or more will no longer be considered a member of that household.

19.

If the person who is temporarily absent is in private accommodation, determination of which household they belong to depends on the length of absence.

20.

Exceptionally, certain categories of persons with very close ties to the household may be included as members of the same household irrespective of the length of absence, provided they are not also considered members of another private household. In particular, students who live elsewhere but retain close ties with the household, regularly return to that household address and consider that household to be their main residence are to be considered part of the household irrespective of their length of stay at another address.

21.

In applying these criteria, the aim is to minimise the risk that individuals who have two private addresses at which they might be deemed to reside are not double-counted in the sampling frame. Similarly, the risk of some persons being excluded from membership of any household, even though they belong to the private household sector, is also minimised.

22.

Persons living in collective households and in institutions are excluded from the target population and not covered within the definition of ‘private household’.

23.

‘Collective household’ refers to a non-institutional collective dwelling such as a boarding house, dormitory in an educational establishment or other living quarters shared by more than five persons without sharing household expenses. Persons living as lodgers in households with more than five lodgers are also included.

24.

‘Institution’ refers to old people’s homes, health care institutions, religious institutions (convents, monasteries, etc.), and correctional and penal institutions. Institutions are distinguished from collective households by the fact that those resident in institutions have no individual responsibility for their housekeeping. In certain cases, old people’s homes may be considered as ‘collective households’ on the basis of this principle.

(1) Unless values are also set to missing for anonymisation purposes.

(2) ‘$x’ refers to the number in the loop. For example, HB130$x is to be reported when HB1010 > $x-1. This means that variable HB1301 is to be reported when HB1010 > 0, HB1302 is to be reported when HB1010 > 1 and HB1303 is to be reported when HB1010 > 2.

‘$loops’ refers to the number of loops. For example, HB2100 is to be reported when HB1010 > $loops. This means that in the case of 3 loops, variable HB2100 is to be reported when HB1010 > 3.

(3) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1201/2009 of 30 November 2009 implementing Regulation (EC) No 763/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on population and housing censuses as regards the technical specifications of the topics and of their breakdowns (

OJ L 329, 15.12.2009, p. 29

(4) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2181 of 16 December 2019 specifying technical characteristics as regards items common to several datasets pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council (

OJ L 330, 20.12.2019, p. 16

(5) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2242 of 16 December 2019 specifying the technical items of data sets, establishing the technical formats and specifying the detailed arrangements and content of the quality reports on the organisation of a sample survey in the income and living conditions domain pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council (

OJ L 336, 30.12.2019, p. 133

(6) Regulation (EU) 2021/379 of the European Central Bank of 22 January 2021 on the balance sheet items of credit institutions and of the monetary financial institutions sector (ECB/2021/2) (

OJ L 73, 3.3.2021, p. 16

(7) Guideline (EU) 2021/831 of the European Central Bank of 26 March 2021 on statistical information to be reported on financial intermediaries other than monetary financial institutions (ECB/2021/12) (

OJ L 208, 11.6.2021, p. 59

(8) Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC (

OJ L 182, 29.6.2013, p. 19

(9) Regulation (EU) 2024/1988 of the European Central Bank of 27 June 2024 concerning statistics on investment funds and repealing Decision (EU) 2015/32 (ECB/2014/62) (ECB/2024/17) (

OJ L, 2024/1988, 23.7.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1988/oj

ANNEX II

Non-core output variables

National central banks (NCBs) may report non-core output variables on (i) a household-level basis; (ii) an individual-level basis for all household members; or (iii) an individual-level basis for household members of 16 years and older.

Part 1 – Non-core output variables

Table A sets out the non-core output variables that NCBs may report to the European Central Bank (ECB) in addition to the core output variables set out in Annex I.

‘Reference date/period’ refers to the date/period to which a particular output variable relates. ‘Current’ refers to time of data collection, ‘Constant’ refers to information which remains constant and does not change with time (irrespective of time of data collection), ‘Wealth reference date’ refers to the date as defined in Article 8(1) and (2), and ‘Income reference period’ refers to the period as defined in Article 8(3) and (4).

Certain non-core output variables are looped which implies that in these cases several non-core output variables are reported. Output variable identifiers of variables which are looped include the sign ‘$’ (at least 1). This applies to different types of loans, properties and gifts/inheritances where the number of loops is by default 3, but country surveys may also apply 2 loops. For example, in the case of 3 loops, 3 variables (HB2011, HB2012, HB2013) are reported for the variable ‘HMR mortgage $x: change in terms of mortgage’ (HB201$x in Table A). In the case of pension plans up to 7 loops may be applied.

For certain non-core output variables several options are available which implies that several non-core output variables must be provided. Output variable identifiers of variables which include options end with the letter ‘v’. For example, 4 variables (HD1910a, HD1910b, HD1910c, HD1910d) are reported for the variable ‘Type of other assets held’ (HD1910v in Table A).

For certain non-core output variables there is a combination of loops and options. In these cases, the output variable identifiers end with ‘$xv’. For example, 6 variables (HB1131a, HB1131b, HB1132a, HB1132b, HB1133a, HB1133b) are reported for the variable ‘HMR mortgage $x: reason for refinancing/renegotiation with a: first reason for refinancing/renegotiation and b: second reason for refinancing/renegotiation’ (HB113$xv in Table A).

The non-core output variable ‘Other property $x mortgage $y: purpose of the loan’ (HB320$x$yv) is looped over 2 dimensions ($x other properties and $y mortgages) and 4 options (a, b, c, d) are available. In this case 36 variables (HB32011a to HB32011d, HB32012a to HB32012d, HB32013a to HB32013d, HB32021a to HB32021d, HB32022a to HB32022d, HB32023a to HB32023d, HB32031a to HB32031d, HB32032a to HB32032d, HB32033a to HB32033d) are reported (in the event of 3 loops for ‘other properties’ and ‘mortgages’).

Table A

Non-core output variables

Output variable identifier

Output variable name

Coding

Description of coding

Collection unit

To be reported when(1):

Reference date/period

TOPIC: REAL ASSETS AND THEIR FINANCING

HB113$xv

Where v = a,b

HMR mortgage $x: reason for refinancing/renegotiation

a:	first reason for refinancing/no refinancing

b:	second reason for refinancing

To get better loan terms

Household

HB1010 > $x-1 and HB110$x = 1

Wealth reference date

To borrow additional money against the property

Some other reason

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB201$x

Change in terms of mortgage

Yes

Household

HB1010 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB202$xv

Where v = a,b

Type of change in mortgage terms

a:	first change

b:	second change

Change from fixed to variable interest rate

Household

HB1010 > $x-1 and HB201$x = 1

Wealth reference date

Change from variable to fixed interest rate

Reduction in the interest rate spread or in the fixed interest rate

Increase in the interest rate spread or in the fixed interest rate

Decrease in the remaining time to pay on the loan

Increase in the remaining time to pay on the loan

Reduction in the amount still owed

Borrowed additional money

Change in the grace periods

Other changes

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB203$x

Year of change in mortgage terms

Numerical value of 4 digits

Year of change

Household

HB1010 > $x-1 and HB201$x = 1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HB320$x$yv

Where v = a,b,c,d

Other property $x mortgage $y: purpose of the loan

a:	first choice purpose of the loan

b:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

c:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

d:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

To purchase or construct this property

Household

HB301$x > $y-1

Wealth reference date

To purchase other real estate

To refurbish or renovate the residence

To buy a vehicle or other means of transport

To finance a business or professional activity

To consolidate or refinance debts

For education purposes

To cover living expenses or other purchases

Other

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

TOPIC: OTHER LIABILITIES / CREDIT CONSTRAINTS

HC035$xv

Where v = a,b,c,d

Private loan $x: purpose of the loan

a:	first choice purpose of the loan

b:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

c:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

d:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

To purchase or construct the household main residence (HMR)

Household

HC0340 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

To purchase other real estate

To refurbish or renovate the residence

To buy a vehicle or other means of transport

To finance a business or professional activity

To consolidate debts

For education purposes

To cover living expenses or other purchases

Other

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HC050$x

Non-collateralised loan $x: purpose of the loan

a:	first choice purpose of the loan

b:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

c:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

d:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

To purchase or construct the HMR

Household

HC0410 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

To purchase other real estate

To refurbish or renovate the residence

To buy a vehicle or other means of transport

To finance a business or professional activity

To consolidate debts

For education purposes

To cover living expenses or other purchases

Other

To support relatives and friends

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

TOPIC: PRIVATE BUSINESSES AND FINANCIAL ASSETS

HD1410v

Where v = a,b,c,d

Type of bonds held

a:	state or other general government

b:	banks/other financial intermediaries

c:	non-financial corporations

other

Yes

Household

HD1400 = 1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HD1910v

Where v = a,b,c,d

Type of other assets held

a:	cryptocurrency

b:	precious metals

c:	derivatives

other

Yes

Household

HD1900 = 1

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

TOPIC: EMPLOYMENT

PE0810

Type of other work

Also has one or more contracts with (an) employer(s)

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0800 = 1

Current

Also has one or more self-employed activities

Also has both contract(s) with (an) employer(s) and self-employed activities

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE0250

Status in previous job for unemployed

Employee

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0900 = 1 and (PE0100a = 3 or PE0100b = 3 or PE0100c = 3 or PE0100d = 3) and not (PE0100a = 5 or PE0100b = 5 or PE0100c = 5 or PE0100d = 5)

Current

Self-employed – with employees

Self-employed – without employees

Unpaid family worker

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE0350

Previous job description / ISCO for unemployed

Managers

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0900 = 1 and (PE0100a = 3 or PE0100b = 3 or PE0100c = 3 or PE0100d = 3) and not (PE0100a = 5 or PE0100b = 5 or PE0100c = 5 or PE0100d = 5)

Current

Professionals

Technicians and associate professionals

Clerical support workers

Service and sales workers

Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers

Craft and related trades workers

Plant and machine operators, and assemblers

Elementary occupations

Armed forces occupations

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE0450

Previous employment – NACE for unemployed

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0250 = 1

Current

Mining and quarrying

Manufacturing

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

Construction

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

Transportation and storage

Accommodation and food service activities

Information and communication

Financial and insurance activities

Real estate activities

Professional, scientific and technical activities

Administrative and support service activities

Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

Education

Human health and social work activities

Arts, entertainment and recreation

Other service activities

Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use

Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE0370

Main job description / ISCO for retired or other inactive

Managers

All household members aged 16 and over

Not (PE0100a in (1,2,3) or PE0100b in (1,2,3) or PE0100c in (1,2,3) or PE0100d in (1,2,3)

Current

Professionals

Technicians and associate professionals

Clerical support workers

Service and sales workers

Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers

Craft and related trades workers

Plant and machine operators, and assemblers

Elementary occupations

Armed forces occupations

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE0470

Main employment – NACE for retired or other inactive

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

All household members aged 16 and over

PE0270 = 1

Current

Mining and quarrying

Manufacturing

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

Construction

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

Transportation and storage

Accommodation and food service activities

Information and communication

Financial and insurance activities

Real estate activities

Professional, scientific and technical activities

Administrative and support service activities

Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

Education

Human health and social work activities

Arts, entertainment and recreation

Other service activities

Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use

Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PE9020

Respondent of the employment section

Numerical value of up to 2 digits

Personal ID, RA0010

All household members aged 16 and over

Always

Current

Person outside household

TOPIC: PENSIONS AND INSURANCE POLICIES

PFA070$x

Mandatory or voluntary pension plan $x

Mandatory

All household members aged 16 and over

PFA0100 > $x-1

Wealth reference date

Voluntary

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

PFA1300v

Where v = a,b

Expected percentage of final labour income to be received upon retirement, all public and occupational plans taken together

a:	lower range of the expected percentage

b:	upper range of the expected percentage

Numerical value

Percentage

All household members aged 16 and over

PFA0100 > 0 and PFA100$x <> -8 and PFA020$x = 1,2

Wealth reference date

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

-4

Not collected; proxy respondent

PF9020

Respondent of the pensions section

Numerical value of up to 2 digits

Personal ID, RA0010

All household members aged 16 and over

Always

Wealth reference date

Person outside household

TOPIC: INCOME

PG9020

Respondent of the personal income section

Numerical value of up to 2 digits

Personal ID, RA0010

All household members aged 16 and over

Always

Income reference period

Person outside household

TOPIC: GIFTS/INHERITANCES

HH050$x

Substantial gift/inheritance $x: type of transfer

Gift

Household

HH0110 > $x-1

Current

Inheritance

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HH060$x

Substantial gift/inheritance $x: from whom received

Maternal grandparents

Household

HH0110 > $x-1

Current

Paternal grandparents

Parents

Children

Other relatives

Other

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

HH080$x

Substantial gift/inheritance $x: total inheritance tax

Numerical value

Amount in EUR

Household

HH0100 = 1

Constant

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

TOPIC: CONSUMPTION

HIZ050

Impatience

Numerical value

Percentage

Household

Always

Current

-1

Don’t know

-2

No answer

TOPIC: SAMPLE REGISTER FILE

SC0111

Address change

Household at the same address as in previous wave

Panel households

Country has a panel component

Current

Household at a different address from the one in previous wave

Address information missing for this household

Household new to this wave

SC0310

Degree of urbanisation

Densely populated area (cities)

All sampled households

SB0100 <> 63

Current

Intermediate density area (towns and semi-dense areas)

Thinly populated area (rural areas)

Part 2 – Description of the content of non-core output variables

Table B provides a detailed description of the non-core output variables set out in Part 1.

Table B

Description of the content of non-core output variables

Output variable identifier

Output variable name

Description of output variable content

TOPIC: REAL ASSETS AND THEIR FINANCING

HB113$xv

Where v = a,b

HMR mortgage $x: reason for refinancing/renegotiation

a:	first reason for refinancing/no refinancing

b:	second reason for refinancing

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Indicates the reason for the household refinancing or renegotiating a loan. See the description of output variable HB110$x (HMR mortgage $x: mortgage refinancing / renegotiation) in Annex I.

HB201$x

Change in terms of mortgage

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Indicates (Yes/No) if any of the terms of the loan (interest rate, spread, maturity or balance of loan) have changed since the loan was first taken out. This includes changes associated with renegotiations or refinancing of a previous loan. See the description of output variable HB110$x in Annex I.

It does not cover changes which were already anticipated in the initial contract.

HB202$xv

Where v = a,b

Type of change in mortgage terms

a:	first change

b:	second change

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Indicates the changes that have applied to the loan that were not anticipated in the initial contract.

HB203$x

Year of change in mortgage terms

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 loans using the HMR as collateral.

Indicates the year when the most recent changes in the mortgage terms occurred, i.e. if conditions were changed several times, it indicates the year of the most recent changes.

HB320$x$yv

Where v = a,b,c,d

Other property $x mortgage $y: purpose of the loan

a:	first choice purpose of the loan

b:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

c:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

d:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

Loop on $y for loans using property $x as collateral.

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 properties other than the HMR.

$y: Loop for 2 or 3 mortgages

Purpose for which the money was used when the household first took out the loan, followed by secondary purposes (b to d) in decreasing order of importance.

See the description of output variable HB120$xv (HMR mortgage $x: purpose of the loan) in Annex I.

TOPIC: OTHER LIABILITIES / CREDIT CONSTRAINTS

HC035$xv

Where v = a,b,c,d

Private loan $x: purpose of the loan

a:	first choice purpose of the loan

b:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

c:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

d:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 private loans.

Purpose for which the money was used when the household first took out the loan, starting with the main purpose (a), followed by secondary purposes (b to d) in decreasing order of importance, i.e. a total of 4 output variables (v = a to d) for each private loan.

HC050$x

Non-collateralised loan $x: purpose of the loan

a:	first choice purpose of the loan

b:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

c:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

d:	secondary choice purpose of the loan

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 non-collateralised loans.

TOPIC: PRIVATE BUSINESSES AND FINANCIAL ASSETS

HD1410v

Where v = a,b,c,d

Type of bonds held

a:	state or other general government

b:	banks/other financial intermediaries

c:	non-financial corporations

other

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household holds bonds issued (a) by a foreign or domestic government; (b) by a bank or other type of financial intermediary; (c) by a non-financial corporation; or (d) by another organisation.

HD1910v

Where v = a,b,c,d

Type of other assets held

a:	cryptocurrency

b:	precious metals

c:	derivatives

other

Indicates (Yes/No) if the household holds (a) cryptocurrency (e.g. bitcoin); (b) precious metals (e.g. gold); (c) derivatives (e.g. options, futures, swaps); or (d) other ‘other assets’.

TOPIC: EMPLOYMENT

PE0810

Type of other work

Describes the other type of work that the household member has (i.e. working for someone else, self-employed, both). See the output variable PE0800 (Currently more than one job) in Annex I.

PE0250

Status in previous job for unemployed

Previous main job for an unemployed person. The output variable is based on the International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE-93).

See the description of output variable PE0200 (Status in employment) in Annex I.

PE0350

Previous job description / ISCO for unemployed

Previous main job for an unemployed person.

The occupation in the main job is coded based on the ISCO-08 classification, International Standard Classification of Occupations (International Labour Organization).

See the description of output variable PE0300 (Job description ISCO) in Annex I.

PE0450

Previous employment – NACE for unemployed

Economic sector of previous main employer coded according to the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities NACE, Rev 2 (2008), first level.

See the description of output variable PE0400 (Main employment – NACE) in Annex I.

PE0370

Main job description / ISCO for retired or other inactive

Previous main job for a retired or other inactive person.

The occupation in the main job is coded based on the ISCO-08 classification, International Standard Classification of Occupations (International Labour Organization).

See the description of output variable PE0300 (Job description ISCO) in Annex I.

PE0470

Main employment – NACE for retired or other inactive

Economic sector of previous main employer coded according to the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities NACE, Rev 2 (2008), first level.

See the description of output variable PE0400 (Main employment – NACE) in Annex I.

PE9020

Respondent of the employment section

Code identifying the person who answered the questions in the employment section.

This may be code RA0010 (Personal ID) as defined in Annex I or the special code 99 if the person is not part of the household.

TOPIC: PENSIONS AND INSURANCE POLICIES

PFA070$x

Mandatory or voluntary pension plan $x

$x: Loop for up to 7 pension plans

Indicates the type of plan, i.e. mandatory or voluntary.

PFA1300v

Where v = a,b

Expected percentage of final labour income to be received upon retirement, all public and occupational plans taken together

a:	lower range of the expected percentage

b:	upper range of the expected percentage

Percentage of the final labour income that the respondent expects to receive upon retirement, all public and occupational pension plans taken together.

The percentage refers to the labour income of the respondent before retirement.

The values of the two output variables PFA1300a and PFA1300b may be identical if the respondent can provide a point estimate for the expected replacement rate.

PF9020

Respondent of the pensions section

Code identifying the person who answered the questions in the pensions and insurance policies section.

This may be code RA0010 (Personal ID) as defined in Annex I or the special code 99 if the person is not part of the household.

TOPIC: INCOME

PG9020

Respondent of the personal income section

Code identifying the person who answered the questions PG0100-PG0510 in the income section of Annex I.

This may be code RA0010 (Personal ID) as defined in Annex I or the special code 99 if the person is not part of the household.

TOPIC: GIFTS/INHERITANCES

HH050$x

Substantial gift/inheritance $x: type of transfer

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 gifts/inheritances.

Indicates if the gift(s)/inheritance(s) received by the household were a gift or an inheritance.

HH060$x

Substantial gift/inheritance $x: from whom received

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 gifts/inheritances.

Indicates from whom the household received the gift/inheritance.

HH080$x

Substantial gift/inheritance $x: total inheritance tax

$x: Loop for 2 or 3 gifts/inheritances.

Total tax paid on the gift/inheritance.

Since gifts or inheritances received at the same time from the same person are treated as one, this covers the total tax paid on all gifts/inheritances. It also includes taxes paid on the HMR received as a gift/inheritance.

The corresponding gross value of the gift/inheritance is recorded under the core output variable HH040$x in accordance with Annex I.

TOPIC: CONSUMPTION

HIZ050

Impatience

Assesses the household’s impatience regarding receipt of additional income.

The impatience is assessed as follows: the household is told that it has won the lottery and will receive a sum equal to the household’s yearly income in a year’s time. However, the household can give up part of the sum and collect the rest of the win immediately. The household is then asked how much it would be willing to give up (as a percentage of the win) in order to obtain the money immediately.

TOPIC: SAMPLE REGISTER FILE

SC0111

Address change

Provides information regarding possible changes in the address of the household.

SC0310

Degree of urbanisation

The degree of urbanisation (DEGURBA) is a classification that indicates the character of the area where the household lives.

DEGURBA is a classification of local administrative units (LAU2) into three categories:

Densely populated areas (cities): at least 50 % of the population lives in urban centres

Intermediate density areas (towns and semi-dense areas): less than 50 % of the population lives in urban centres and no more than 50 % of the population lives in rural grid cells.

Thinly populated area (rural areas): more than 50 % of the population lives in rural grid cells.

For this purpose the following definitions are used:

Urban centres: cluster of contiguous grid cells of 1 km2 with a population density of at least 1 500 inhabitants per km2 and a minimum population of 50 000.

Urban clusters: cluster of contiguous grid cells of 1 km2 with a population density of at least 300 inhabitants per km2 and a minimum population of 5 000.

Rural grid cells: grid cells that are not identified as urban centres or as urban clusters.

Source: Eurostat.

The underlying methodology is described in ‘Applying the Degree of Urbanisation – A methodological manual to define cities, towns and rural areas for international comparisons’, 2021 edition.

(1) ‘$x’ refers to the number in the loop. For example, HB201$x is to be reported when HB1010 > $x-1. This means that variable HB2011 is to be reported when HB1010 > 0, HB2012 is to be reported when HB1010 > 1 and HB2013 is to be reported when HB1010 > 2.

ANNEX III

Information to be reported by the NCBs describing the features of the country survey

In accordance with Article 3(4), NCBs must report to the ECB information describing the features of the country surveys as set out in Sections 1 to 9.

Section 1 – Sampling design

Part 1 – General information

NCBs must provide the following general information regarding the sampling design.

(a) Whether (Yes/No/Partly) the sample was selected according to a probabilistic scheme.

(b) Whether (Yes/No) the sample was stratified and, if yes, a description of the stratification criteria. In addition, if the necessary information for the output variable SD0100 (stratum) is not transmitted to the ECB, NCBs must also indicate the number of strata.

(d) For each of the sampling stages (up to three):

(i) type of sampling units: geographical area, address, household, other (in this case further specifications must be provided);

(ii) selection method: simple random sampling, stratified sampling, probability proportional to size, systematic sampling, other (in this case further specifications must be provided);

(iii) total number of selected units;

(iv) name of the sampling frame.

(e) Information about subsequent sampling stages, above three (if any).

(f) Final sampling units: address, household, individual, other (in this case further specifications must be provided).

(g) Description of the sampling frame(s): source, units, age, updates, coverage of the population.

(h) Excluded groups (i.e. parts of the population that are not covered by the sampling design, if any): population in institutions (i.e. persons living in e.g. retirement homes, military accommodation, prisons or boarding schools), homeless, other (in this case further specifications must be provided).

(i) Whether (Yes/No) the wealthy were over-sampled and, if yes:

(i) which criteria were used to determine the wealthy oversampled group (multiple answers possible): income, consumption, dwelling characteristics (e.g. size, price), geographical area; other (in this case further specifications must be provided);

(ii) how the oversampling rate was determined;

(iii) auxiliary source(s) used for over-sampling (e.g. tax sources, registers).

(j) Whether (Yes/No) substitutions were allowed and, if yes, the total number of substituted households in the sample.

(k) Whether (Yes/No) the sample has a panel component.

Part 2 – Panel/rotational sample component (to be reported only by countries whose survey has a panel component)

NCBs (whose survey has a panel component) must provide the following information regarding the panel/rotational sample component.

(a) The first year of the panel component.

(b) If the necessary information (for respondents and non-respondents) for the output variable SB0100 (interview final outcome code) is not transmitted to the ECB, NCBs must provide information on: the number of households that have been re-contacted from previous waves, households that have been re-contacted from previous waves as a percentage of all contacted households, the mean attrition rate from one wave to the next.

(c) The sample structure over time: pure panel, pure panel with refresher sample, rotating design, other (in this case further specifications must be provided). If a rotating design is used, specify the duration of the panel in years.

(d) An explanation of the panel tracing rules.

Part 3 – Any other relevant information (optional)

NCBs must also provide any other information related to the sampling design which they deem relevant.

Section 2 – Sample structure and survey outcome statistics

Part 1 – Sample sizes and non-response

If the necessary information for the output variable SB0100 (interview final outcome code) is not transmitted to the ECB, NCBs must provide the following information relating to sample sizes and non-response:

(a) gross sample size

, defined as follows:

(i) survey without a panel component: total number of final sampling units drawn from the sampling frames in the current wave (irrespective of their eligibility and whether or not they cooperate with the survey);

(ii) survey with a panel component: total number of final sampling units drawn from the sampling frames in the current wave (irrespective of their eligibility and whether or not they cooperate with the survey) plus number of households from the previous wave re-contacted in the current wave;

(b) total number of eligible cases

(denominator of the response rate), which includes both the cases with known eligibility and those with unknown eligibility, but which have been treated

ex-post

as eligible;

(d) total number of non-responding households,

of which

total number of non-contacted households, total number of refusals

and

total number of other reasons for non-response

(e.g. language barrier, illness or incapacity);

(e) net sample size

corresponding to the number of completed household interviews.

Part 2 – Survey outcome statistics

If the necessary information for the output variable SB0100 (interview final outcome code) is not transmitted to the ECB, NCBs must provide information on the following survey outcome statistics:

(a) response rate (%) corresponding to the interviewed households divided by the eligible units;

(b) contact rate (%) corresponding to the contacted households divided by the eligible units;

(d) refusal rate (%) corresponding to the households that refused divided by the eligible units.

Part 3 – Any other relevant information (optional)

NCBs must also provide any other information related to sample structure and survey outcome statistics which they deem relevant.

Section 3 – Concepts and definitions

Part 1 – Reference periods

NCBs must specify the reference period of the statistical information referring to:

(a) balance sheet/wealth output variables, e.g. ‘date of interview’ (for each individual household) or a fixed date preceding the first interview (for all households), e.g. 31 December YYYY;

(b) income output variables, ‘12 months preceding interview’ (for each individual household) or the calendar year preceding the first interview (for all households), e.g. YYYY;

(c) consumption output variables, ‘12 months preceding interview’ (for each individual household) or the calendar year preceding the first interview (for all households), e.g. YYYY;

(d) demographic and employment output variables.

Part 2 – Income output variables

NCBs must provide information on whether the income output variables collected are (i) gross; (ii) net of income taxes; (iii) net of income taxes and social contributions; or (iv) other (in this case further specifications must be provided).

Part 3 – Definition of output variables: significant methodological departures

10.

NCBs must provide a description of any significant methodological differences in the content of the output variables transmitted to the ECB compared to the descriptions of the output variables in Annex I, Part 2.

11.

NCBs must indicate the identifier(s)/name(s) of the output variables and describe the deviation(s) from the output variables’ definitions (e.g. HI0100, Monthly amount spent on food at home. Output variable also includes food outside home).

Section 4 – Data collection

Part 1 – Fieldwork aspects

12.

NCBs must provide the following information regarding the fieldwork:

(a) organisations responsible for the fieldwork: NCB, national statistical institute (NSI) and/or survey company (including the name of the survey company);

(b) organisations responsible for reviewing/editing the data: NCB, NSI and/or survey company;

(d) start and end of the fieldwork period;

(e) summary statistics on the interview duration in minutes: median, mean, inter-quartile range, minimum and maximum.

In addition, if the necessary information for the output variable SA0900 (Mode of interview) is not transmitted to the ECB, NCBs must provide information on the:

(f) distribution of the completed interviews by mode of data collection (in % of all the completed interviews) for: computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI), computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI), pencil-and-paper personal interview (PAPI), computer-assisted web-based interview (CAWI), self-administered, and other.

Part 2 – Interviewers (recruitment, training, workload, compensation)

13.

NCBs must provide the following information regarding the interviewers:

(a) final number of interviewers;

(b) organisations in charge of recruiting the interviewers: NCB, NSI, survey company, other (in this case further specifications must be provided);

(c) interviewers’ employment status: employee of the organisation responsible for the fieldwork, freelancer, other (in this case further specifications must be provided);

(d) interviewer training mode: face-to-face or remote;

(e) average number of training hours per interviewer;

(f) payment and incentive schemes for interviewers (multiple answers possible): hourly rate, per completed interview, assignment fee, regular fixed salary, bonus arrangements, other (in this case further specifications must be provided).

Part 3 – Questionnaire design and testing

14.

NCBs must provide the following information regarding the questionnaire design and testing:

(a) whether (Yes/No) a pilot survey was conducted in order to pre-test the questionnaire;

(b) whether laboratory or other pre-testing of the questionnaire was undertaken, i.e. evaluation by an expert group, focus groups, cognitive testing or behavioural coding of interviews or other (in this case further specifications must be provided);

Part 4 – Contact strategies and non-response prevention

15.

NCBs must provide the following information regarding contact strategies and non-response prevention:

(a) type of advance information used: no advance information, introduction letter, brochure, press release, link to data collection webpage, other (in this case further specifications must be provided);

(b) minimum number of required contacts;

(i) in the event of monetary incentives, amount given;

(ii) in the event of non-monetary incentives, type of incentives (e.g. gifts, lottery tickets).

Part 5 – Fieldwork auditing

16.

NCBs must provide the following information regarding fieldwork auditing:

(a) organisations in charge of fieldwork auditing;

(b) outcome of the verification of contacts/non-response: no verification, verification with no significant issues detected, verification with significant issues detected (in this case further details must be provided);

(c) outcome of the verification of data authenticity: no verification, verification with no significant issues detected, verification with significant issues detected (in this case further details must be provided).

Part 6 – Use of other data sources for data collection

17.

NCBs must indicate if they used sources other than interviews to collect or construct the output variables specified in Annex I (excluding the sources used in imputation for item non-response). If yes, possible sources are registers, statistical matching, other (in this case further specifications must be provided).

Part 7 – Any other relevant information (optional)

18.

NCBs must also provide any other information related to data collection which they deem relevant.

Section 5 – Data processing and editing

Part 1 – General information

19.

NCBs must indicate what general database management system they use to store and process data (e.g. SAS, Stata, SPSS).

20.

NCBs must indicate what sample/case management system they use. This refers to an electronic tool designed to automatically store and link different sources of information useful for the organisation and documentation of the fieldwork procedures.

Part 2 – Coding and editing

21.

NCBs must provide the following information regarding coding and editing:

(a) how often comments made by interviewers are reviewed and used in the editing process: systematically, in most cases, sporadically or never;

(b) types of rules used (multiple answers possible): logical, consistency rules, range, ratio, balance (e.g. the total income is equal to the sum of the different income components), outliers, macro editing, impact of specific observations on aggregates, other (in this case further specifications must be provided);

Part 3 – Any other relevant information (optional)

22.

NCBs must also provide any other information related to data processing and editing which they deem relevant.

Section 6 – Weighting

Part 1 – Household design weights (output variable SD0300)

23.

NCBs must provide the following information regarding household design weights:

(a) whether (Yes/No) household design weights are constructed as the inverse of their selection probability;

(b) description of the construction (if applicable);

(c) if the necessary information for the output variable SD0300 (household design weight) is not transmitted to the ECB, the following summary statistics on the household design weights must be provided: mean, sum, minimum, maximum, standard deviation and coefficient of variation (%).

Part 2 – Weighting adjustments for unit non-response based on sample-level information

24.

NCBs must provide the following information regarding weighting adjustments for unit non-response:

(a) whether (Yes/No) the design weights were adjusted by explicitly estimating the household response propensities from auxiliary information available both for the respondents and the non-respondents;

(b) the adjustment method used: regression-based modelling (e.g. logit, probit), response homogeneous cells, other (in this case further details must be provided);

(d) description of the external sources used in the adjustment.

Part 3 – Calibration to external sources

25.

NCBs must provide the following information regarding calibration to external sources:

(a) calibration method: cell-based post-stratification, generalised regression, calibration or generalised calibration approach to external controls, other (in this case further details must be provided);

(b) external variables used in the calibration: age, sex, household size, region, other (in this case further details must be provided);

Part 4 – Weight trimming, or any other post-survey adjustments

26.

NCBs must indicate whether (Yes/No) any other post-survey weight adjustments (including weight trimming or winsorizing) were implemented. If yes, a description of the adjustments must be provided.

Part 5 – Final household weights and weight ratios

27.

If the necessary information for the output variables HW0010 (household weight) and SD0300 (case design weight) is not transmitted to the ECB, NCBs must provide the following summary statistics:

(a) on the household final weights: mean, sum, minimum, maximum, standard deviation and coefficient of variation (%);

(b) on the ratios between the household final weights and the household design weights: mean, minimum and maximum.

28.

If the survey has a panel component, NCBs must explain the weighting procedure, i.e. how the sampling weights for the newly selected households are combined with the weights from the previous wave (weighting share method, any other combination).

Part 6 – Replicate weights

29.

NCBs must provide the following information regarding replicate weights (output variable WR$$$$):

(a) method used to calculate the replicate weights: rescaling bootstrap, other (in this case further details must be provided);

(b) calibration margins: total number of households, total number of persons, number of persons by sex, number of persons by age group, other (in this case further details must be provided).

Part 7 – Any other relevant information (optional)

30.

NCBs must also provide any other information related to weighting which they deem relevant.

Section 7 – Imputation procedures

Part 1 – General information

31.

NCBs must indicate the software tools used for imputation (i.e. SAS, Stata or other and, if other, which tool) and the organisations responsible for the imputation (i.e. NCB, NSI, survey company, other and, if other, which organisation).

Part 2 – Technical information about the imputation procedures

32.

NCBs must provide the following technical information regarding imputation procedures.

(a) Whether (Yes/No) weights were used in the imputation models and, if yes, whether they were used as weighted regression and/or as covariates.

(b) Whether (Yes/No) there was a limit for the number of collected observations below which missing values were not imputed. If yes, the limit must be specified.

(c) Procedures used in the event that imputation was not performed due to a low number of collected observations: values left as missing, values estimated (e.g. as the mean/median of the collected observations), output variable pooled with other output variables in order to get a sufficient number of observations and then imputed, other (in this case further details must be provided). If several procedures were used, NCBs must specify to which output variables the procedures apply.

(d) Description of the procedure in the selection of covariates that are good predictors of the output variable of interest: automatic selection of covariates (with pre-specified limits used in correlation/regression models) with limited editing, automatic pre-selection of covariates and case-by-case evaluation of individual output variables, evaluation of individual output variables on a case-by-case basis to select covariates, other (in this case further details must be provided).

(e) Indication of output variables that were included (apart from variables that are good predictors): variables explaining non-response, variables that are good predictors of covariates used for other covariates, variables that according to economic theory are expected to be good predictors of the variable of interest, all parent variables of child variables included as covariates, other (in this case further details must be provided).

(f) Description of the identification of outlier values during the imputation process.

(g) Description of the evaluation of consistencies between individual output variables during the imputation process (e.g. initial and outstanding value of a loan/mortgage).

(h) Number of observations that were manually edited after the final run of the imputation program, based on each of following criteria:

(i) ‘outlier’ values;

(ii) consistencies between individual output variables (such as initial and outstanding value of a loan/mortgage);

(iii) answers collected in ranges that were considered unreliable;

(iv) others (including further specifications).

(i) Regarding observations for which the respondent did not provide any point or range value, NCBs must indicate if bounds were introduced and if observations were imputed as the upper or lower value of the bound.

(j) Whether (Yes/No) outlier observations were excluded as covariates in the models and, if yes, how many observations were concerned;

(k) Number of covariates used in the imputation model of each of the following output variables:

(i) value of household main residence (HMR) (HB0900);

(ii) amount still owed for first HMR collateralised loan (HB1701);

(iii) value of savings accounts (HD1210);

(iv) employee income (PG0100).

Part 3 – Any other relevant information (optional)

33.

NCBs must also provide any other information related to imputation procedures which they deem relevant.

Section 8 – Disclosure control and national dissemination

Part 1 – Disclosure control

34.

NCBs must report to the ECB information describing the methods and procedures used for data anonymisation at national level prior to submitting the statistical information to the ECB.

Part 2 – Data dissemination

35.

NCBs must provide information on the first national release of results (link, date and type of release).

Section 9 – Additional information from national evaluations

36.

NCBs must provide additional information available from national evaluations (not covered by Sections 1 to 8). This may include documents/references to methodological documentation available (e.g. national quality reports, independent methodological studies, comparisons with external sources).

ANNEX IV

Criteria and procedure for designating eligible researchers

The European Central Bank (ECB) may grant access to the research dataset in accordance with Article 15, point (a)(ii), only to persons fulfilling the conditions listed in Section 2, which aim to ensure that access to information reported to the ECB pursuant to this Guideline is permitted for scientific research purposes only. Commercial use of the research dataset is strictly prohibited.

These conditions are published on the ECB’s website to inform researchers of the applicable conditions and procedures for applying for access to the research dataset. The ECB makes efforts to minimise delays in handling applications to the extent possible.

The ECB ensures that only safe data submission channels are used and determines the proper medium to be used.

1. Affiliated researcher

An affiliated researcher is a natural person who is a staff member of, or is associated with, any of the following entities:

(a) universities and other higher education organisations;

(b) organisations or institutions conducting scientific research, excluding commercial companies;

(c) bodies whose researchers may access confidential data for scientific purposes under Commission Decision 2004/452/EC (1).

2. Conditions for access to the research dataset

The ECB may grant access to the research dataset to affiliated researchers who have submitted an application for access to the ECB, as set out in this Annex. In joint research projects with several researchers working on the same project, each researcher must send an individual application specifying which joint research project their request relates to. The application for access to the research dataset must satisfy the following conditions.

(a) The applicant must provide the ECB with the following information:

(i) their name, phone number and address, together with proof of their identity, and information in support of their eligibility to submit an application requesting access to the research dataset (i.e. their affiliation with an entity as referred to in paragraph 1);

(ii) their resume or curriculum vitae; and

(iii) where applicable, the legal names and addresses of the commercial organisations (either public or private) that fund the research project, in part or in full, and information as to whether the research results are intended to have any commercial application.

(b) A research plan must concisely:

(i) describe the subject of the research; and

(ii) establish the necessity of the data transfer, and the relevance and the adequacy of the data, having regard to the affiliated researcher’s project.

(i) logical file security;

(ii) the security of physical documents;

(iii) the security of the premises where the research will take place.

(d) The applicant must specify in the application whether:

(i) the research results will be made freely and quickly available to the scientific community and how this will take place;

(ii) part of the research dataset will be used for purely internal reports or other purposes, in which case the provision of access to the research dataset may be more restrictive.

(e) All researchers involved in the research project must acknowledge and sign data usage terms and conditions and confidentiality obligations provided to them by the ECB.

(f) The applicant must confirm with their signature the accuracy and correctness of the information provided in the application.

3. Criteria used to assess requests to access the research dataset

The ECB assesses applications according to the criteria outlined below.

Mandatory criterion 1

All mandatory fields are filled in (name, phone number, address, intended research plan, use of results, curriculum vitae, and identification document attached, forms signed).

The information provided is verified (e.g. the identification document matches the researcher’s name, the scientific research body to which the researcher is affiliated exists, the curriculum vitae matches the name of the researcher and the scientific research body).

Mandatory criterion 2

The researcher has selected at least one item from each of the three groups of security measures (namely, logical file security, security of physical documents, and premises security).

Mandatory criterion 3

The data of the Household Finance and Consumption Survey may only be used for research purposes. Different elements of the application form are used to verify this.

The intended research plan, in conjunction with the background of the researcher (curriculum vitae) and the intended dissemination of results, must demonstrate that the purpose of the data request is to carry out research. There is no assessment of the quality of the intended research, only an assessment that the intended use is research. The funding (if relevant to the intended research) and the intention to publish may also be taken into account. If the research purpose is uncertain, the ECB will ask the researcher for further information and/or clarification.

Procedure if the mandatory criteria are not met

If the mandatory criteria are not met, the ECB contacts the researcher to request clarification and/or correction. For example, the researcher may be requested to:

— correct some information (e.g. information in the application form and curriculum vitae do not match);

— substantiate elements of the curriculum vitae (e.g. the activity of the scientific research body or the link between the applicant and the scientific research body);

— provide additional information on the intended research plan.

If the clarification and/or correction is inadequate, the request will be rejected.

(1) Commission Decision 2004/452/EC of 29 April 2004 laying down a list of bodies whose researchers may access confidential data for scientific purposes (

OJ L 156, 30.4.2004, p. 1

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/guideline/2025/333/oj

ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)