Cardinal Schönborn says Austria's children need peace and hope, not just savings
Writing in the Austrian daily Heute, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop emeritus of Vienna, said the government's planned savings fund for children should be matched by investment in non-material goods such as trust, belonging and hope
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop emeritus of Vienna, used his column in the Austrian daily Heute on Friday, October 23, 2026, to write about the "Zukunftsdepot," a savings fund for the future that Austria's federal government plans to launch in 2027. He did not comment on the specific measure agreed by the governing coalition, but said younger generations also need investment in goods that are not material.
Alongside financial provision, Schönborn wrote, children need above all peace, security and trust if they are to build a full life. "Peace and security are the basis of a good future." He called for "strengthening community life," for avoiding "what divides society" and instead for "promoting and strengthening trust, hope and a sense of belonging."
Warning on young people's mental health
Among the things he described as most worrying was the rise in mental illness and depression among young people, a trend he said is reflected in the most recent health survey. "It is no surprise that people without hope fall ill in mind and body," Schönborn wrote.
He also said he is convinced there is "much more good than negativity" in the world, and that fostering that good each day is "the most sustainable future fund." "We are all jointly responsible for what is deposited in the future fund of the young generation," he wrote.
The Austrian Zukunftsdepot
The "Zukunftsdepot" was agreed by Austria's governing coalition of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and NEOS. It will take effect on July 1, 2027, and will allow parents to open an investment fund in their children's names, exempt from the capital gains tax known as KESt.
Parents, grandparents and other relatives will be able to pay in up to 5,000 euros a year. The state will add a "starting credit" of 500 euros for each child at birth. The money can be withdrawn tax-free once the beneficiary turns 18. When the column was published, some details of the plan had yet to be settled, in particular how the capital tax exemption would be financed.
