About HFCS

This Luxembourg LU-HFCS survey is based on about 1,600 interviews with resident households. The cross-border HFCS involves about 1,500 households.

Participating households have been selected randomly, according to a statistical procedure designed to provide two representative samples of

i) all households in Luxembourg and

ii) all cross-border commuter households in the Greater Region.

Although participation in these surveys is voluntary, it is critical for the success of the surveys that the households contacted agree to participate in the survey.

The surveys contain two kinds of questions: some treat all household members as a single entity, and others are addressed separately to individual members of the household. Those concerning the household as a whole cover the following themes: real estate assets and their financing, other debts and credit constraints, private businesses and financial assets, intergenerational transfers (i.e. inheritances and gifts), consumption and saving. Questions concerning household members individually cover the following themes: demographics, employment, pensions and insurance policies and income.

The two surveys differ in their interviewing methodology. The LU-HFCS survey is a face-to-face survey with an interviewer. The interview will be conducted using a laptop computer to save your answers more rapidly and accurately. The household will choose the exact date of the interview. The interview lasts approximately one hour. Most of the interview concerns the household as a whole. Therefore, the household member who is best informed on its financial situation should answer these questions. Questions to individual members of the households will be addressed to each person aged 16 or more.

Instead, the cross-border HFCS is a web-based interview that is completed online. In this case, the cross-border commuting worker who was contacted by letter should complete the web-based interview.

The Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) is a public research institute specialised in socioeconomic research. This institute combines researchers in different human sciences under the common goal to develop, produce and analyse statistical sources. In the context of this study, LISER will conduct the survey. Given its professionalism and that of its interviewers, specially trained for this survey, absolute confidentiality is guaranteed.