Income - based benefit

It is possible to apply for income-based benefit to cover various reasonable expenses: child’s hobbies and sports activities, expenses related to healthcare, rehabilitation, technical aids, accidents and other emergencies.

The determined amount of the benefit is based on the applicant’s and their family members’ net income in the previous month, or in the case of irregular income, their average income of the six previous months. It is possible to apply for the benefit to compensate justified expenses made in the previous and current month once a month at most and the minimum applied sum is €10. In case of a smaller sum, the expense documents need to be submitted together.

The maximum rate of the benefit: Adults can receive up to €250 and children up to €350 in income-based benefit in a calendar year if they are eligible for support.

The Social Department makes the final decision on the rate of the income-based social benefit after the assessment of the applicant and their family. The assessment criteria include documents required during the application process - documents about income and assets, including bank statements of all family members; property use agreements; expense documents (invoices) of the previous or current month reflecting the expenses for which the compensation has been requested; documents of housing costs and other documents as and if required. To apply for social benefits and in case of further questions, please contact the Social Department of the city district administration of your place of residence as registered in the population register.

The criteria of assessment for income-based benefit until 31 March 2023

The benefit is, by default, appointed to individuals or families whose monthly net income for the first family member is less than the current minimum wage (725 euros) and for every following family member less than 80% of the current minimum wage (580 euros).

Example: A family of four applies for compensation of 70 euros worth of prescription pharmaceuticals in March 2023. The family can qualify for compensation if its net income in February is less than 2465 euros. The family’s need for support will be assessed and if their income is lower, the prescription pharmaceuticals will be compensated either partially or in full, i.e. up to 70 euros.

The criteria for determining the amount of income-based benefit from 1 April 2023

The basis for determining the rate of income-based benefit is the income limit and the amount of money that is left for the person or family after covering the housing costs of their residence as recorded in the population register. The income limit is €300 for each family member (€600 for a family of two, €900 for a family of three, etc.)

In order to calculate the amount of the benefit, the housing expenses of the current month (based on socially justified norms and the housing expense limits used for determination of the subsistence benefit) and the income limit €300 are deducted from the income. Based on mentioned calculations, if the applicant is left with a smaller amount of money than is required to cover justified expenses, the benefit is paid, taking into account the missing amount of justified expense and maximum rate of the benefit.

The family may be left with the smaller amount of funds for living than the income limit if the income of the family was smaller than the income limit already before needing assistance and even granting the full amount of justified expenses would not guarantee finances to the extent of the income limit.

 Examples:

• If the income limit of the family of one is €300, income is €550, justified housing costs are €350 and the actual expense that the person requests to be compensated for is €80, the calculation process is as follows: 550 – 350 - 300 = - €100. The person is already left with less than €0 before covering the justified expense and so the full amount of the expense, €80, will be compensated.
• The income of a family of two are composed of €600 from Maali and €550 from Mati, totalling €1150, justified housing expenses are €450 and the requested expense is €150. The calculation process is as follows: 1150 – 450 – 600 = €100. The family will be left with €100 for additional expenses after covering housing costs. As the requested expense was €150, the amount to be paid as benefit would be (150-100) €50.