The Council of Ministers adopted on July 16 this year. regulation regarding the increase in income criteria for social assistance. From January 1, 2025, a much larger group of people will benefit from support than before. The Team for the Reform of the Social Assistance System established at the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy is also working to systematically improve the situation of people in need of support.
From January 1, 2025, the income criteria for social assistance will increase:
- for a single person – the criterion will be PLN 1,010, which means an increase of PLN 234, or 30%.
- for a person in the family – the criterion will be PLN 823, which means an increase of PLN 223, or 37%.
The change in the amounts of income criteria will also result in an increase in the maximum amount of permanent benefit – to PLN 1,229, which means an increase of PLN 229, or 23%.
The increase in the amounts of the income criteria was adopted on the basis of the results of the social intervention threshold study prepared by the Institute of Labor and Social Affairs.
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Social assistance benefits from January 1, 2025: new income criteria
What does this mean in practice?
The group of people entitled to support will increase significantly and the amount of benefits will also increase.
Example 1:
Mrs. Anna, who lost her job over a year ago, raises two children on her own. Mrs. Anna's family has an income of PLN 1,000 and receives a periodic benefit of PLN 800. After verifying the social assistance criteria proposed by the government, the family will be able to receive this benefit in the amount of PLN 1,469 (if Mrs. Anna has not taken up employment by then).
Example 2:
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Jolanta and Jan with two school-age children. Mr. Jan is seriously ill and Mrs. Jolanta takes care of her husband, so she does not take up employment. A family with an income of PLN 1,600, currently receiving a periodic benefit of PLN 800. After verification of the income criteria for social assistance proposed by the government, the benefit for this family will increase to PLN 1,692.
Example 3:
Mr. Kazimierz is moderately disabled, lives alone in his household, has no income, and currently receives a permanent benefit of a maximum amount of PLN 1,000. After verifying the income criteria in the social assistance proposed by the government, he will receive the maximum permanent benefit of PLN 1,229.
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Who will receive PLN 1,200 from the energy voucher and on what terms?
Direction – annual verification of the income criterion
Pursuant to Art. 9 section 1 of the Act of 12 March 2004 on social assistance, the income criteria are verified every 3 years, taking into account the results of social intervention threshold tests. However, the Act allows for verification to be carried out every year. The previous government, despite growing inflation affecting the household budgets of Polish women and men, did not take advantage of this opportunity. The last verification took place in 2021.
– Recent years have clearly shown that the system for verifying income criteria is inadequate to the needs and available data, which is why the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy has started work on the mandatory annual verification of the criteria at dates allowing for a more accurate estimation of the social intervention threshold. Additionally, the team established at the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy for the reform of the social assistance system will analyze the method of calculating income, emphasizes Deputy Minister Katarzyna Nowakowska.
Systemic reform of social assistance
The Team for the Reform of the Social Assistance System has started work at the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy. Its task is to verify the availability of social benefits and services, the situation of employees of the social assistance system, and to assess the functioning of 24-hour institutions and their financing.
A special thematic team, which includes, among others: prof. Ryszard Szarfenberg, representatives of the Central Statistical Office and IPISS will assess the current method of calculating the social intervention threshold.
After an in-depth analysis of the current status, the team will develop proposals for legal changes and other recommendations. The reform should lead to the integration of various forms of support and cooperation between state institutions, local governments, non-governmental organizations and local communities. This will contribute to increasing the effectiveness of aid activities.
Source: Ministry of Labor and Social Policy
