The at-risk-of-poverty threshold for a family of four with two adults and two children under the age of 14 was €8.344 annually for 2024, which would be €695 per month, according to a new survey on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) by the Statistical Office Monstat.
For a single-member household (a person living alone), the at-risk-of-poverty threshold is 3.973 euros per year or 331 euros per month.
The at-risk-of-poverty threshold is a statistical category, and individuals and families with lower incomes are considered to be at high risk of poverty.
The material security of the family, social assistance for citizens who have no other income and property and are officially considered the most vulnerable citizens, for a family of four, after the regular adjustment from the beginning of this month, amounts to 167,51 euros. That is, the poverty risk threshold for a family of four is 4,2 times higher than social assistance, as the only income for a family with so many members.
According to the Ministry's data from June, a total of 4.910 families with 16.605 members received material security, and the total amount paid for that month amounted to 670 thousand euros.
These types of benefits are adjusted twice a year in January and July with a 50 percent increase in inflation and a 50 percent increase in gross earnings. However, the total amount of these adjustments since 2019 has been around 40 percent, while various other benefits such as minimum pensions, old-age benefits, etc. have also increased by more than a hundred percent in the same period.
In 2022, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Podgorica published the document "Study of Material Benefits - for Priority Amendments to the Law on Social and Child Protection", in which they requested extensive changes to the social protection system, stating that only a quarter of the annual amount of money is actually received by the poorest, and that it is necessary to further increase benefits for material security for families that have no other income.
The Assembly adopted conclusions in vain
At the proposal of the Social Democratic MP Boris Mugoša In addition to the state budgets for 2023 and 2024, the Parliament adopted conclusions instructing the Government to ensure an increase in the amount of certain material benefits, taking into account the significant increase in the cost of living, and to secure these funds from the budget reserve and by rationalizing certain budget expenditures. However, this did not happen.
Last year, the parliamentary majority rejected for the second time the Social Democrats' proposal to increase the amounts of material security by around 65 percent through extraordinary adjustment, i.e. to increase the amounts that then ranged from 90 euros for a vulnerable single person to 167 euros for a vulnerable family with five or more members to 150 and 281 euros.
At that time, some MPs from the Europe Now Movement and the Democrats voted against this proposal, with the explanation that the Government would pass a proposal to increase these fees. 16 months have passed since then, and these fees have been adjusted three times by a few euros each.
On August 4, the Ministry of Social Welfare adopted the latest Decision on harmonizing the amount of the basis for exercising the right to material security and the amount of material benefits from social and child protection, which comes into force on August 16, and refers to the July payments of these benefits, which are expected next week.
With this adjustment, the amount of material security for an individual now amounts to 98,44 euros, for a two-member household 118,21 euros, for a three-member household 141,91 euros, for a four-member household 167,51 euros, and for a vulnerable family with five or more members, this benefit now amounts to 187,17 euros.
The Law on Social and Child Protection was passed in 2013, and then the amounts of material security were defined, which ranged from 33 percent of the then minimum wage for an individual to 63 percent of the minimum wage for a family with five or more members. Now these amounts range from 16 to 31 percent of the minimum wage.
The at-risk-of-poverty threshold for 2023 for a family of four, with two adults and two children, was €7.070 per year or €590 per month. In 2022, the monthly poverty threshold for a family of four was €451, and in 2021 it was €397.
There is still no new law.
Minister of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography Damir Gutic In an interview with "Vijesti" earlier this year, he announced that the adoption of a new Law on Social and Child Protection is planned for the second quarter of this year (April - June 2025), and that it will consider increasing the amount of these benefits.
"The new Law will improve the coverage and focus of material benefits and services, measures and programs, and the efficiency and financial sustainability of the system in order to provide a comprehensive and timely response to the needs of beneficiaries. We will especially review the conditions for exercising the right to material benefits, the right to material security, and possibly identify new beneficiary groups. The fact is that the cost of living has increased significantly in the past period, and we will take this into account when drafting the new Law on Social and Child Protection and focus specifically on increasing the amount of material benefits in accordance with the financial capabilities of the state. In addition, it is necessary to improve the mechanisms for supervising the work of the entire social and child protection system, which will ensure greater transparency and accountability," Gutić said at the time.
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However, this law is still not being drafted. The proposal by the New Serbian Democracy MP is in the parliamentary procedure. Dejan Đurović i Vasa Obradović which only foresees an increase in personal disability benefits from 297 to 600 euros and other people's care and assistance from 87 to 200 euros.
Partially increased and other fees
According to the Minister's decision on the harmonisation of social benefits, as of this month, the personal disability benefit amounts to 332,97 euros, while for those who have not been determined to need someone else's care and assistance, this benefit amounts to 210,86 euros.
The new amount of the care and assistance allowance is 97,69 euros, while the amount of funeral costs for social assistance beneficiaries is 488,56 euros.
The compensation for the parent or guardian of a beneficiary entitled to personal disability benefit amounts to 288,50 euros.
The new amount of the benefit for the first-born child is 1.095,68 euros, for the second-born 1.649 euros, for the third-born 52 euros, and for the fourth-born and each subsequent child, the benefit is now 2.191,36 euros.
If parents are beneficiaries of material security, these benefits are slightly higher and now amount to 1.205,25 euros for the first-born child, 1.753,08 euros for the second-born, 2.300,92 euros for the third-born, and 2.848,76 euros for the fourth-born and each subsequent child.
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