2024-07-14 00:46:22
The government proposes that the poverty line from January 1, 2025 will become 638 BGN. This is laid down in a draft decree of the Council of Ministers, published for public discussion, BTA reports.
The deadline for discussion is until August 12, inclusive.
The poverty line for 2024 is BGN 526.
The proposed value of BGN 638 corresponds to the poverty line from the “Statistics of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC)” study, with the national poverty line increasing by 21.3% (BGN 112) compared to its size from the previous year and expands the scope of social assistance.
With the determination of a poverty line for the country of BGN 638 for 2025, the financial support for people with permanent disabilities, monthly social benefits and financial assistance and funds under the Child Protection Act will be updated according to the possibilities of the state budget. The scope of people entitled to a social pension for old age according to the Social Security Code will also be expanded.
The poverty line is a monetary indicator for identifying the poor, which is used in the development of state policy in the area of income and living standards and in determining social protection measures. It is also the basis for determining the amount of financial support for people with disabilities, social benefits under the Social Assistance Act, financial benefits and funds (for prevention of abandonment and reintegration, raising the child in families of relatives or relatives and in foster families). under the Child Protection Act, as well as for determining access to a social pension for old age under the Social Security Code, the report of the Minister of Social Affairs states.
Each year, the poverty line is updated in order to better formulate social policies and monitor their implementation, as well as to evaluate the results of policies in the area of people’s living standards and quality of life.
The poverty line occupies an important place in the policy area aimed at reducing poverty among different social strata of the population, including and the “working poor”.
As the poverty line increases, social benefits under the Social Assistance Act, financial support under the Disabled Persons Act, financial aid and funds (for prevention and reintegration, raising the child with relatives or relatives and in foster families) under the Act will also increase. for child protection, which will have a beneficial impact on the vulnerable and the lowest income groups of the population.
The easing of inflationary pressures is expected to lead to higher purchasing power of vulnerable population groups and an increase in household consumption.
In 2025, GDP growth is forecast to be 3.0%, with a slowdown in investment growth expected, particularly public
investment, while in private there will be an acceleration associated with a reduction in uncertainty and an increase in demand.
The lack of predictability regarding changes in consumption and employment, related to the still available risks caused by the international situation and inflationary processes, require the use of an objective approach in determining the size of the poverty line for 2025 according to the European research methodology ” Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC)’, which will both ensure the adequacy of the statistical information used and ensure policies related to poverty reduction.
The indicators of poverty and social inclusion are part of the common indicators of the European Community for tracking the progress of countries in the fight against poverty and social exclusion. The main source of statistical data for calculating the indicators is
the annually conducted monitoring “Statistics of Income and Living Conditions (SILC)”, the NSI states.
In 2023, the total poverty line for the country is BGN 637.92 per household person per month. With this size of the line, there were 1,325.9 thousand people below the poverty line, or 20.6% of the country’s population.
Subjective indicators related to material deprivation are also included in the general poverty assessment indicators. They show the subjective assessment and personal attitudes of individuals and households regarding the possibilities to satisfy individual needs and wants. Until 2020, nine questions related to the consumption of specific goods and services are used to assess the material deprivation of households. From 2021, a new indicator of severe material and social deprivation is included, which shows the lack of necessary and desirable items for leading a decent life. It is calculated as the share of persons from the population who cannot afford 7 out of 13 indicators – 6 at the individual level and 7 at the household level. In 2023, 18% of the population lives in severe material and social deprivation (restrictions in 7 out of 13 indicators), or 0.7 percentage points less compared to the previous year.