2023-05-08 08:03:28
On Monday, the Riigikogu will consider in the first reading the draft law approved by the government, which changes the system of family benefits. The package of amendments includes amendments to the family allowances law, the family law and the employment contract law. According to the bill, assistance to families in which one of the parents does not pay alimony will be increased from one hundred to two hundred euros, benefits for large families will be reduced by 200 euros, and in addition, the indexation of benefits for large families and the smooth termination scheme will be canceled for families with many children, the government’s press service told BNS earlier.
“These changes apply only to benefits for large families. The increase in benefits for the first and second child, which entered into force on January 1, will continue. When formulating policies, one must proceed from a holistic picture, emphasized the Minister of Social Protection, Signe Riisalo. – Events in the world today cause many families to feel insecure, which can be mitigated not only and exclusively by financial support, but also by the provision of quality services. It is important to keep in mind that benefits for families with many children will continue to be higher than last year: for families with three to six children – by 150 euros, and for families with seven or more children – by 250 euros. .
From January 1, 2024, the allowance for a large family with three to six children will be 450 euros per month, and for a family with seven or more children – 650 euros per month. From January 1, 2024, the allowance that the state pays to a child will increase from 100 to 200 euros if the parent obliged to pay maintenance does not fulfill this obligation or does not do it in the required amount.
From July 1, 2023, the system of smooth termination of the payment of benefits to large families, which provides for the continuation of the payment of benefits until the youngest child in the family is 19 years old, will be invalidated. Since the scheme has only been in operation for a few months, the change will affect a small number of families. Families who have already received two-thirds of the maximum allowance for a large family since the beginning of the year will be given a six-month transition period to adapt to the changes, that is, they will continue to receive the allowance until the end of 2023. Families who would have become eligible for continued benefits from July 1 will not continue to receive benefits.
The reduction in the allowance for large families, the abolition of indexation and the smooth completion of the payment of the allowance will save 5.1 million euros this year, and by 2027 – 151.8 million euros of budgetary funds.
“The changes will make it possible to direct additional funds to support the most vulnerable groups of the population, for example, children with special needs and children left without parental care. The goal of increasing assistance to children whose parent does not pay child support is to support those families that live in the greatest poverty,” explained Minister of Social Protection Riisalo.
According to the Social Insurance Board, during 2022, subsistence assistance was paid to 6,160 children whose parents did not fulfill the obligation to pay child support, which is almost 2% of all children in Estonia. As of March 31, 2023, the allowance for large families was paid to 24,846 families, 24,717 of which are raising three to six children, and 129 are raising seven or more children. In total, 80,739 children grow up in large families, which is 29% of all families receiving child benefits.
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