Disability benefit will get smaller for those who work

Next year, the government plans to significantly increase the state social security benefit for people with disabilities. According to the plan of the Ministry of Welfare, benefits for non-working disabled people will increase, but for working people it will get smaller.

One of the reasons for such a decision is the judgment of the Constitutional Court, in which the court called for a reassessment of the purpose of the state social security benefit, if it is paid in the same amount to both working and non-working people with disabilities.

Benefits are paid if you are not entitled to a pension

The aim of the Ministry of Welfare and the government, according to the text of the report discussed at the Cabinet meeting, is to “determine the amount of state social security benefit appropriate to the real socio-economic situation, using the relative method for setting minimum income thresholds, establishing a common approach to the provision of state aid to low- and very low-income people”. The government plans to increase the state social security benefit, which is paid both in the case of old age (in situations where there is no right to receive an old-age pension) and in the case of disability.

According to the State Social Benefits Law, people with disabilities are granted a state social security benefit if they are not entitled to a state pension, including a disability pension. At present, this benefit is €80 per month for people with disabilities, and €122.69 per month for people with disabilities since childhood. Similar to the calculation of the minimum old-age pension, coefficients are used here, but not for the length of employment, but for the disability group, which entitles people with the first and second disability groups to a higher pension.

Refers to the Constitutional Court

"Persons with the first or second disability group face additional expenses in meeting their needs in their daily lives and their opportunities to enter the labor market are hindered due to the inherent functional limitations," the Ministry of Welfare points out. This is even more the case if the state social security benefit is the only source of income. Therefore, non-working persons with disabilities should be provided with more state support, the specialists of the Ministry indicate, referring to the judgment of the Constitutional Court.

Data from the National Social Insurance Agency show that

out of 3695 persons with the first disability group, who were registered as recipients of the state social security benefit in January of this year, only three percent were employed,

in turn, among 9539 persons with the second disability group who were recipients of state social security benefits, 13 percent were employed.

Non-working people will receive more

The Ministry of Welfare explains how the new state social security benefit is calculated - it will be determined as a proportional amount from the median income, i.e. for persons with disabilities - 20 percent of the median income or €109, but for persons with disabilities since childhood 25 percent of income median or €136. This will be the basis for which, depending on the disability group, a coefficient of 1.4 will be applied to people with the first disability group and 1.2 to people with the second disability group.

The next procedure for determining the benefit for one or the other group of people is quite complicated. It is planned to set a supplement from the amount of the state social security benefit for unemployed persons with first and second group disabilities - for persons with the first disability group in the amount of 30 percent of the state social security benefit for the same group of people, but for persons with the second disability group - in the amount of 20 percent.

The amount of such a supplement is designed to promote income growth for unemployed people, but it would be proportionate to those with disabilities who have worked, paid taxes and receive a disability pension resulting from social contributions, explained the Ministry of Welfare. The data show that

In December 2019, the average pension granted with the supplement among persons with the first disability group was €276.39, while for persons with the second disability group - €258.04.

Forecasts show that more than 18 thousand recipients of state social security benefits with disabilities will receive the benefit increase next year, but the number of benefit recipients will increase slightly in the next two years.

It should be noted that the benefit is planned to increase from January 2021, however, the Ministry of Welfare calls for a transitional period for the State Social Insurance Agency to introduce changes in the system and be able to recalculate all benefits. This process takes about five months, so people are likely to receive the recalculated benefits between May and June. Increasing the benefit will cost a total of less than nine million euros in 2021, but in 2022 it will already reach €9.8 million.