Law on social assistance to be amended in Moldova

Chisinau, 14 April /MOLDPRES/ - The parliament today approved the draft on amendment of the Law on social assistance in the first reading.   

According to the author, head of the parliament’s commission for social protection, health and family Dan Perciun, the draft is part of a comprehensive process of reformation of the native social assistance system.  

Among the basic goals of the draft, there is the stimulation of the employment of social assistance beneficiaries, who are able for work, through the gradual cutting of the social assistance quantum and limiting the duration of their presence in the social assistance programme.  

Another provision regards the increase in the number of families with children which will be able to be included in the programme of social assistance through increasing the minimally guaranteed monthly income for each child, as well as of the ceiling of eligibility of the incomes for the employees with children.   

Also, the new law establishes that the disadvantaged families which take care of children up to the age of seven years (earlier, the age of three years was stipulated) will be able to benefit from the right to social assistance and/or social assistance for the cold period of the year and decision-makers will establish a minimally guaranteed monthly income separately for children, against the one for adults.  

The draft also regards an enhanced protection of the people with severe disability. Thus, the minimally guaranteed monthly income for the people with severe disability will increase from 50 to 60 per cent and for adults – from 30 to 50 per cent.   

The new amendments propose the inclusion of the day workers in the programme of social assistance and their encouraging to work legally, through giving the right to benefit from social assistance to the agriculture sector employees and ignoring their incomes when establishing the right to social assistance.   

According to data provided by the Labour and Social Protection Ministry, 37,322 households and 83,796 people benefited from social assistance in December 2021.  

Photo: Parliament