Material Need Assistance
Material need arises when the income of the person and natural persons who are connected to this person fails to reach the subsistence minimum and the person and natural persons who are connected to this person are unable to ensure or increase their income through their own actions.
Material need assistance is a part of the social protection system. It represents a safety social net for individuals, families and their members who need to ensure their basic living conditions and material need assistance with their active participation.
Material need assistance is provided in the form of a material need allowance (hereinafter referred to as the “Allowance”) and Supplements which are provided in monetary, material or combined forms.
The aim of the Allowance and Supplements, together with the income of the persons and the natural persons who are connected to this person is to ensure basic living conditions and material need assistance with the contribution of their active participation in addressing their social situation.
The provision of the Allowance and Supplements is carried out pursuant to Act No. 599/2003 Coll. on Material Need Assistance. For the purpose of this Act, basic living conditions are defined as one warm meal a day and the necessary clothing and shelter.
Material need Allowances and Supplements provided by the Offices of Labour, Social Affairs and Family are funded from the state budget.
The following persons are entitled to material need assistance:
- citizens of the Slovak Republic,
- aliens,
- stateless persons,
- asylum seekers,
- aliens to whom complementary protection has been provided,
- displaced persons with residence in the Slovak Republic based on a permit from the pertinent authority and
- foreign Slovaks with residence in the Slovak Republic,
unless assistance is provided to them pursuant to special regulations and international conventions to which the Slovak Republic is bound.
The subsistence minimum is a socially recognised minimum level of income of a natural person; any person whose income is below this level is considered to be in material need.
The subsistence minimum is always adjusted on 1 July of the current calendar year based on the coefficient of the growth of the net monetary income per capita or the coefficient of the growth of subsistence costs in low-income households. These data are provided by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic.
Current Subsistence Minimum Levels:
- 198.09 € per month for an adult natural person,
- 138.19 € per month for another considered adult natural person,
- 90.42 € per month for a dependent child or a minor who is provided for.