1. Target group:

Households with low income that do not own property and property rights to provide for their livelihood are eligible for guaranteed minimum assistance. This includes households with low income that have property and property rights to provide for their livelihood in the case when the household member who is the owner of the property shall enter into a lifelong sustenance agreement with the Social Work Centre.

2. Eligibility criteria:

This entitlement shall be exercises in the case when the total average amount of all income of all household members, generated on all grounds in the last three months prior to filing the application for the exercise of the right and in the course of the exercise of the right, is lower than the amount of the guaranteed minimum assistance as laid down in the Law on Social Protection.

• The following shall not be deemed income for the purposes of exercising and using the right to guaranteed minimum assistance:

• financial compensation for assistance and care provided by another person;
• disability allowance;
•  housing allowance;
•  one-time cash assistance benefit;
• financial compensation of costs for provision of care and allowance for care provision within a foster family;
• one-time cash assistance benefit for a newborn;
•  children’s allowance;
• educational allowance for a child attending primary or secondary education, in accordance with the regulations in the field of child protection;
•  special allowance;
• scholarship
• donations, in accordance with the Law on Donations
• fee for a census taker in the amount of MKD 15,000
• allowance for attendance of training, realized in accordance with programmes/measures under the Operational plan on active labour market programmes and employment services
• allowance for practical training of pupils and practical instruction of students;
•  internship allowance, in accordance with the regulations in the field of internship;
• volunteering allowance, in accordance with the Law on Volunteering;
• financial assistance for treatment in the country or abroad, based on a decision of the Health Insurance Fund of the Republic of North Macedonia;
• allowance arising from activities relating to the security and defence of the Republic of North Macedonia;
• reported or realized net income from sales of agricultural products, etc., of all household members amounting to MKD 30,000 in total in the last 12 months.
• legal child maintenance payment up to MKD 6,000;
•  total monthly income up to MKD 5,500 per household member, adjusted for the increase of the costs of living for the preceding year, published by the State Statistical Office in January in the current year, shall not be deemed income for the purpose of exercising the right to guaranteed minimum assistance, for persons who exercise the right to permanent financial assistance on the grounds of incapacity for work, established with a finding, assessment and opinion of a professional panel
• financial allowance paid under an IPA project, financed by the European Union and implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy;
•  income generated by work engagement in municipal community work

3. Amount of the benefit:

The amount of the guaranteed minimum assistance shall be calculated as a base for a single household member, increased by the coefficient of the equivalent scale for the remaining household members, up to five members of the household. The base shall amount to MKD 5.445 (five thousand four hundred forty-five) per month, and for each additional household member of legal age the base shall be increased in accordance with the equivalent scale, in particular:

• by coefficient 0.5 for the second member,

• by coefficient 0.4 for the third member,

• by coefficient 0.4 for the fourth member, and

• by coefficient 0.2 for the fifth member

For a child - household member the base shall be increased by a coefficient of 0.1.

The equivalent scale shall be increased by a coefficient of 0.5 for a woman - single parent, during pregnancy, one month prior to giving birth, and a single parent until the child enrols in primary education, but no later that the time when the child completes seven years of age, and up to the third child.

For a person who is incapable to work due to intellectual disability, physical disability, mental illness or due to permanent changes of his or her health status, but for three household members at the most, in particular, for the first member - coefficient of 0.5, for the second member - coefficient of 0.2, and for the third member - coefficient of 0.2.

The household shall also use a financial allowance to cover a portion of the energy consumption costs in the household for the period from October to March in a monthly amount of MKD 1.362 (one thousand three hundred sixty-two).

• The following persons shall not be deemed household members for the purposes of establishing the amount of the guaranteed minimum assistance:

- a person serving a prison sentence longer than 30 days,

- a person who, by decision of the Social Work Centre, has been placed in an institution for extrafamilial care, foster family, organized supported living, or other institutional care, and

- a person who is a perpetrator of domestic violence.

• The direct beneficiary of the guaranteed minimum assistance shall be determined in the following order:

 a) for a household with an employed individual – the employed individual;

b) for a household which has no employed individual, but has a pension beneficiary - the household member who is a pension beneficiary;

b) for a household which has no employed individual or pension beneficiary - a household member who is not employed;

d) for all other households – the household member assigned by the competent Social Work Centre
 

The right for guaranted minimum assistance can't be a a household in which a member:
-can only support itself,
- income can be generated by selling or leasing property in their possession, the members of the household do not use it,
- has concluded an agreement for lifetime alimony, and has not initiated a procedure for terminating that agreement,
– can provide maintenance on another basis,
- has been deleted from the records of unemployed persons for irregular registration, until the end of the period by which he acquires the right to register again, according to the writings for employment and insurance in the case of unemployed and/or
- the employment relationship was terminated amicably, at his request or by dismissal from the employer due to violation of contractual obligations or other obligations of the employee, in the last 12 months before submitting the request for exercising the right to minimum assistance.
The right to minimum assistance cannot be established by a household that is not exposed to social risk, ascertained based on immediate inspection and professional documentation by the authorized worker from the social work center.
With the exception of emergency conditions (it has been determined that a state of crisis has been declared, namely a pandemic, fires, floods or other major natural disasters), the right to minimum assistance may be a household in which a member of the household has been deleted from the unemployment register. persons for irregular registration or for whom the employment relationship has ended amicably, at his request or with a dismissal from the employer due to violation of contractual obligations or other obligations from the employment relationship.

4. Time limits and termination of the entitlement:

The direct beneficiary shall be obliged to report the number of household members, the financial and property status for himself/herself and all other household members, to notify any changes when applying for the entitlement and in the course of its exercise, within a period of 15 days upon the date of the change to the competent Social Work Centre.

• The entitlement to guaranteed minimum assistance shall be terminated if:

• the direct beneficiary shall provide false or incomplete data on the financial, family and property status of the household when filing the application,

• the direct beneficiary shall fail to report any changes in the number of household members, the financial and property status for himself/herself and all other household members in the course of the exercise of the entitlement,

• the beneficiary shall fail to report to the competent employment centre within the prescribed period of time and shall fail to meet the registration obligations under the regulations on employment and insurance in case of unemployment,

• the beneficiary shall refuse two consecutive times to meet the obligations under the individual employment plan to participate in the active labour market programmes or refuses job mediation in accordance with the Law on Employment and Insurance in Case of Unemployment,

 • the beneficiary’s employment has been terminated by agreement, upon his or her request or by dismissal due to breach of contractual obligations or other obligations arising from employment,

• the household is not exposed to social risk, as ascertained based on direct inspection and review of the documents by the authorized official of the Social Work Centre, or if the authorized official is not allowed to inspect the household in order to check the financial status and the number of household members, as ascertained based on documentation.

5. Required application documents:

Application for exercise of the right to guaranteed minimum assistance

Statement, written consent of the applicant concerning the use of his/her personal data in the procedure

Application for ex officio collection of data

Reply to the application for ex officio collection of data

1. Valid personal identity card of the citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia, personal identification card for permanent residence of a foreign national, personal identification card of a recognized refugee or a personal identification card for a person under subsidiary protection, which is only presented in order to prove the identity and the nationality;

 2. Birth certificate;

 3. Marriage certificate;

4. Death certificate;

5. Divorce judgment;

6. Certificate on annual income;

7. Certificate of title;

8. Certificate that the person does not own property;

9. Certificate on income realized on the grounds of salary in the Republic of North Macedonia or abroad;

10. Certificate for a beneficiary of a pension benefit in the Republic of North Macedonia or abroad;

11. Judgment awarding legal maintenance;

12. Certificate on ownership of a registered motor vehicle (passenger motor vehicle, engine over 50 cc, van, bus, truck, combine and tractor);

13. Certificate for regular studies;

14.Contract for performance of work relating to the implementation of the Census of population, households and dwellings in the Republic of North Macedonia;

15.Easement contract for agricultural land owned by the Republic of North Macedonia;

16. Finding, assessment and opinion of an expert panel establishing incapacity for work or certificate that a procedure to establish incapacity for work has been initiated;

17. Bank certificate about savings deposits;

18. Certificate on ownership of securities issued by the Central Securities Depositary;

19. Certificate from the Employment Service Agency of the Republic of North Macedonia on the payment of unemployment benefit;

20. Certificate for the payment of military disability benefit;

21. Certificate for the payment of civil disability benefit;

22. Certificate for the payment of allowance arising from activities relating to the security and defence of the Republic of North Macedonia;

23. Legal claim for maintenance against a close relative who, by law, has an obligation to provide for maintenance, i.e. a letter of authorization of a caseworker in the Social Work Centre to initiate such procedure.

The Social Work Centre shall collect the documents referred to in items 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, 18, 19 and 21 ex officio, while the documents referred to in items 1, 5, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 22 and 23 shall be collected by the applicant and other household members when filing the application and in the course of the exercise of the right to guaranteed minimum assistance.

 A person exercising the right to guaranteed minimum assistance shall not be eligible for parental allowance for 3rd child.