MINIMUM INCLUSION INCOME

(According to Law no. 196/2016)

Information regarding the granting of minimum inclusion income (VMI)

Legislative framework

– the provisions of Law no. 196/2016, regarding minimum inclusion income, with subsequent amendments and completions;
– the provisions of E.G.O. no.114/2022, for the amendment and completion of Law no.196/2016 regarding minimum inclusion income, with subsequent amendments and completions;
– the provisions of G.D. no. 1154/2022, for the approval of the Methodological Norms for the application of the provisions of Law no.196/2016, regarding minimum inclusion income, with subsequent amendments and completions;
Thus, the minimum inclusion income (VMI) is established, which represents the financial support granted by the state in order to ensure the minimum standard of living for families and single persons in difficulty, as well as for the prevention of the risk of poverty among children and the stimulation of their participation in the education system.
The minimum inclusion income consists of one or more of the following categories of financial aid:
a) inclusion aid;
b) aid for families with children.

Depending on the needs of the family/single person, the minimum inclusion income is accompanied by other complementary social assistance measures, granted in cash and/or in kind, as follows:
– incentives – special measures to stimulate participation in the labor market, granted in cash or representing deductions applied to the person's income;
– contributive facilities – insurance in the health social insurance system, without payment of health social insurance contributions;
– other complementary rights – financial transfers and/or support in kind, in order to facilitate social inclusion and prevent the risk of social exclusion, granted to beneficiaries of minimum inclusion income or other categories in special situations, consisting, as appropriate, of:
(i) payment of compulsory home insurance against earthquakes, landslides and floods;
(ii) granting of community and emergency aid intended to support families/single persons to overcome temporary difficulties and prevent or reduce the risk of poverty and social exclusion;
(iii) access to measures of financial support for the promotion and support of attendance of educational courses, organized according to the law by the beneficiaries of minimum inclusion income;
(iv) measures to stimulate employment, as well as other measures to facilitate access of persons benefiting from minimum inclusion income to a job;
(v) access to available social services, depending on the identified needs for overcoming situations of difficulty.

Beneficiaries

VMI consists of all the amounts related to the financial aid provided by art.3 paragraph (2) of the law, which are established depending on the inclusion in the adjusted monthly income limits earned by the family as follows:

1. for inclusion aid, up to an adjusted net monthly income of 346 lei inclusive, which is taken into account when establishing the cumulative income of the family;

2. for inclusion aid, up to an adjusted net monthly income of 504 lei inclusive, which is taken into account when establishing the income of single persons aged at least 65 years;

3. for aid for families with children, up to an adjusted net monthly income of 880 lei inclusive.

In this regard, new concepts have arisen, such as: equivalence coefficient (1 for the single person and the legal representative of the family), family size (the sum of the equivalence coefficient corresponding to the family representative = 1 + 0.5 for each family member) and adjusted net monthly income (obtained by dividing the total net income of the family obtained in the month prior to the application by the family size), for calculating the eligibility threshold and the amounts granted as inclusion aid or aid for families with children.

Amounts granted

The monthly amount granted as inclusion aid will be a maximum of:
– 346 lei, for a single person without income;
– 504 lei, for a single person aged at least 65 years, without income;
– 519 lei, for a family composed of two persons (346 lei * 1.5 family size);
– 692 lei, for a family composed of three persons (346 lei * 2 family size);
– 865 lei, for a family composed of four persons (346 lei * 2.5 family size);
– 1038 lei, for a family composed of five persons (346 lei * 3 family size);

The amount granted as aid for families with children is established depending on the adjusted net monthly income level and the number of children in the family, as follows:
1. For families with adjusted net monthly income up to 346 lei/month, the monthly amount of aid for families with children is:
– 135 lei, for families with one child;
– 270 lei, for families with 2 children;
– 405 lei, for families with 3 children;
– 539 lei, for families with 4 or more children.

2. For single-parent families with adjusted net monthly income up to 346 lei/month, the monthly amount of aid for families with children is:
– 153 lei, for families with one child;
– 303 lei, for families with 2 children;
– 453 lei, for families with 3 children;
– 604 lei, for families with 4 or more children.

3. For families with adjusted net monthly income between 348 lei/month and 880 lei inclusive, the monthly amount of aid for families with children is:
– 108 lei, for families with one child;
– 215 lei, for families with 2 children;
– 322 lei, for families with 3 children;
– 428 lei, for families with 4 or more children.

4. For single-parent families with adjusted net monthly income between 348 lei/month and 880 lei inclusive, the monthly amount of aid for families with children is:
– 140 lei, for families with one child;
– 271 lei, for families with 2 children;
– 409 lei, for families with 3 children;
– 541 lei, for families with 4 or more children.

*If the calculation results in an amount less than 63 lei, then 63 lei is granted.

Notes:
For the calculation of adjusted net monthly income, all amounts received/earned by the single person, respectively by each family member in the month prior to the VMI application, are taken into account, except for the following incomes:
a. amounts received as social benefits under Law no.448/2006 regarding the protection and promotion of the rights of people with disabilities, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions;
b. state allowance for children granted under Law no. 61/1993 regarding the state allowance for children, republished, with subsequent amendments;
c. amounts granted as scholarships or other forms of financial support intended exclusively for supporting the education of preschoolers, pupils, and students, through programs of the Ministry of National Education and Scientific Research, other public and private institutions, including non-governmental organizations;
d. amounts received from work carried out as a day laborer, under Law no.52/2011 on the exercise of occasional activities performed by day laborers, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, as well as those obtained as a domestic provider under Law no.111/2022 on the regulation of domestic provider activity;
e. amounts received by capable-to-work family members for participation in vocational training programs organized under the law, if these are not considered salary income;
f. amounts occasionally received from individuals or legal entities, as well as emergency aid received from the state or local budget;
g. educational incentive granted under the provisions of Law no.248/2015 regarding the stimulation of participation in preschool education of children from disadvantaged families, republished, in the form of a social ticket to stimulate preschool attendance of children from disadvantaged families;
h. occasional amounts granted from the state or local budgets as compensation or financial support for exceptional situations;
i. heating aid and energy supplement granted under Law no.226/2021, with subsequent amendments;
j. monthly food allowance granted under Law no.584/2002 on measures to prevent the spread of AIDS in Romania and the protection of persons infected with HIV or AIDS patients, with subsequent amendments and completions, and the monthly food allowance provided by Law no.302/2018 on tuberculosis control measures;
k. amounts received as support, provided from the state budget or non-reimbursable funds, granted by law or based on approved operational programs.

Required documents

The minimum inclusion income (VMI) is granted based on a single application submitted by the applicant, accompanied by supporting documents.
– Standard VMI application form, which contains data on the applicant and data regarding the family composition; download application
– Agreement regarding the processing of personal data; downloadagreement
– Own responsibility statement; download statement, and, if applicable, download statement 2 , download statement 3

– Payment commitment (for situations in which undue rights may be found); download commitment;
– The identity document of the applicant and family members (ID card/identity card, birth certificates);
– Income certificates for all sources of income;
– Death certificate for any deceased family member;
– Proof of schooling for children aged between 3 and 16 years;
– Other documents specific to the applicant’s/beneficiary’s situation:
a. contract regarding the ownership of the property in which they live;
b. utility bills;
c. marriage certificate, if applicable;
d. court decision for custody/approval for adoption, according to the law;
e. court decision or, as the case may be, the commission decision for child protection for placing measures, according to the law;
f. court decision by which the temporary delegation of parental authority is ordered to the designated person, according to the provisions of art. 104 and art. 105 of Law no. 272/2004 on the protection and promotion of the rights of the child, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions;
g. decision of the general director of the general directorate for social assistance and child protection or, as the case may be, court decision for emergency placement, according to the law;
h. court decision for the establishment of guardianship or, if applicable, the order of the guardianship authority, according to the law;
i. supporting document certifying the status of legal representative of the minor lacking full legal capacity, namely parent, guardian, curator, or other person designated as legal representative by the decision of the general director of the general directorate for social assistance and child protection or, if applicable, by court decision;
j. court decision by which the spouse is declared missing;
k. court decision by which the spouse is preventively detained for more than 30 days or is serving a custodial sentence and does not contribute to the maintenance of the children;
l. if applicable, other supporting documents regarding family composition.
The family composition, children's filiation, and their legal status in relation to the legal representative will be checked/validated by the personnel of the Social Protection Service by field verification and/or through SNIAS.

Assets that lead to exclusion from VMI

The establishment of the right to minimum inclusion income is carried out taking into account the assets of the family or, as the case may be, of the single person, included in the List of assets that lead to the exclusion from granting the minimum inclusion income. The list can be consulted below.

LIST of assets that lead to the exclusion from granting the minimum inclusion income
A. Real estate assets
Buildings, other living spaces outside the home of residence, as well as land located within city limits with an area of more than 1,200 sqm in urban areas and 2,500 sqm in rural areas, excluding land for the fencing of the dwelling and the related yard.

1. Movable assets
1. More than one vehicle older than 10 years, with the right to circulate on public roads;
2. A vehicle with the right to circulate on public roads less than 10 years old, except those used and/or adapted for the transport of disabled persons;
3. Motorboats, motorboats, yachts or other types of boats, except those necessary for transport in the case of persons living in the “Danube Delta” Biosphere Reserve area;

NOTE:
In the event that one or more assets owned by the single person/family beneficiary of minimum inclusion income is leased/let/concessioned, this asset will be taken into account for the person/family who has it under lease/letting/concession, and for the legal owner, the value obtained from the transfer of the right to use the asset will be taken into account.
A person or family who, in addition to the home of residence, owns a share in another building/living space/real estate may benefit from minimum inclusion income regardless of the size of the share, if by this possession the asset cannot be capitalized upon.

1. Bank deposits
At least one of the family members holds, as account holder, one or more bank accounts/deposits, the total amount of which is more than 3 times the value of the average gross salary provided for by the Social Insurance Law. (Currently the value is 6095*3=18285 lei)

Holder's obligations

The holder of the minimum inclusion income is obliged to notify the city hall within whose territorial area he/she has his/her domicile or residence of any change regarding domicile, income, and family members, within a maximum of 10 days from the date the change occurred.
Single persons and families benefiting from minimum inclusion income have the obligation to submit to the city hall, every 6 months, a sworn statement regarding changes, accompanied by supporting documents, as appropriate.

People able to work who do not obtain income based on an individual labor contract, service report or other legal form of employment, nor from self-employed or agricultural activities, as defined by Law no.227/2015, with subsequent amendments and completions, are obliged to present themselves, whenever requested by the local employment agency in whose records they are registered as job-seekers, in order to be employed or to participate in services for stimulating employment and vocational training.

For single persons and families benefiting exclusively from family aid with children, the above obligation does not apply.

For families benefiting from minimum inclusion income that includes the inclusion aid component, one of the able-bodied adults in that family is obliged to perform monthly, at the mayor's request, activities or works of local interest, with respect to the normal duration of working time and occupational health and safety standards.

Exceptions are families for which the amount of inclusion aid is up to 63 lei. For these, working hours are set quarterly and carried out in any of the months of the quarter.