Significant changes in the child benefit, with an increase in the amounts for the lowest income categories and an expansion of the income limits, are provided for in the bill submitted today to the Plenary Session of the Parliament and will be taken for discussion to the competent parliamentary committee. Changes that had been announced in the previous days.
The aim of the bill is to include more families and children in the beneficiaries, but also to address the problem of the sudden loss of the allowance when family income increases marginally from one year to the next. The expansion of the limits also takes into account, according to the introductory report, the rise in the Consumer Price Index. According to the government, after the approval of the reform by the House of Representatives, 17,000 families and 23,500 children will benefit.
For family income up to €22,000, the allowance is increased by 10%, while for incomes from €22,000.01 to €44,000 an increase of 5% is provided. At the same time, more income brackets are created, so that the reduction of the allowance is done more gradually as the income increases.
Based on the new table, for a family with one child, the annual allowance is €659 for income up to €22,000, €563 for income up to €44,000 and €479 for income up to €54,000. For a family with two children, the corresponding amounts amount to €790, €688 and €479 per dependent child.
For families with three children, an allowance is provided even for incomes up to €90,000, while for four children the income range reaches up to €100,000. For families with five or more children, there is no upper income limit.
The Impact Analysis accompanying the bill estimates the additional annual cost for the state at around €12.5 million, noting at the same time that the change is expected to have a positive effect on households.
The bill provides that, if passed, the new regulations will come into force from January 1, 2027.
