Income support

The income support is a last-resort measure in financial support. It is intended for situations whereby the applicant, her/his family's income or property is not sufficient to cover necessary daily expenses.

The income support can be granted to a municipal resident who is in need of assistance and cannot receive income from work, enterprise activities, benefits insuring income, property or from other earnings.

Before granting the income support, it is necessary to clarify the applicant's and his/her family's possibility to obtain income from other sources, most especially from the labour market and enterprise activities.

Benefits such as old-age pension, unemployment allowance, sickness allowance, family allowance (child benefit), housing allowance and study grant are the primary benefits.

Grounds for granting the support

The right to receive the income support is obtained by adding together an applicant's or his/her family’s basic and other expenses, which are taken into account in the remaining part.

The basic part includes expenses such as food and clothing as well as minor health care cost.
The amount of the basic part varies according to the size of the family and the age of underage children in guardianship.

In the remaining, supplementary part, for example electricity bills and day care fees for the children are taken into account.

All available income and property of the applicant and/or his/her family is subtracted from the approvable expenses.
The difference after subtraction becomes the amount of the income support received. Generally, the income support is granted for one month at a time.
If the total amount of income and property exceeds approvable expenses, rights to the income support do not exist.