The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration has implemented a double review system of the income of Minimum Living Income beneficiaries with the aim of advancing the update of the benefits as much as possible.
In this way, beneficiary families know since May if, according to the previous year’s income, their Minimum Living Income (IMV) increases, decreases, or is removed, as reported by the department led by Elma Saiz.
Until now, the review was done in October, when consolidated data from the Tax Agency was available. The Ministry of Inclusion and Finance have been working for months to carry out a preliminary data cross-check in April, with effects from May, so that beneficiaries know the status of their benefits as soon as possible.
If the amount of the benefit is lower than what they were receiving, a compensation system is established in the following payrolls based on the family’s needs. In the case that beneficiaries exit the benefit because they have reached sufficient independent income, this new update reduces the amount of refunds.
«From the first minute of the legislature, we committed to reviewing this situation and improving the Minimum Living Income as much as possible. This first exercise has been a success and I thank all public workers, both from Finance and the National Social Security Institute and Inclusion, for their involvement in alleviating the uncertainty of families,» explained the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, Elma Saiz.
This update advances the benefit revision by five months, which will be reviewed again in October with consolidated data, although no substantial changes are expected.
In May, the payroll of 655,000 households was updated. Of these, 49% maintain the same amount of benefit as the previous year, 30% see an increase in amounts, 19% have a reduction, and 2% have their benefit suspended.
Regarding the people who have exited the benefit, Minister Saiz recalls that this is precisely the purpose of the Minimum Living Income. «It is not a lifelong benefit, but a lever to promote economic improvement and quality of life for families in extreme need. It is good news that there are people who have their own income and no longer need the IMV,» she said.
«From the beginning, the Minimum Living Income has been under continuous evaluation. We work to make it more accessible to citizens in need and to make the application and review processes efficient without being tedious,» Saiz assures.
Since the implementation of the IMV five years ago, initiatives have been developed in this regard, such as the gateway that allows a person receiving unemployment benefits to transition to the IMV without having to go through additional procedures.
«We are facing a benefit that, on average in Europe, takes ten years to consolidate, and in Spain, the IMV was implemented in less than a year and has already become one of the main instruments in the fight against poverty. We must combine the challenge of reaching those who need it most with the rigor of working with absolute cleanliness with public resources that are constantly audited,» clarified the minister.
FUENTE