Assistance in Material Need

Pomoc v hmotnej núdzi

Coverage

Persons residing in the Slovak Republic who cannot sufficiently cover their subsistence minimum from income/assets.
Certain social groups are excluded from the scheme’s coverage.¹

Financing

The scheme is entirely tax-financed out of the general budget.

Administration

The regional ‘Labour, Social Affairs and Family Office’ manages the scheme (i.e. reviews applications, decides on eligibility, and pays out benefits).

Qualifying Conditions

Persons residing in the Slovak Republic.
Persons/households with income/assets below the ‘minimum subsistence level’ (Životné minimum) as defined by law; as of 01/07/2020, the subsistence minimum is: EUR 214.83 per month for a single person, EUR 149.87 per month for each additional adult person who is part of the household, EUR 98.08 per month for a dependent child or minor.
Benefits are means-tested based on the individual’s and the household’s income and assets.

Benefits

Material Need Allowance (Dávka v hmotnej núdzi): the amount of the allowance is determined as the difference between the amount of entitlement to benefits and the income of an individual or a household.
Specific allowances (Príspevky k dávke): flat-rate allowances related to specific needs (protective allowance that targets certain personal expenses for individuals who do not have the opportunity to secure an income or increase their income through their own work (Ochranný príspevok), housing benefit (Príspevok na bývanie) and allowance for a dependent child (Príspevok na nezaopatrené dieťa).
Benefits are not subject to income tax.

Coverage

Financing

Administration

Qualifying Conditions

Benefits

Persons residing in the Slovak Republic who cannot sufficiently cover their subsistence minimum from income/assets.
Certain social groups are excluded from the scheme’s coverage.¹

The scheme is entirely tax-financed out of the general budget.

The regional ‘Labour, Social Affairs and Family Office’ manages the scheme (i.e. reviews applications, decides on eligibility, and pays out benefits).

Persons residing in the Slovak Republic.
Persons/households with income/assets below the ‘minimum subsistence level’ (Životné minimum) as defined by law; as of 01/07/2020, the subsistence minimum is: EUR 214.83 per month for a single person, EUR 149.87 per month for each additional adult person who is part of the household, EUR 98.08 per month for a dependent child or minor.
Benefits are means-tested based on the individual’s and the household’s income and assets.

Material Need Allowance (Dávka v hmotnej núdzi): the amount of the allowance is determined as the difference between the amount of entitlement to benefits and the income of an individual or a household.
Specific allowances (Príspevky k dávke): flat-rate allowances related to specific needs (protective allowance that targets certain personal expenses for individuals who do not have the opportunity to secure an income or increase their income through their own work (Ochranný príspevok), housing benefit (Príspevok na bývanie) and allowance for a dependent child (Príspevok na nezaopatrené dieťa).
Benefits are not subject to income tax.

¹ Persons are not covered by the scheme if: they are in custody, in the execution of a custodial sentence, in the execution of detention or if placed in a facility based on a decision on detention; if they are members of a community, order, society or similar community founded by a church or religious society, if, according to their internal regulations, they have basic living conditions (i.e. one hot meal a day, the necessary clothing and shelter); if they participate in a foreign study program or study stay provided through a scholarship or grant if they have obtained a second-cycle university degree and have basic living conditions under the conditions of the foreign study program or the study stay.

Legal Basis: Act No. 417/2013 Coll. on Assistance in Material Need and on Amendments to Certain Acts (Zákon o pomoci v hmotnej núdzi); Act No. 601/2003 Coll. on Subsistence Minimum and Amendments to Certain Acts (Zákon o životnom minime).