Social Assistance
Socijalna skrb
Coverage
- Persons who cannot sufficiently cover their necessary subsistence from income/assets.
- Persons in specific need, including persons who, due to old age or incapacity, cannot independently take care of their basic living needs.
Financing
- The scheme is tax-financed out of the general state budget and budgets of local (regional) self-government units.
- Donations.
Administration
- Primarily administered by the state; provision of benefits through social welfare institutions (local social welfare centres, social care homes, community service centres and home help centres).
- Other possible providers: associations, religious communities, other legal entities, craftsmen and natural persons performing professional social welfare activities, and foster families.
Qualifying Conditions
- Croatian citizens residing in Croatia; foreigners and stateless persons with permanent residence in Croatia; foreigners under subsidiary protection or with an established status of being a victim of trafficking, asylum seekers with a family member legally residing in Croatia.
- Most benefits are means-tested based on the individual’s or the household’s income and assets below subsistence level prescribed by law for specific cash benefits.
- For benefits in kind: age is not regarded as a required qualifying condition; but the identification of a social need is necessary for frail persons like elderly and infirm persons, persons with disabilities, mentally ill adults, persons suffering from addictions, and homeless persons. Income can be a relevant criterion.
Benefits
- Types of benefits: monthly benefits (guaranteed minimum income), targeted benefits (housing costs compensation, the right to heating costs allowances, a compensation for personal needs of accommodation users, personal disability allowance, an allowance for assistance and care); in-kind benefits; social services (e.g. information, identification and initial needs assessment provided by experts in social welfare centres, counselling and assisting, help at home, psychosocial support, accommodation, organised housing).
- Benefits are granted for specific needs under specific conditions prescribed by law.
- For benefits in kind: the amount of benefit is usually based on the prescribed percentage of a budget base (and sometimes depends on the number of household members).
- Benefits are not subject to income tax.
Coverage
Financing
Administration
Qualifying Conditions
Benefits
- Persons who cannot sufficiently cover their necessary subsistence from income/assets.
- Persons in specific need, including persons who, due to old age or incapacity, cannot independently take care of their basic living needs.
- The scheme is tax-financed out of the general state budget and budgets of local (regional) self-government units.
- Donations.
- Primarily administered by the state; provision of benefits through social welfare institutions (local social welfare centres, social care homes, community service centres and home help centres).
- Other possible providers: associations, religious communities, other legal entities, craftsmen and natural persons performing professional social welfare activities, and foster families.
- Croatian citizens residing in Croatia; foreigners and stateless persons with permanent residence in Croatia; foreigners under subsidiary protection or with an established status of being a victim of trafficking, asylum seekers with a family member legally residing in Croatia.
- Most benefits are means-tested based on the individual’s or the household’s income and assets below subsistence level prescribed by law for specific cash benefits.
- For benefits in kind: age is not regarded as a required qualifying condition; but the identification of a social need is necessary for frail persons like elderly and infirm persons, persons with disabilities, mentally ill adults, persons suffering from addictions, and homeless persons. Income can be a relevant criterion.
- Types of benefits: monthly benefits (guaranteed minimum income), targeted benefits (housing costs compensation, the right to heating costs allowances, a compensation for personal needs of accommodation users, personal disability allowance, an allowance for assistance and care); in-kind benefits; social services (e.g. information, identification and initial needs assessment provided by experts in social welfare centres, counselling and assisting, help at home, psychosocial support, accommodation, organised housing).
- Benefits are granted for specific needs under specific conditions prescribed by law.
- For benefits in kind: the amount of benefit is usually based on the prescribed percentage of a budget base (and sometimes depends on the number of household members).
- Benefits are not subject to income tax.
Legal Basis: Social Assistance Act (Zakon o socijalnoj skrbi, Narodne novine 157/2013, 152/2014, 99/2015, 52/2016, 16/2017, 130/2017, 98/2019, 64/2020, 138/2020).