The concept of “living wage size” in Belarus is given by the Law “On the amount of the living wage in the Republic of Belarus” dated 05/07/2014. This normative act is also a legal basis for determining the cost of a consumer basket.
What is the cost of living? and how is it calculated
The living wage budget is the amount that is necessary to maintain the full functioning of the human body. The cash amount is sufficient to purchase a minimum list of food, non-food products and a range of services.
The indicator is calculated on the basis of sociological surveys, is set at the level of income that the 10-20% of the poorest people have, or is based on the ability of the economy to provide social benefits (i.e., it simply sets the maximum cost of living that the economy of a particular state can provide).
What is the cost of living in Belarus
The cost of living in Belarus today is determined by current legislation, which entered into force on November 1, 2016. Its value is 174.52 Belarusian rubles and corresponds to 1,745,200 at the old rate - before the monetary reform in Belarus. The amount was reduced in relation to the previous period by 98 kopecks, which in percentage terms amounted to 0.6%.
This year, the subsistence minimum has already increased four times, but the last decrease was recorded in the autumn of the previous year. The present value of the minimum consumer basket will remain unchanged until the end of January next year.
What is the minimum income level for?
Planning the minimum income level of the population necessary to ensure normal functioning is required to compile statistics on the welfare of all public sectors of the state.
The definition of the budget of the subsistence minimum is used in the future to calculate:
certain categories of benefits;
state assistance to low-income families;
minimum wages and social benefits;
monetary security for years of service.
The cost of living in Belarus today is a criterion for indexing citizens' incomes. He is the main indicator in the establishment of benefits and targeted assistance. In addition, the sum of the cost of living and the comparison of the value with the real incomes of citizens determines those segments of the population who need social support.
What indicators will affect the last decrease in the cost of living
As mentioned above, the cost of living in Belarus today affects many social benefits. However, according to Presidential Decree No. 726 "On Calculation of Social Payments", the budget for the last 2 quarters, which was the highest, will be taken as the basis for determining the amounts of these amounts. Thus, the Ministry of Labor of the Republic of Belarus officially announced that citizens should not worry, since a decrease in the value of the consumer basket will not affect payments calculated from its size.
Living wage in Belarus and payments for various categories of the population
Each state is developing its own program for calculating minimum payments, depending on the level of economic development. However, there are proposals to make this amount equal for all countries. But the proposal was rejected for a number of objective reasons.
One of the motives for the refusal of the world economies to equal the cost of living was, for example, the need to provide the population with heat in the winter. In states with a hot climate this does not make sense, while in the northern powers a significant amount is spent on heating.
The cost of living in Belarus today is such amounts for different categories of citizens:
children under the age of 3 years - 111 rubles 99 kopecks;
children aged 3 to 6 years - 154 rubles 97 kopecks;
children aged 6 to 18 years - 191 rubles;
students - 169 rubles 72 kopecks;
citizens of working age - 193 rubles 14 kopecks;
citizens of retirement age - 134 rubles 41 kopecks.
From the cost of the consumer basket with the smallest necessary list of food products, social charges are also calculated for the main needy segments of society, i.e. payments to large families, children with disabilities, disabled citizens, the poor and so on.