BoG: ‘Yes’ to increasing the coverage of the beneficiaries of the minimum guaranteed income

of D. Katsagani

The Bank of Greece is in favor of increasing the coverage of the beneficiaries of the minimum guaranteed income.

According to the annual report of the BoG governor, Giannis Stournara, for 2021, “significant protection gaps remain, eg with regard to the unemployed, as mentioned above, but also the very poor households, of which only 1/3 receives the minimum guaranteed income.

An increase in the coverage of beneficiaries of the minimum guaranteed income and the effective access of the beneficiaries to complementary (under-functioning) social services could therefore be sought and to ensure the successful operation of the activation services which started in April 2021 and which integration or reintegration of beneficiaries into the labor market.

Indicatively, it is stated that, according to the OECD, an increase in the amount of the minimum guaranteed income by 25% would mainly benefit the lower income decile and, in combination with the increase in income from work excluded from the declared income for the calculation of the allowance, would reduce the risk of poverty by almost 2 percentage points.

In addition, there must be a reorientation to the “welfare state”.

Such a welfare state creates conditions for equal opportunities by facilitating social mobility, protecting citizens from the misfortunes of life and helping them to reconcile professional and family careers, and generally preventing poverty and income inequality through investment in human capital. for example in the fields of education and health.

Under these conditions, social policy works beneficially to achieve strong and sustainable growth rates. ”