The subsistence minimum budget per capita has been increased by 4.3% to Br266,230 since May 1st.

May 3, Minsk, Minsk /Elena Prus - BELTA/. The subsistence minimum per capita from May 1 to July 31, 2010, amounts to Br266,230, the Council of Ministers' Office informed BELTA. In accordance with the government's resolution No. 651 of April 29 of the current year, the subsistence minimum for the working-age population is set at Br284,860, for pensioners - Br238,380, for student children - Br285,500, for children aged 3 to 16 - Br325,980, and for children under 3 - Br237,410. As noted by the department of comprehensive problems of socio-labor sphere development of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the new subsistence minimum has increased by 4.3% compared to the subsistence minimum that was in effect from February 1 to April 30, 2010 (Br255,220). As a result, from May, the amounts of state benefits for families raising children have increased by 4.3%. Accordingly, the amounts of social pensions, as well as supplements and increases to pensions for certain categories of pensioners, have been increased. The subsistence minimum is approved quarterly by the government at the prices of the last month of each quarter. In accordance with the law "On the Subsistence Minimum in the Republic of Belarus," it is intended for analyzing and forecasting the living standards of the population, providing state social assistance to low-income citizens (families), and justifying minimum state social and labor guarantees. The subsistence minimum is used to assess the level of population income, wages, pensions, benefits, and other social payments, and to determine the level and scale of poverty. The subsistence minimum is the cost of a minimum set of material goods and services necessary to sustain life and maintain health, as well as mandatory payments and contributions. The subsistence minimum for various socio-demographic groups of the population includes the following types of material goods and services: food, clothing, underwear, footwear, household items, medicines, sanitary and hygiene items, as well as housing and utility, transport, and household services, and services of preschool institutions. The subsistence minimum for the working-age population is used to determine the amount of funds withheld from employers who are in arrears in paying wages. -0-