The Government approved the Law on the Minimum Subsistence Level, Info-Prim Neo reports. The minimum monthly guaranteed income is different from the minimum subsistence level that shows the value of the minimum consumption of food products, goods and services needed to meet the basic necessities. Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family Valentina Buliga said the approval of such a law has been discussed since 1994, but was delayed owing to the difficult financial situation in the country. The aim of the bill is to define the method of calculating and using the minimum subsistence level in promoting social policies. This indicator will be used to assess the general living standards and to modify the size of the minimum salary and old age pension, the monthly guaranteed income of the family, the scholarship, the allowances and compensations. Under the bill, the minimum subsistence level will be determined on average per person for a month, according to the geographical area and sociodemographic groups of people such as children, working people, and pensioners. By using the normative statistic method, the minimum subsistence level will be calculated quarterly and for the calendar year. Asked in how many years the minimum salary and the minimum pension will be set according to the minimum subsistence level, Valentina Buliga said maybe in 3-4 years. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the minimum subsistence level in the third quarter of 2011 was 1,386.4 lei, an increase of 6.2% compared with the corresponding period of 2010. The monthly disposable incomes of the population in the period were 1,475 lei on average per person, by 6.4% higher than the minimum subsistence level. The average monthly salary of an employee in 2011 was 3,193.9 lei, 2.3 times larger than the minimum subsistence level.