As from January 1, 2023, the one-off childbirth allowance will be 10,932 lei, up 864 lei, as the draft state social insurance budget law for 2023 that was given a first reading by Parliament provides, IPN reports.

According to Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family Marcel Spatari, the revenues of the state social insurance budget next year were estimated at about 38.7 billion lei, a 24.1% increase on this year. The costs will also total 38.7 billion lei.

The minister said in Parliament that the costs of the state social insurance budge as share of the GDP have increased the past few years and next year are expected to represent 12.6% of the GDP. “We made effort to divide the costs in the most equitable way possible, for all the categories of beneficiaries,” stated Marcel Spatari.

Particular measures initiated this year will continue next year, such as the provision of the monthly child allowance of 1,000 lei up to the child’s age of two and of a higher allowance for raising twins or more children born at once up to the children’s age of three (up from 370 lei to 500 lei), as from October 1, 2022.

Also, the socially insured persons will be able to go on childcare leave and get a child benefit of 90% of the calculation basis for a period of 12 months.

Over 19.7 billion lei of the costs of the state social insurance budget was earmarked for paying old-age pensions, up 34.5% on 2022.

The opposition MPs criticized the draft state social insurance budget law, saying this does not contain palpable population support mechanisms. “The pensioners and persons with disabilities will have to content themselves with an indexation rate of 14%, which is much lower than the inflation rate, and to remain with the promise that the government will take care of the people. But the state must guarantee the right to live, not to survive for its citizens,” said BCS MP Alla Darovannaya. She noted the MPs of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists will not vote for the bill in the first reading, but will vote for it in the second reading if the draft law is adjusted to the legal provisions.

The MPs of the Shor Party boycotted the sitting.