The families with low incomes can benefit from cold-month allowances of 500 lei a month, for January-March, if they file a relevant application to the local social assistant or the local social assistance and family protection division.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, in a response to IPN, said the cold-month allowance is set and paid to socially underprivileged families that receive social benefit and to families that ask for social assistance and have an average global monthly income lower than the guaranteed minimum monthly income increased 2.2 times. The grownups who do not form part of a family also benefit from such a right.
The families entitled to social benefit will automatically become entitled to cold-month allowances. The socially deprived families, based on the same application for social benefit, can be ineligible to get social benefit if the set income limit is passed, but can qualify for cold-month allowance.
The families can ask for social benefit and cold-month allowances from the state even if they get compensation for heat from the local authorities.
Cold-month allowances in January 2020 were provided to 196,450 families, in February – to 198,432 families, in March – to 196,734 families.
