Minimum income for decent living to be updated annually in Romania

The minimum income for decent living will be calculated on an annual basis by the statistics office INS and validated by Government decision, the Chamber of Deputies decided, amending the Government emergency ordinance (OUG) 217/2000.

The minimum income will be used for calculating the statutory minimum gross wage.

The bill passed by the deputies includes the calculation of the minimum income level for a family of two employees with two school-age children, valid for the prices prevailing in September 2018, Economica.net reported.

The minimum income was RON 6,762 (EUR 1,450) and more than a third of it was related to housing: the house itself (26.3% of total, representing rent or mortgage installment), house goods or utilities. The next big expenses was food (and beverages), 21% of the total or EUR 302 per month (the equivalent of EUR 10 per day, or EUR 2.5 per day per capita - under INS’s calculations).

INS also calculated the minimum expenses for decent recreation and vacation of the 4-member household at RON 234 per month - or EUR 591 per year - the equivalent of a summer camp for each of the two school-age children. Decent healthcare for a typical 4-member family costs only RON 107 (EUR 22) per month, probably given their age and supposedly good health.

The minimum income calculated by INS also includes RON 651 “monthly savings” for the typical 4-member household.

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