State Social Support
The state social support is regulated by Act no. 117/1995 Coll., on State Social Support, as amended. Under this Act, the following benefits are available from January 1st, 2008:
- child allowance
- social allowance
- housing allowance
- parental allowance
- foster care benefits
- birth grant
- funeral grant
Child allowance
Child allowance is a basic long-term benefit provided to families with dependent children. A dependent child up to the age of 26 years, living in a family with an income of less than 2.4 times the family’s living minimum is entitled to this allowance.
The allowance is provided on three levels, depending on the age of the child:
| Age of the dependent child | Amount of monthly child allowance in CZK |
|---|---|
| up to 6 years of age | 500 |
| from 6 to 15 years | 610 |
| from 15 to 26 years | 700 |
Social allowance
The aim of this benefit is to help families with low incomes to cover the costs of their children’s needs. Parents who care for at least one dependent child are entitled to this allowance provided the family income in the previous calendar quarter does not exceed 2.0 times the family’s living minimum. The higher the family income, the lower the allowance.
The social allowance may be raised in cases where the child has a long-term severe disability, a long-term disability or a long-term illness. Situations where the parent is a single parent or disabled are also taken into account. A higher level of social allowance is also paid to families in cases of multiple births - up to the age of three years, and to families whose child is studying secondary school on a daily basis or attending university.
Housing allowance
Property owners or tenants registered as permanently resident in that property are entitled to a housing allowance if 30% (in Prague 35%) of family income is insufficient to cover housing costs and at the same time this 30% (in Prague 35%) of family income is lower than the relevant prescriptive costs set by law.
The prescriptive housing costs are set as average housing costs based on the size of the municipality and the number of members of the household. In the case of rented flats they include a proportion of the rent in accordance with the Rent Act and similar costs for residents of cooperative flats and flat owners. They also include the cost of services and energy. Prescriptive housing costs are calculated on the basis of reasonable sizes of flats for the number of persons permanently residing in them.
The level of housing allowance is set as the difference between prescriptive housing costs and the relevant family income multiplied by a coefficient of 0.30 (in Prague 0.35).
Parental allowance
A parent who personally and duly cares for a child who is the youngest in the family is entitled to parental allowance. Parental allowance is provided at four rates that are set at fixed monthly amounts according to duration of drawing – increased rate (11,400 CZK), basic rate (7,600 CZK), reduced rate (3,800 CZK) and lower rate (3,000 CZK). A parent may elect to draw parental allowance for a period of up to two, three or four years of the child. By selecting the period of support, the parent also selects the amount of the allowance, as follows:
- faster draw-down of parental allowance – after maternity benefit (hereinafter referred to as MB) at the increased rate (11,400 CZK) until the child is 24 months old; only parents who are entitled to MB of at least 380 CZK per calendar day may request this form of draw down;
- standard draw-down – after MB at the basic rate (7,600 CZK) until the child is 36 months old; only parents who are entitled to MB may request this form of draw down;
- slower draw-down – after MB or from the birth of the child (if the parent is not entitled to MB) at the basic rate (7,600 CZK) until the child is 21 months old and after it at the reduced rate (3,800 CZK) until the child is 48 months old.
The parent must apply in writing for the selected period and the rate of parental allowance to the competent office using the prescribed form. Parents must apply for faster draw-down by the end of the second calendar month following the month in which their youngest child reaches the age of 22 weeks, or in which their youngest children, in the case of multiple births, reach the age of 31 weeks. Parents must apply for standard draw-down by the end of the calendar month in which their youngest child reaches the age of 21 months. If the parent does not apply for faster or standard draw-down of parental allowance, he/she will be paid parental allowance at the slower draw-down when the child reaches the age of 21 months, i.e. at the reduced rate. The period and amount of parental allowance may only be selected at the specified periods. Once this decision has been made, the selected method of draw-down cannot be changed and may not be paid retrospectively, even where the parents alternate their claim to parental allowance.
In the case of disabled children, the parent is entitled to parental allowance at the basic rate (7,600 CZK) until the child is 7 years of age, from the day on which the child is diagnosed as a child suffering from a long-term disability or a severe long-term disability, regardless of the form of draw-down that had been previously selected (prior to the diagnosis of the child’s state of health). If the child draws care allowance (according to Act on Social Services), the parent is entitled to half-pay parental allowance. If the child diagnosed as a child suffering from a long-term disability or a severe long-term disability does not draw care allowance, the parent is entitled to parental allowance at the lower rate (3,000 CZK) from 7 to 15 years of the child´ age.
A parent is entitled to parental allowance provided:
- a child under the age of 3 years attends a creche or other facility for pre-school children for a maximum of 5 calendar days in a month;
- a child over the age of 3 years attends a kindergarten or similar facility for pre-school children for no more than 4 hours a day or a maximum of 5 calendar days in a month;
- the child attends a remedial care centre, creche, kindergarten or similar facility for disabled pre-school children for no more than 4 hours a day;
- a child of a disabled parent attends a creche, kindergarten or similar facility for pre-school children for no more than 4 hours a day;
- a child diagnosed as a child suffering from a long-term disability or a severe long-term disability attends a creche, kindergarten or similar facility for pre-school children for no more than 6 hours a day or performs compulsory education.
The parent’s income is not tested; the parent may carry out an occupational activity without losing their entitlement to parental allowance. However, during the period of this occupational activity, the parent must ensure that the child is in the care of another adult.
Foster Care Benefits
Foster Child Allowance
Dependent children placed in foster care are entitled to an allowance. The child continues to be entitled to this allowance even after reaching adulthood, up to a maximum of 26 years of age, provided that they remain a dependent child and live under the same roof as their former foster parent(s).
The amount of the allowance for a dependent child is 2.30 times the child’s living minimum and for an independent child it is 1.40 times the child’s living minimum. In the case of a disabled child, the coefficient by which the living minimum is multiplied is increased in proportion to the level of disability and represents 2.35 for a child with a long-term illness, 2.90 for a child with a long-term disability and 3.10 for a child with a severe long-term disability.
Foster Parent Allowance
A foster parent who takes a child into foster care is entitled to this allowance. The monthly amount of the foster parent allowance equals the individual living minimum for each child placed in foster care. The foster parent allowance for one child is 3,126 CZK a month.
Foster Parent Allowance in Special Cases
A foster parent who cares for at least three foster children or at least for one child who is a person dependent on care of another person with a dependency level of II, III, or IV is entitled to this allowance. The amount of foster parent allowance per calendar month is calculated as multiple of the individual living minimum and a coefficient of 5.50. The special foster parent allowance is increased by 0.5 of the individual living minimum for each additional child placed in foster care and by 0.75 of the individual living minimum for each additional child with a dependency level of II, III or IV.
Fostering Grant
A foster parent who has taken a child into foster care is entitled to this one-off grant. The amount of the fostering grant is set as a fixed sum and relates to the age of the child:
| Age of the child | Amount of the fostering grant in CZK |
|---|---|
| up to 6 years of age | 8,000 |
| from 6 to 15 years | 9,000 |
| from 15 to 18 years | 10,000 |
Motor Vehicle Grant
This grant is available for foster parents who have at least four children in foster care. Another condition of entitlement to the grant is that foster parents must not use the vehicle for occupational activities. The amount of the grant depends on the price of the vehicle and may be up to 70% of its cost, with a maximum of 100,000 CZK. This grant may also be provided to repair a vehicle.
Birth grant
This is a one-off benefit for women who have given birth to a child. If a woman who gives birth to a child dies and the birth grant has not been disbursed, the child’s father is entitled to this grant. Persons who have taken a child up to the age of one year old into permanent care replacing parental care are also entitled to the birth grant.
The birth grant amounts to 13,000 CZK for each child born.
Funeral grant
The funeral grant is a one-off payment to a person who has arranged for the funeral of a dependent child, or to a person who was the parent of a dependent child, on condition that the deceased was a permanent resident of the Czech Republic on the date of death.
The amount of the funeral grant is a fixed sum totalling 5,000 CZK.
Applying for benefits
Applications for state social support benefits are handled by the contact points of the competent labour offices based on the permanent residence of the person entitled to the benefit (the eligible applicant).
Applications for benefits are submitted on forms prescribed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The addresses of state social support contact points can be found at http://portal.mpsv.cz/ssp/local. The application forms are available from http://forms.mpsv.cz/sspforms/ or http://portal.mpsv.cz/ssp/elforms.
These appellate bodies are the Regional authorities and Prague Magistrate.
Entitlement to benefits
Citizens have a right to benefits if they and the household members assessed with them are permanently resident in the Czech Republic or if they are EU citizens - subject of directly applicable legislation of the European Communities. For non-EU foreign nationals, permanent residence in the Czech Republic is considered to be the period once 365 days have passed since the date they registered to stay in the Czech Republic. This does not include any period during which a person is seeking asylum. Act No 117/1995 Coll. on State Social Support stipulates other persons eligible for state social support benefits.
Entitlement to the payment of benefits expires
once three months have passed since the date to which the benefits apply. In the case of one-off benefits, an entitlement expires one year as of the date to which the benefit applies.
Income
decisive for an entitlement to state social support benefits includes, in particular, income from dependent activity (employment), income from entrepreneurship or other self-employment, sickness and pension scheme benefits, unemployment benefit, including similar income from abroad. Net income is taken into account in the decisive income.
Family
or the purposes of state social support consist of parents and dependent children if they reside jointly and cover costs of their needs in common. Dependent children are children up to the end of compulsory school attendance and beyond, if they undergo further education or vocational training, or if they are disabled, but up to a maximum of 26 years of age. In the case of housing allowance, all persons registered as permanently resident in the flat are jointly assessed and the condition of covering costs of their needs in common is not requested.