More Greeks to benefit from social dividend
The income criteria for the distribution of the so-called social dividend – i.e. the share of the primary budget surplus to be handed out to households in need – are expanding to an additional 300,000 families.
A meeting conducted on Tuesday under Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras decided to raise the maximum annual income criterion from 6,000 euros to 7,050 euros for unmarried people and from 8,000 euros to 9,400 euros for couples, growing further depending on the number of children. The amount comprising the one-off benefit handed out starts from 500 euros and increases according to the number of household members.
Finance Ministry officials say that the applications that have been rejected, as well as those to be submitted by June 30, will be examined and assessed using incomes declared in this year’s statements. The ministry issued a statement saying that in the coming days another 115,000 households will have the social dividend credited to their bank accounts, taking the total number of recipients to 320,000. Another 50,000 applications were accepted during May.