Minister Schouten stated in a Chamber letter The relaxation of a number of rules applicable to social security recipients has been announced. The letter to Parliament does not specify when the measures are due to come into force.
Donations and sales of items made as a hobby
The Participation Act will stipulate that gifts up to €1,200 per year will not affect social assistance benefits. This amount applies to the total value of gifts received by a social assistance recipient in a year. A person receiving social assistance who receives no more than €1,200 in gifts will therefore no longer be required to report these gifts to the administering body.
It is not yet entirely clear what will fall under the term ‘gifts’ within the framework of the Participation Act. The Minister writes on this subject that the concept of ‘gifts’ must be clearly defined and that this definition must be aligned with the everyday experience of social assistance recipients. She also states that both financial gifts and gifts in kind will be exempt.
If the total value of the gifts exceeds €1,200, the social assistance recipient must report this. A case-by-case assessment can then be carried out to determine whether the higher gift is still justifiable in the context of social assistance benefits.
With regard to the sale of goods as a hobby, Schouten wishes to enshrine in law that there will be no consequences under social security legislation provided that the activities are not of a regular or commercial nature. No specific exemption amount will be set for this; instead, the nature of the income will be taken into account.
Support for informal carers
Schouten wants to enshrine in the Participation Act that informal care is not regarded as work to be valued in monetary terms. However, social assistance recipients must still continue to work towards their integration into the labour market. Only if urgent reasons mean that integration into the labour market is no longer a possibility may the local authority grant a temporary exemption from the obligation to work.
In addition, Schouten wants to adopt a more flexible approach to joint accounts held in the names of both the carer and the person being cared for. Where the existence of such an account is identified, a penalty should not be imposed immediately. Instead, appropriate alternatives should be considered.
In cases of intensive informal care, where the carer moves in with the person receiving care, the fact that they are running a joint household should no longer affect social assistance benefits.
Relaxation of the limits on additional income
The Government wishes to expand the opportunities for social security recipients to earn additional income, in order to make it more worthwhile to work. The following changes are proposed:
- the period of release will be one year (it is currently six months);
- the exemption may be extended if, due to individual circumstances, the social security recipient is unable to increase their working hours;
- the release amount is 15%;
- A new release scheme is being introduced for young people up to the age of 27.
Schouten is also drawing up other measures to encourage people to work. These include the automatic offsetting of income from employment, harmonising the reporting obligations of local authorities and the SVB, simplifying the offsetting of holiday pay, and making the application procedure more flexible.
Cost-sharing threshold
Notwithstanding the above, with effect from 1 January 2023, the cost-sharing threshold will be custom. Young people are not counted as cost-sharing co-residents of their housemate until they reach the age of 27. This is currently the case from the age of 21, the point at which children living at home are deemed by law to contribute to the household expenses.