Island residents who apply for child benefit complain that the authorities who decide on payments do so without being transparent. In particular, many applicants do not understand how to calculate the total family income, which payments should be taken into account and which should not. Here are the responses from the Minister of Labor.
Parliamentarian Nikos Georgiou sent a parliamentary request to the Minister of Labor with six specific situations, demanding clarification on how exactly family income should be calculated in these cases. Here are the questions themselves and the answers received.
What income is taken into account
The concept of “family income” refers to the total annual income of all family members before taxes. For the purposes of calculating child benefit, the income for the year that precedes the year of application is taken into account (that is, if you are applying in 2025, then the income must be indicated for 2024). It may consist of salaries of working family members, pensions, annuities, dividends, alimony, benefits from the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organization and any other government benefits paid by the Department of Social Protection, as well as grants, subsidies and benefits from any other sources in the Republic of Cyprus or from abroad.
Some types of payments, however, should not be taken into account when calculating family income. This:
― income from the work of children of school/student age who are studying full-time, ― state child benefits, ― student scholarships, grants, subsidies, subsidies, ― benefits for persons with disabilities or chronic diseases.
Question 1: When calculating the total family income, is it necessary to take into account the alimony that the ex-husband pays to his ex-wife for their common children by court decision? If so, why? After all, this money is intended exclusively to cover the needs of children.
According to the law, alimony must be included in the calculation of family income.
Question 2: In the case of a divorced parent who remarries and pays child support, can the amount of child support he pays for children from a previous marriage be excluded from the family income of his second family?
The amount that is paid as alimony cannot be deducted from the family income of the new family of the ex-spouse, since nothing of the kind is provided for in the law.
Question 3: Are emergency payments and compensations, amounts from the sale of movable/immovable property, repaid debts, benefits for single parents, etc. included in family income? Is there a difference between regular and emergency income?
A family loses its right to benefits when the total value of its assets at current prices exceeds 1.2 million euros. For the calculation, all property is taken into account, even those that were alienated in the last 24 months before the date of application. The exception is such property that was alienated to cover the costs of treatment or education. In order for the exception to apply, supporting documents must be provided. This rule does not apply to families with five children.
Question 4: Is there an intention to change legislation or procedures to combat injustices against families with three children, large families, and single-parent families?
The department intends to modernize the legislation regarding benefits for single-parent families. Three amendments were proposed in 2024 and are now up for public comment. However, until their official approval, the procedure for calculating benefits will be carried out according to the current rules.
Question 5: Is it possible to carry out an individual assessment in cases where the total income exceeds the maximum limit due to irregular payments of various types?
The question remained unanswered.
Question 6: Is it possible to re-evaluate cases in which claimants were denied benefits or had their benefits reduced?
Each application is reviewed by the Benefits Director or authorized staff. It depends on them whether the application will be accepted or rejected. Review of their decisions is possible if satisfactory evidence is provided of error, deception or omission of important data. If the application is rejected, the applicant has the right to file a written appeal within 30 days of notification.
The text was prepared based on materials from Politis.
