A study by ISCTE, released on Wednesday, revealed that the Social Insertion Income (RSI) “has lost its effectiveness and now covers only 40% of the poverty line”. What exactly is this support from Social Security?
It is a “monthly cash support and integration program for people in extreme poverty, with a plan adapted to the family”, according to information available on the Social Security website.
Who is eligible, and what are the conditions to receive it?
The RSI is intended for “people who are in a situation of extreme poverty and need support to improve their social and professional integration”.
These are the conditions to be entitled to receive:
- reside in Portugal or be equivalent to a resident;
- not have (nor their household), at the date of the request, movable assets (bank deposits, shares, bonds, savings certificates, participation titles, and participation units in collective investment institutions) exceeding 60 times the value of the Social Support Index (IAS); be registered at the Employment Center near their residence because they are unemployed but capable of working;
- authorize Social Security to access all relevant information for the socio-economic assessment;
- not be receiving social support from the asylum or refugee status attribution regime;
- have gross monthly income (before deductions) below €242.23 if living alone;
- have gross monthly income (before deductions), including the income of their entire household, below the maximum RSI value, which depends on the household composition, if living with family members;
- meet at least one of the following conditions: be 18 years or older or; be under 18 but with personal income exceeding 70% of the RSI value and provided that: being pregnant or; being married or in a de facto union for more than 2 years or; have dependents or people with disabilities in charge who do not have personal income equal to or less than €169.56.
What is the duration and the amount to be received?
Social Security also explains that the “amount to be received corresponds to the difference between the maximum value that can be received from the RSI and the household income”.
It can be received for a period of 12 months, automatically renewable, as long as the necessary conditions to be entitled to the Social Insertion Income (RSI) continue to be met, explains the public entity.
Note that the “12 months are counted from the date the last document (properly instructed request) is submitted”.
RSI only covers 40% of the population at the poverty line
The Social Insertion Income covers only 40% of the poverty line, having lost between 20% to 40% of its real value and capacity to protect the most vulnerable families in the last 15 years, revealed ISCTE.
“The support went from covering between 60% to 80% of the poverty line in 2010 to about 40% in 2023”, according to the study ‘The Erosion of the Portuguese Minimum Income Protection Regime’, which denounces “a structural weakening of the main instrument to combat social exclusion” in Portugal.
The researchers concluded that the Social Insertion Income (RSI) lost effectiveness due to various legislative changes and austerity periods: “It never regained the ability to ensure a dignified standard of living”.
The study indicates that the RSI “has long stopped keeping up with the rise in the cost of living and wages”.
