On August 4, Minsk /Oksana Shikut - BELTA/. The subsistence minimum (SM) per capita in Belarus for the period from August 1 to October 31, 2010, amounts to Br274,510, BELTA was informed by the Council of Ministers' Office. In accordance with the government resolution No. 1134 of July 29 of the current year, the SM for the working-age population is set at Br293,880, for pensioners - Br245,310, for students - Br294,670, for children aged 3 to 16 - Br336,860, and for children under 3 - Br245,860. The subsistence minimum per capita has been increased in the republic by 3.1% (from May 1 to July 31, 2010, the SM per capita was Br266,230). The subsistence minimum is approved quarterly by the government at the prices of the last month of each quarter. In accordance with the law "On the Subsistence Minimum in the Republic of Belarus," it is intended for the analysis and forecasting of the population's living standards, for providing state social assistance to low-income citizens (families), and for substantiating minimum state social and labour guarantees. The SM is used to assess the population's income levels, the amounts of wages, pensions, benefits, and other social payments, and to determine the level and scale of low-income status. The SM is a cost value of a minimum set of material goods and services necessary to ensure human life and maintain health, as well as mandatory payments and contributions. The subsistence minimum for various socio-demographic groups of the population includes the following types of material goods and services: food products, clothing, linen, footwear, general household items, medicines, sanitary and hygiene items, as well as housing and utility, transport, and household services, and services of preschool institutions. The subsistence minimum for the working-age population is used to determine the amount of funds withheld from employers who have arrears in wage payments.

BELTA