Subsistence level in Novosibirsk: for the able-bodied population, children and pensioners

One of the socially important indicators, which is constantly being changed, is the cost of living. Unlike the minimum wage, the amount of pensions and the amount of other social payments, the subsistence level is not set at the legislative level, but is calculated on the basis of the results of each quarter. In Russia, a conditional value is formed separately for each region and for each of the three main categories of the population: pensioners, able-bodied people, children.

How is the living wage formed?

There are several ways to determine the minimum subsistence level :

• The statistical method assumes the formation of a subsistence minimum at the level of income of 10-20% of the least well-off population.

• A sociological survey involves collecting the opinions of the population about the minimum required cash, the method is not objective and is rarely used.

• The resource way is based on the economic ability to provide the population - this is the largest amount that the state can afford to spend on social payments.

• The combined method provides several methods for determining the subsistence minimum.

• The normative method, which, as a rule, is applied in practice, implies the establishment of a subsistence minimum equal to the cost of a consumer basket of basic food and non-food items.

Living wage in the Novosibirsk region

The subsistence minimum in Novosibirsk, as well as in other subjects of the Russian Federation, is established quarterly in a normative way. The value is used to assess the overall standard of living, set the minimum wage, pension and other social benefits, and is also taken into account when forming the budget.

For the third quarter of the current (2016) year, the subsistence minimum in Novosibirsk is 10,295 rubles per month per capita. This value includes the full cost of the minimum food basket and a 50% surcharge for purchasing the necessary non-food items and payment for services, as well as utility payments and other mandatory payments.

For the adult able-bodied population, the subsistence minimum in Novosibirsk is 10,963 rubles per month. This category includes all people aged 16 to 54 (women) and 59 years (men), regardless of employment, as well as all those working younger or older than the established age.

The subsistence minimum in Novosibirsk, as well as in the whole of Russia, is calculated per person (by categories and on average), and not by the family. In Latvia, for example, the living wage is calculated for a family consisting of two adults and two children: a boy of fourteen years and girls of six to eight years. For other families, the appropriate coefficients are applied.

Subsistence minimum for children and pensioners

The necessary minimum of funds to meet the needs of the categories of the population who are unable to provide for themselves is a separate value on the basis of which minimum pensions and social payments to large families and low-income families are calculated.

The subsistence minimum of a pensioner in Novosibirsk is 8300 rubles per month, which is 216 rubles less than the same figure in the previous quarter. The dynamics of the change in the value shows that, for the last two years, the minimum needs of pensioners and the cost of the consumer basket were estimated in the first quarter of 2014 (6,681 rubles per month), maximum in May-August 2015 (8560 rubles / month).

The minimum subsistence minimum in Novosibirsk for children under 14 years old is 10479 rubles. For children from large families and low-income families, the rate is increased by 10%, and for each disabled child by 20%.

Subsistence minimum in other regions of the Russian Federation and Novosibirsk

In comparison with other subjects of the Russian Federation, the subsistence minimum in Novosibirsk per capita is at an average level. The maximum value was determined for the Nenets Autonomous District (19758 rubles), the minimum in Mordovia (7911 rubles). In the capital of Russia, the minimum necessary per capita income is set at 15,382 rubles per month, in cities of federal significance, St. Petersburg and Sevastopol, the indicator is respectively at 10449 and 9809 rubles.