Cyprus-Forum.com

[davidp]

Roumour has it that there is a creature known as the Cost of Living Allowance which is paid by the government to low paid (and legal) employees.
Another roumour is that this allowance is currently 130% of the employees salary.

Is this true of have I been in the sun too long???

[dixi]

I think most nations have COLAs. It's called welfare in the US and is given to people below the 'poverty' line. Although 'poverty' in the US is something completely different than real poverty.

[davidp]

Hi dixi
It appears that COLA or welfare is available in Cyprus, so who gets it, how and what is the income threshold

[dms007]

I think most of the workers from eastern europe and asia are paid very low. Would they be entitled or is it only for cypriots?

[dixi]

There are two aspect of this. Cost of Living Allowance is different than Cost of Living Adjustment. The adjustment adjusts wages or pensions to keep up with inflation and the allowance is for low paid workers. The allowance should go to anyone who legally resides in Cyprus and whose income does not meet the basic needs level, which is determined by law. The level is dependent on different factors such as the number of dependant children, persons with disabilities or special needs, etc. Welfare can be in the form of money, rent allowances, subsidies, or in the form of services. The Cost of Living Allowance is adjusted each year to keep up with inflation.

Generally the poverty threshold is defined at 60% of the national median net equivalent income. This is not the same a GDP per capita, which is an average. A good guess of the Cyprus threshold would be about 325 cyp per year.

[dixi]

Oops, I meant 325 cyp per month!

[davidp]

I think most of the workers from eastern europe and asia are paid very low. Would they be entitled or is it only for cypriots?

Cannot be solely for Cypriots because Cyprus has joined the EU so all EU citizens must be entitled to the same level of benefits.

[davidp]

Thanks dixi but I don't think we're talking poverty level here but I could be wrong.

[dixi]

It's only a guess and based on general rules that most countries use. Cannot say specifically to Cyprus but since Cyprus is in EU, figured that they use the same rules. There did not seem to be much poverty in Cyprus when I was there but I did not get to small villages or to villages in the mountains.

[davidp]

I live in a mountain village but I can't say what poverty is but do you need to be starving to receive help from your government?