Law No. 521 “On minimum subsistence level”.

This Law establishes the legal basis for determining the subsistence minimum, its calculation when assigning state social benefits to citizens, as well as state guarantees of receiving a minimum cash income and in the implementation of other measures of social protection of the national population. Subsistence minimum shall be intended the cost of a consumer basket and the amount of mandatory payments. Poverty threshold shall be intended the income threshold for meeting the basic human needs. State social assistance shall be intended social benefits, subsidies, compensations, social services and necessary goods provided from the state budget to poor families or citizens. The subsistence minimum, calculated as a whole in the national territory, is used for the following purposes: (a) assessing the standard of living of the population for the development and implementation of social policy and targeted social programs; (b) analysis and forecasting of the standard of living of the population; (c) substantiation of state social assistance to the poor; (d) gradual approximation of the established minimum wage levels, pensions, compensations, benefits and other social payments; and (e) determining the poverty threshold and implementing measures to support the population socially. Depending on the intended purpose, the subsistence minimum is divided into the following types: (a) per capita; and (b) by the main socio-demographic groups of the population. The consumer basket consists of: (a) food products; (b) a set of non-food products; and (c) a set of services. When determining the set of food products, scientifically substantiated standards of the minimum requirements of socio-demographic groups of the population for nutrients, as well as the chemical composition and nutritional value of food products, shall be taken into account.