Finally, there is a statistic about how many people are currently receiving the Minimum Living Income (IMV) that the Government launched in 2020. The main data are the following: 557,405 households received it in February, which covers 1.66 million people and implies a monthly cost of 346 million euros, at an average of 500 euros per holder.
The interpretations begin at this point. The number of people covered is 26% below the figure of 2.3 million offered as a reference by the Government in 2020, when launching the measure. At that time there was also talk of 850,000 homes. However, in accumulated terms, there are already 770,000 households and 2.2 million people who have enjoyed the IMV at some point since its creation, which is more similar to the objective.
Sources from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration explain that the situation has changed considerably compared to 2020, among other things because the labor market is demonstrating great resistance to economic tensions. This circumstance, they argue, downplays the importance of the references used when starting the measure.
In February, aid covers 3.5% of the Spanish population, or almost one in every 30 people. It is a relative relief after the blow of inflation. The percentage of people in severe material deprivation is 9%, according to the latest survey on living conditions by the INE.
What is evident is that the IMV is now gaining speed, and in just one year it has increased the number of recipient households by 37%.
The strong increase until February in the number of households compared to the 406,000 in December 2022 is due, according to sources, to the communication campaigns, the reinforcement of the staff dedicated to processing the files and also to the fact that rents have increased. from which the IMV can be paid as a complement.
This aid is just that, a supplement to income to reach a minimum of dignity. This is 604 euros per month, but can reach 1,462 euros in the most extreme cases, for a single-parent home with four or more dependent children. In 2022 it was raised by 15% to counteract inflation – the Government estimates that this measure allowed it to absorb 80% of price increases – and it rises slightly above the CPI.
Is the current number too much or too little compared to the potential beneficiaries? The Government manages the same coverage rate as the Airef, 58% with respect to the total of those who could receive the IMV, but do not do so due to not being informed or other reasons. However, this rate corresponds to the end of 2022 and the Government insists that the situation has evolved.
According to a report on IMV coverage, the percentage in Spain is below the 62% reached in Belgium, but above the 56% in Germany, 34% in France, 29% in Finland or 27% in the United Kingdom. . These data are also from 2022.
In February, the average recipient of the IMV was a 28-year-old person, female and part of a family. 66% correspond to families with children, 66% are women and 41% are children, the group recently identified by the INE as the one most at risk of poverty.
In accumulated terms, to date 770,000 households have received aid, which translates into 2.2 million recipients. 68% are families, 66% women and 43% children. The annual expenditure is about 3,500 million, which is added to the nearly 1,000 million distributed by the autonomous communities with their specific programs.
The IMV aims to prevent the risk of poverty and social exclusion, and is configured as a subjective right to an economic benefit. It guarantees a minimum level of income to those who are in a situation of economic vulnerability.
The differences by autonomous community are also significant. Of the 346 million dedicated to the IMV in February, 101 million correspond to Andalusia, compared to 32 million in Catalonia, 33 million in Madrid or, in the most favorable case, barely 2 million in La Rioja.
Of the 1.66 million recipients, 545,000 are in Andalusia, 172,000 in Catalonia, 176,000 in Valencia and 134,000 in Madrid. On the other hand, there are barely 11,000 in La Rioja.
