View source for Guaranteed minimum income

{{for|the system where citizens receive an income stream through the public ownership of industry|Social dividend}}
{{short description|Social-welfare system}}
'''Guaranteed minimum income''' ('''GMI'''), also called '''minimum income''' (or '''mincome''' for short), is a social-[[welfare spending|welfare]] system that guarantees all [[citizen]]s or [[families]] an income sufficient to live on, provided that certain eligibility conditions are met, typically: [[citizenship]] and that the person in question does not already receive a minimum level of income to live on.

The primary goal of a guaranteed minimum income is [[poverty reduction|reduction of poverty]]. Under more unconditional requirements, when citizenship is the sole qualification, the program becomes a ''[[universal basic income]]'' (UBI) system. Unlike a guaranteed minimum income, UBI does not typically take into account what a recipient already earns before receiving a UBI. A form of guaranteed minimum income that considers income as a criterion is the [[negative income tax]]. In this system, only individuals earning below a certain threshold receive subsidies.

==Elements==
A system of guaranteed minimum income can consist of several elements, most notably:

* [[Social safety net]] that helps those without sufficient financial means survive through payments
* State [[child support]], [[Student loan|student loans]] and [[Grant (money)|grants]]
* [[State pension]]s or [[social pension]]s for the elderly
* [[Disability pension]]s for those who physically can not work

==History==
===Pre-modern antecedents===
Persian monarch [[Cyrus the Great]] ({{circa}} 590 to {{circa}} 529 B.C.), whose government used a regulated minimum wage, also provided special rations to families when a child was born.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|author=Koch, Heidemarie|title=Es kündet Dareios der König ... : vom Leben im persischen Grossreich|date=1996|publisher=Von Zabern|isbn=3-8053-1934-7|edition=2 Aufl., Sonderausg|location=Mainz/Rhein|oclc=75784091}}</ref>

Cash assistance GMI was first documented by the third century BCE Greek philosopher, [[Aristotle]], in his review of the [[Constitution of the Athenians (Aristotle)|Athenian Constitution]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Internet Classics Archive {{!}} The Athenian Constitution by Aristotle |url=https://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/athenian_const.3.3.html |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=classics.mit.edu}}</ref> The modern equivalent would be a safety net program for people with less than $1,000 USD in savings to receive $20 USD per day. 

The Roman Republic and Empire offered the [[Cura Annonae]], a regular distribution of free or subsidized grain or bread to poorer residents. The grain subsidy was first introduced by [[Gaius Gracchus]] in 123 B.C., then further institutionalized by [[Julius Caesar]] and [[Augustus Caesar]].<ref>Erdkamp, Paul, "The Food Supply of the Capital," in The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Rome, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 262-264</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/853118|title = Grain Distribution in Late Republican Rome|last1 = Cristofori|first1 = Alessandro}}</ref>

The first [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] Muslim&nbsp;[[Caliphate|Caliph]]&nbsp;[[Abu Bakr]],&nbsp;who came to power in 632 C.E., introduced a guaranteed minimum standard of income, granting each man, woman and child ten&nbsp;dirhams&nbsp;annually. This was later increased to twenty dirhams.<ref>Grace Clark: Pakistan's Zakat and 'Ushr as a Welfare System</ref>{{better source|date=September 2022}}

=== 17th to 19th century ===
In 1662, English demographer [[John Graunt]] included in his book, ''Natural and Political Observations Made Upon the Bills of Mortality,'' an argument for GMI based on statistics collected from [[Bills of mortality]]. According to the historian of statistics [[Ian Hacking]], this was a new method of argument for an already widespread proposal, and that advocacy for a GMI began at least thirty years before that.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hacking |first=Ian |title=The emergence of probability: a philosophical study of early ideas about probability, induction and statistical inference |date=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-86655-2 |edition=Second edition, reprinted |location=Cambridge |pages=106}}</ref>

In 1795, American revolutionary [[Thomas Paine]] advocated a [[citizen's dividend]] to all [[United States]] citizens as compensation for "loss of his or her natural inheritance, by the introduction of the system of landed property" (''[[Agrarian Justice]]'', 1795).

In the 19th century, French [[Emperor]] [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] echoed Paine's sentiments and commented that 'man is entitled by birthright to a share of the Earth's produce sufficient to fill the needs of his existence' (Herold, 1955). The [[United States|American]] [[economist]] [[Henry George]] advocated for a dividend paid to all citizens from the revenue generated by a [[land value tax]].<ref>{{cite book |last= George|first= Henry|date= 1871|title= Our Land and Land Policy, National and State|url= https://archive.org/details/ourlandandlandp00georgoog|publisher= White & Bauer [etc.]|page= 230|isbn= 9781230444703}}</ref>

=== 20th century ===

==== 1960s ====
In 1963, [[Robert Theobald]] published the book ''Free Men and Free Markets'', in which he advocated a ''guaranteed minimum income'' (the origin of the modern version of the phrase).

In 1966, the [[Cloward–Piven strategy]] advocated "overloading" the US welfare system to force its collapse in the hopes that it would be replaced by "a guaranteed annual income and thus an end to poverty".

In his final book ''[[Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?]]'' (1967), [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] wrote<ref>Martin Luther King jr., ''[[Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?]]'' (New York: Harper & Row, 1967)</ref>
{{Quote|''"I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective—the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income."''|from the chapter titled "Where We Are Going"}}

In 1968, [[James Tobin]], [[Paul Samuelson]], [[John Kenneth Galbraith]] and another 1,200 economists signed a document calling for the US Congress to introduce in that year a system of income guarantees and supplements.<ref>''Economists' Statement on Guaranteed Annual Income'', 1/15/1968-4/18/1969 folder, General Correspondence Series, Papers of John Kenneth Galbraith, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Cited in: Jyotsna Sreenivasan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yk5NI69ZO9sC "Poverty and the Government in America: A Historical Encyclopedia."] (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2009), page 269</ref>

In 1969, [[Nixon Family Assistance Plan (1969)|President Richard Nixon's Family Assistance Plan]] would have paid a minimum income to poor families. The proposal by Nixon passed in the House but never made it out of committee in the Senate.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

==== Other ====
American economist [[Milton Friedman]] began advocating a basic income in the form of a [[negative income tax]] in the early 1940s. He discusses the proposal his 1962 book ''[[Capitalism and Freedom]]'' and his 1980 book ''[[Free to Choose]]''.<ref>{{Citation |last=Friedman |first=Milton |title=[[Capitalism and Freedom]] |pages=190–195 |year=2002 |edition=40th anniversary |place=[[Chicago]] |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-26421-9 |orig-year=1962}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Friedman |first1=Milton |title=[[Free to Choose|Free to Choose: A Personal Statement]] |pages=119–124 |year=1990 |edition=1st Harvest |place=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Harcourt (publisher)|Harcourt]] |isbn=978-0-156-33460-0 |last2=Friedman |first2=Rose |author2-link=Rose Friedman |orig-year=1980}}</ref>

In 1973, [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]] wrote ''The Politics of a Guaranteed Income'', in which he advocated the guaranteed minimum income and discussed [[Richard Nixon]]'s Guaranteed Annual Income (GAI) proposal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=2191|title=Richard Nixon: Address to the Nation on Domestic Programs|access-date=2014-12-01|archive-date=2018-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010050746/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=2191|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1987, [[New Zealand]]'s [[New Zealand Labour Party|Labour]] Finance Minister [[Roger Douglas]] announced a Guaranteed Minimum Family Income Scheme to accompany a new flat tax.  Both were quashed by then Prime Minister [[David Lange]], who sacked Douglas.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5DE133CF937A15751C0A96E948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all "New Zealand Is Jolted By a Speedy Decontrol"], Seth Mydans, ''The New York Times'' (24 February 1988)</ref>

In his 1994 "autobiographical dialog", [[classical liberal]] [[Friedrich Hayek]] stated: "I have always said that I am in favor of a minimum income for every person in the country".<ref>Hayek on Hayek: An Autobiographical Dialogue by F. A. Hayek, edited by Stephen Kresge and Leif Wenar (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994)</ref>
=== 21st century ===
In 2013, the Equal Life Foundation published the Living Income Guaranteed Proposal,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/182616757/The-Living-Income-Guaranteed-Proposal|title=The Living Income Guaranteed Proposal}}</ref> illustrating a practical way to implement and fund a minimum guaranteed income.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://livingincome.me/wiki/The_Living_Income_Guaranteed_Proposal|title=The Living Income Guaranteed Proposal|work=Living Income Guaranteed|access-date=2014-05-19|archive-date=2020-05-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522020426/http://livingincome.me/wiki/The_Living_Income_Guaranteed_Proposal|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2017, Harry A. Shamir (US) published the book ''Consumerism, or Capitalism Without Crises'', in which the concept was promoted by another label, as a way to enable our civilization to survive in an era of automation and computerization and large scale unemployment.  The book also innovates a method to fund the process, tapping into the underground economy and volunteerism.

Other modern advocates include [[Ayşe Buğra]] (Turkey), The Green Economics Institute (GEI),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greeneconomics.org.uk|title=Green Economics|publisher=GEI|access-date=4 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901220653/http://www.greeneconomics.org.uk/|archive-date=1 September 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Andrew Coyne]] (Canada).<ref>[http://business.financialpost.com/2013/04/08/a-minimum-income-not-wage-is-a-fairer-way-to-distribute-wealth/ "A minimum income, not wage, is a fairer way to distribute wealth"] ''The Financial Post'' (8 April 2013)</ref>

==Funding==
Tax revenues would fund the majority of GMI proposals. As most GMI proposals seek to create an earnings floor close to or above poverty lines amongst all citizens, the fiscal burden would require equally broad tax sources, such as income taxes or VATs. To varying degrees, a GMI might be funded through the reduction or elimination of other social security programs, such as [[unemployment insurance]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}}

==By country==
=== Australia ===
As of 2022, the [[Australian Greens]] support a Liveable Income Guarantee of [[Australian dollar|$]]88 per day; meaning all those who do not have an income of at least this figure would be raised to this amount.<ref name="Australian poverty">{{cite web |date= 13 April 2022 |title= Can pension poverty be solved by a magic pudding? |url= https://cpsa.org.au/article/can-pension-poverty-be-solved-by-a-magic-pudding/?utm_source=chatgpt.com |website= Combined Pensioners & Superannuants Association of NSW Inc |access-date= 18 November 2025}}</ref> This would raise all Australians above the Henderson poverty line (as calculated in 2022).<ref name="Australian poverty"/>

=== Austria ===
{{Main|de:Sozialhilfe (Österreich)}}
Social assistance is the last social safety net provided by the state (principle of subsidiarity). Social assistance is only granted if people cannot secure their livelihood either through their own efforts or through family assistance (maintenance obligation) or on the basis of a social insurance or other benefit entitlement. Due to other existing benefits in Austria, many people are not dependent on social assistance.

=== Brazil ===
Minimum income has been increasingly accepted by the Brazilian government. In 2004, President&nbsp;[[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva|Lula da Silva]] signed into law a bill to establish a universal basic income.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wispelaere|first=Jurgen De|date=October 2016|title=Basic Income in Our Time: Improving Political Prospects Through Policy Learning?|journal=Journal of Social Policy|volume=45|issue=4|pages=617–634|doi=10.1017/s0047279416000039|issn=0047-2794|doi-access=free}}</ref>&nbsp;This law is primarily implemented through the&nbsp;[[Bolsa Família]]&nbsp;program. Under this program, poorer families receive a direct cash payment via a government issued debit card. Bolsa Família is a&nbsp;[[conditional cash transfer]]&nbsp;program, meaning that beneficiaries receive their aid if they accomplish certain actions. Families who receive the aid must put their children in school and participate in vaccination programs. If they do not meet these requirements, they are cut off from aid.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2008/02/07/happy-families|title=Happy families|date=7 February 2008|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=30 November 2017|issn=0013-0613}}</ref>&nbsp;The program has been criticised as vote-buying, trading productive individuals' earning for the votes of welfare recipients<ref>{{Cite journal|title="Whither Clientelism? Good Governance and Brazil's Bolsa Família Program." Comparative Politics Vol. 46, no 1 (October): 43-62.|journal = Comparative Politics|volume = 46|issue = 1|pages = 43–62|last=Hunter|first=WENDY|jstor = 43664332|year = 2013|doi = 10.5129/001041513807709365}}</ref>  As of 2011, approximately 50 million people, or a quarter of Brazil's population, were participating in Bolsa Família.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/brazil/overview#2|title=Overview|work=World Bank|access-date=30 November 2017|language=en}}</ref>

===Canada ===

{{main|Mincome}}

Canada has experimented with minimum income trials. During the&nbsp;[[Mincome]]&nbsp;experiment in&nbsp;[[Manitoba]]&nbsp;in the 1970s, Mincome provided lower-income families with cash transfers to keep them out of poverty.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/2001-odyssee-espace/a-guaranteed-annual-income-from-mincome-to-the-millennium/|title=A guaranteed annual income? From moncome to millennium|work=Policy Options|access-date=30 November 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>&nbsp;The trial was eventually ended but this was due to budget shortfalls and a change in government. 

The province of&nbsp;[[Ontario]]&nbsp;began a minimum income experiment in 2017.  Approximately 4000 citizens began to receive a stipend based on their family situation and income.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/04/24/pf/canada-ontario-money-basic-income-program/index.html|title=Canada: Ontario launches guaranteed income program for 4,000 residents|last=Petroff|first=Alanna|work=CNNMoney|access-date=30 November 2017}}</ref>&nbsp;Recipients of this program could receive upwards of $10,000 per year. Government researchers used this pilot as a way of testing to see if a minimum income can help people meet their basic needs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-basic-income-pilot|title=Ontario Basic Income Pilot|website=www.ontario.ca|language=en|access-date=30 November 2017}}</ref> On 31 August 2018, following a change in government, incoming Premier Doug Ford announced that the pilot would be cancelled at the end of the current fiscal year.

===China===
China's Minimum Livelihood Guarantee also called {{lang|zh-latn|dibao}}, is a means-tested social assistance scheme introduced in 1993 and expanded to all Chinese cities in 1999.<ref>{{cite journal
|url=https://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/7342
|title=Manipulating China's "Minimum Livelihood Guarantee": Political Shifts in a Program for the Poor in the Period of Xi Jinping
|first=Dorothy J.
|last=Solinger
|journal=China Perspectives
|year=2017
|volume=2017/2
|publisher=Open Edition}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Development of minimum livelihood guarantee programmes in urban China: an empirical analysis based on 31 regions over 2003–2013
|first1=Jinxian
|last1=Wang
|first2=Yanfeng
|last2=Bai
|pages=155–177
|year=2016
|volume=9
|issue=2
|journal=China Journal of Social Work|doi=10.1080/17525098.2016.1231256
|doi-access=free
|hdl=1887/74128
|hdl-access=free
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263908519
|title=Anti-Poverty in China: Minimum Livelihood Guarantee Scheme
|year=2014
|first=Jiwei
|last=Qian
|journal=East Asian Policy
|volume=05}}</ref>

===Cyprus===
In July 2013, the Cypriot government unveiled a plan to reform the welfare system in Cyprus and create a {{'}}''Guaranteed Minimum Income''{{'}} for all citizens.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cyprus-mail.com/2013/07/26/president-announces-guaranteed-minimum-income-for-all-citizens/|title=President announces 'Guaranteed Minimum Income' for all citizens|work=Cyprus Mail|date=26 July 2013|access-date=26 July 2013|archive-date=9 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209100000/http://cyprus-mail.com/2013/07/26/president-announces-guaranteed-minimum-income-for-all-citizens/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Denmark===
{{Main|da:Kontanthjælp}}
{{lang|da|Kontanthjælp|i=no}} (formerly known as {{lang|da|bistandshjælp}}) is a public benefit in Denmark granted to citizens who would otherwise not be able to support themselves or their families. In principle, cash benefits are a universal right for all citizens who meet certain statutory criteria. 

===Estonia===
{{Main|et:Toimetulekutoetus}}
A subsistence allowance is financial help for a person or family in need, which provides minimal resources for everyday life (food, medicine, housing costs, etc.).

===Finland===
{{Main|fi:Toimeentulotuki}}
Basic subsistence allowance paid by [[Kela (institution)|Kela]] may be granted to a person or family whose income and assets are insufficient to cover the necessary daily expenses.

=== France ===
In 1988, France was one of the first countries to implement a minimum income, called the [[Revenu minimum d'insertion]]. In 2009, it was turned into [[Revenu de solidarité active]] (RSA), a new system that aimed to solve the [[poverty trap]] by providing low-wage workers a complementary income to encourage activity.

=== Greece ===
{{Main|el:Ελάχιστο Εγγυημένο Εισόδημα}}
The minimum guaranteed income is a selective financial benefit to ensure that all citizens enjoy a minimum standard of living and cover their basic needs. It has been tested and implemented in European Union countries and others. In 2019 it was incorporated as a requirement in the Greek Constitution.

=== India ===
Modern independent India developed many means and livelihood tested cash transfer programs through [[Direct Benefit Transfer]] at both the federal and the state level. At the federal level, these include minimum income social pension programs such as [[National Social Assistance Scheme]], guaranteed employment program like [[National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005]] or a disability aid like [[Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme]]. At the state level, there can be additional minimum income programs, one such being "Laksmir Bhandar" run by the state of [[West Bengal]] that transfers a minimum aid to families without work in the state.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/financial-aid-women-laxmi-bhandar-scheme-sep-mamata-1502985188.html|title = Financial aid for women under 'Laxmir Bhandar' scheme from Sep: Mamata|website = [[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]]|date = 22 July 2021}}</ref>

=== Ireland ===
{{Main|Social security in the Republic of Ireland#Social Assistance}}
In Ireland, €20 of earnings per day of permitted work (beneficiaries are allowed up to three days per week) is disregarded from employment income when calculating ''Jobseekers’ Allowance'' entitlement and deductions are calculated as 60 percent of earnings less this income disregard. In addition, the ''Part-time Job Incentive Scheme'' and ''Back to Work Family Dividend'' are fixed-duration payments offered to the long-term unemployed incentive moving into work. In return for relinquishing claims to primary assistance benefits, both schemes provide benefits for a fixed duration that are slightly lower than household GMI entitlements, but which are not tapered with employment income, subject to certain eligibility requirements. Ireland's relatively generous tapering system serves to smooth disincentives to increase income and work and contributes to their lower measured participation tax rates (PTRs) and marginal effective tax rates (METRs).<ref>{{Cite journal|title=IMF Working Papers Volume 2021 Issue 179: Guaranteed Minimum Income Schemes in Europe: Landscape and Design (2021)|url=https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2021/179/001.2021.issue-179-en.xml|access-date=20 November 2021|journal=Imf Working Papers|date=2021 |issue=179 |language=en|doi=10.5089/9781513584379.001|s2cid=241410350|doi-access=free |last1=Coady |first1=David |last2=Shang |first2=Baoping |last3=Jahan |first3=Samir |last4=Matsumoto |first4=Riki |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Italy ===
The [[citizens' income (Italy)|citizens' income]] was a social [[Welfare benefit|welfare]] system created in [[Italy]] in January 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Giuffrida|first=Angela|date=6 March 2019|title=Italy rolls out 'citizens' income' for the poor amid criticisms|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/06/italy-rolls-out-citizens-income-for-the-poor-amid-criticisms|access-date=5 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=6 March 2020|title=What is Italy's new 'Citizens' Income' scheme?|work=Euronews|url=https://www.euronews.com/2019/03/06/what-is-italy-s-new-citizens-income-scheme-euronews-answers|access-date=5 October 2020}}</ref> Although its name recalls one of a [[universal basic income]], this provision was actually a form of conditional and non-individual guaranteed minimum income.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Girardi|first=Annalisa|date=1 April 2019|title=The Italian Citizen's Income Reform: Definition And Adjustments|work=[[Forbes]]|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/annalisagirardi/2019/04/01/the-italian-citizens-income-reform-definition-and-adjustments/#3d3102b249db|access-date=5 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Gobetti|first=Sandro|date=5 July 2018|title=Italy: There is no basic income being proposed in Italy|url=https://www.bin-italia.org/italy-there-is-no-basic-income-being-proposed-italy/|access-date=5 October 2020|website=BIN Italia}}</ref>

=== Norway ===
{{Main|no:Sosialhjelp}}
Income support can be granted if the applicant has insufficient income and resources to live on and is not entitled to other social security benefits. Income support is paid by the [[Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration]].

=== Portugal ===
{{Main|pt:Rendimento Social de Inserção}}

The Social Insertion Income is a benefit for combating poverty, enabling individuals and their families to obtain support adapted to their situation, facilitating the satisfaction of their basic needs and aiming to integrate them into work, society and the community.

=== Saudi Arabia ===
[[Saudi Arabia]] has a [[Citizen's Account Program (Saudi Arabia)|Citizen's Account Program]] which provides a basic income to registered citizens. In December 2017, immediately before the program began, more than 3.7 million households had registered, representing 13 million people, or more than half the population.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-12/saudi-arabia-set-to-begin-cash-transfers-for-poorer-citizens|title=Saudi Arabia Will Give Cash to Poorer Citizens Hit by Austerity|last1=Nereim|first1=Vivian|date=12 December 2017|work=Bloomberg.com|access-date=16 June 2018|last2=Carey|first2=Glen|language=en}}</ref> {{As of|2013}}, between one fifth and one third of Saudi residents are estimated to be non-citizens.<ref name="CIA World Factbook">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saudi-arabia/ Saudi Arabia]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].</ref><ref>The Economist magazine lists an estimated nine million: {{cite news|title=Go home, but who will replace you?|newspaper=The Economist|date=16 November 2013|url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21589871-saudi-edict-limit-reliance-foreign-workers-fraught}} out of a population of 30 million: {{cite news|title=Saudi Arabia No satisfaction|newspaper=The Economist|date=1 February 2014 |url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21595480-despite-their-immense-wealth-saudis-are-not-happy-no-satisfaction}}</ref><ref name="alriyadh.com">{{cite web|author=جريدة الرياض |url=http://www.alriyadh.com/2010/08/05/article549461.html |title=جريدة الرياض : سكان المملكة 27 مليوناً بينهم 8 ملايين مقيم |publisher=Alriyadh.com}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=September 2019}}

=== Slovakia ===
Material need assistance (pomoc v hmotnej núdzi) includes one hot meal a day, essential clothing and shelter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pomoc v hmotnej núdzi - MPSVR SR |url=https://www.employment.gov.sk/sk/rodina-socialna-pomoc/hmotna-nudza/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=www.employment.gov.sk}}</ref>

=== South Africa ===
The Social Relief of Distress grant (SRD) in South Africa is given to those whose monthly income falls short of the individual food poverty line, which is the minimal amount required to buy food that provides adequate calories for survival.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sheffield |first=Hazel |date=2024-06-08 |title=Free money? South Africa floats universal basic income for all |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/08/free-money-south-africa-floats-universal-basic-income-for-all |access-date=2024-06-08 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

=== Spain ===
{{Main|es:Ingreso mínimo vital}}
In [[Spain]], the '''ingreso mínimo vital''' is an economic benefit guaranteed as part of the [[Social security in Spain]]. The IMV is defined as a "subjective right" and is intended to prevent poverty and [[social exclusion]] of people who live alone or integrated into a coexistence unit when they are in a situation of vulnerability due to lack of sufficient financial resources to cover their basic needs.<ref name="IUK">{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/spain-national-minimum-income-universal-basic-coronavirus-ubi-economy-a9538606.html | title=Spain approves national minimum income scheme | last=Ng | first=Kate | newspaper=[[The Independent]] | date=1 May 2020 | access-date=4 September 2020 | quote=Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias told a news conference on Friday the creation of a minimum income worth €462 (£416.92) a month will target some 850,000 households or 2.5 million people. The government would pay the monthly stipend and top up existing revenue for people earning less so that they receive at least that minimum amount every month, he said. The minimum income would increase with the number of family members, up to a maximum of €1,015 (£916.30) each month. The programme would cost the government about €3 billion a year.}}</ref> The benefit, which is not fixed and varies depending on various factors, ranges between 462 and 1015 euros per month, is expected to cover 850,000 households (approximately 2.5 million people) and will cost the government 3 billion euros per year.{{r | IUK}}<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.elmundo.es/economia/2020/05/29/5ed0d391fc6c83ba408b4667.html|title=Escrivá anuncia que el ingreso mínimo vital sacará de la pobreza extrema a 1,6 millones de personas | access-date = 6 June 2020 | date = 29 May 2020 | website = ELMUNDO}}</ref>

=== Sweden ===
{{Main|sv:Försörjningsstöd}}
Social assistance consists partly of a "national standard" (riksnorm) and partly of "reasonable costs outside the national standard". The national standard includes costs such as food, clothing and footwear. Reasonable non-standard costs include rent and household electricity.

===United Kingdom===
{{Main|Universal Credit}}
Universal Credit is a social welfare program in the United Kingdom that consolidates several means-tested benefits into a single payment, aiming to simplify the welfare system and incentivize work.

===United States===
The [[United States]] has multiple social programs that provide guaranteed minimum incomes for individuals meeting certain criteria such as assets or disability. For instance, [[Supplemental Security Income]] ('''SSI''') is a United States government program that provides [[stipend]]s to low-income people who are either aged (65 or older), blind, or disabled. SSI was created in 1974 to replace federal-state adult assistance programs that served the same purpose. Today the program provides benefits to approximately eight million Americans. Another such program is [[Social Security Disability Insurance]] ('''SSD''' or '''SSDI'''), a [[payroll tax]]-funded, [[Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax|federal insurance]] program.  It is managed by the [[Social Security Administration]] and is designed to provide [[income supplement]]s to people who are restricted in their ability to [[employed|work]] because of a [[disability]], usually a [[physical disability]]. SSD can be supplied on either a temporary or permanent basis, usually directly correlated to whether the person's disability is temporary or permanent.

An early guaranteed minimum income program in the U.S. was the&nbsp;[[Aid to Families with Dependent Children]]&nbsp;(AFDC), established by the&nbsp;[[Social Security Act]]. Where previously the responsibility to assist needy children lay in the hands of the states, AFDC transferred that authority to the federal government.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Lurie|first=Irene|date=1 January 1997|title=Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: A Green Light for the States|journal=Publius: The Journal of Federalism|volume=27|issue=2|pages=73–87|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a029915|issn=0048-5950}}</ref>&nbsp;Over time, the AFDC was often criticized for creating disincentives to work, leading to many arguing for its replacement. In the 1970s, President&nbsp;[[Richard Nixon|Richard M. Nixon]] proposed the [[Nixon Family Assistance Plan (1969)|Family Assistance Program (FAP)]], which would replace the AFDC. FAP was intended to fix many of the problems of the AFDC, particularly the anti-work structure. Presidential nominee [[George McGovern]] also proposed a minimum income—in the form of a Universal Tax Credit. Ultimately, neither of these programs was implemented. Throughout the decade, many other experimental minimum income programs were carried out in cities throughout the country, such as the Seattle-Denver Income Maintenance Experiments.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Larson|first=David|date=1 January 1992|title=Long Overdue: The Single Guaranteed Minimum Income Program|journal=University of Detroit Mercy Law Review|volume= 69|pages=353}}</ref>&nbsp;In 1996, under President&nbsp;[[Bill Clinton]], the AFDC was replaced with the&nbsp;[[Temporary Assistance for Needy Families]]&nbsp;program. This would&nbsp;[[block grant]]&nbsp;funds to the states to allow them to decide how aid would be distributed.<ref name=":0" />

Another guaranteed minimum income program in the U.S. is the&nbsp;[[Earned income tax credit|Earned Income Tax Credit.]]&nbsp;This is a refundable tax credit that gives poorer families cash assistance every year. The EITC avoids the&nbsp;[[welfare trap]]&nbsp;by subsidizing income, rather than replacing it.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zelleke|first=Almaz|date=December 2005|title=Basic Income in the United States: Redefining Citizenship in the Liberal State|journal=Review of Social Economy|volume= 63|issue=4|pages=633–648|doi=10.1080/00346760500364866|s2cid=144251010}}</ref>

===Other countries===
* Bulgaria: Social benefits<ref>{{Cite web |title=Социални помощи |url=https://asp.government.bg/bg/deynosti/sotsialno-podpomagane/sotsialni-pomoshti/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=Официален сайт на Агенция за социално подпомагане |language=bg}}</ref>
* Croatia: Guaranteed minimum fee<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zajamčena minimalna naknada - gov.hr |url=https://gov.hr/hr/zajamcena-minimalna-naknada/714?lang=fi |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=gov.hr}}</ref>
* Czech Republic: Living allowance<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pomoc v hmotné nouzi |url=https://www.mpsv.cz/pomoc-v-hmotne-nouzi |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=www.mpsv.cz}}</ref>
* Iceland: Financial assistance<ref>{{Cite web |title=Financial Aid {{!}} Reykjavik |url=https://reykjavik.is/en/financial-aid |access-date=18 July 2022 |website=reykjavik.is |language=en}}</ref>
* Latvia: Social assistance<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pašvaldību sociālā palīdzība {{!}} Labklājības ministrija |url=https://www.lm.gov.lv/lv/pasvaldibu-sociala-palidziba |access-date=2024-06-09 |website=www.lm.gov.lv |language=lv}}</ref>
* Lithuania: Monetary social support{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}}
* Romania: Guaranteed minimum income<ref>{{cite web|date=May 2020|title=Venit minim garantat|url=https://dgaspc3.ro/servicii-dgaspc/venit-minim-garantat/}}</ref>
* Slovenia: Cash social assistance<ref>{{Cite web |title=Denarna socialna pomoč {{!}} GOV.SI |url=https://www.gov.si/teme/denarna-socialna-pomoc/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=Portal GOV.SI |language=sl}}</ref>

== List of countries ==
The following is a list of countries by guaranteed minimum income. The data are sourced from the [[OECD]], and are expressed as a percentage of the national median [[Disposable and discretionary income|disposable income]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Adequacy of Guaranteed Minimum Income benefits |url=https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=IA |access-date=2020-06-06 |website=stats.oecd.org}}</ref>
{{srn}} {{Table alignment}}
{| class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers col1left" style="text-align:center"
|+Guaranteed minimum income (2018/19)<ref name=":2" />
!Country
!Single person,<br>no children (%)
!Single person,<br>2 children (%)
|-
|{{Flag|Australia}}
|34
|44
|-
|{{Flag|Austria}}
|42
|47
|-
|{{Flag|Belgium}}
|40
|46
|-
|{{Flag|Bulgaria}}
|12
|23
|-
|{{Flag|Canada}}
|21
|37
|-
|{{Flag|Chile}}
|4
|14
|-
|{{Flag|Croatia}}
|23
|36
|-
|{{Flag|Cyprus}}
|43
|41
|-
|{{Flag|Czech Republic}}
|22
|29
|-
|{{Flag|Denmark}}
|62
|60
|-
|{{Flag|Estonia}}
|28
|37
|-
|{{Flag|Finland}}
|53
|49
|-
|{{Flag|France}}
|39
|46
|-
|{{Flag|Germany}}
|44
|51
|-
|{{Flag|Greece}}
|27
|27
|-
|{{Flag|Hungary}}
|14
|19
|-
|{{Flag|Iceland}}
|50
|43
|-
|{{Flag|Ireland}}
|59
|50
|-
|{{Flag|Israel}}
|21
|36
|-
|{{Flag|Italy}}
|12
|14
|-
|{{Flag|Japan}}
|64
|73
|-
|{{Flag|Latvia}}
|22
|29
|-
|{{Flag|Lithuania}}
|18
|41
|-
|{{Flag|Luxembourg}}
|40
|46
|-
|{{Flag|Malta}}
|69
|54
|-
|{{Flag|Netherlands}}
|60
|49
|-
|{{Flag|New Zealand}}
|36
|41
|-
|{{Flag|Norway}}
|38
|37
|-
|{{Flag|Poland}}
|27
|52
|-
|{{Flag|Portugal}}
|21
|31
|-
|{{Flag|Romania}}
|9
|27
|-
|{{Flag|Slovakia}}
|15
|21
|-
|{{Flag|Slovenia}}
|36
|55
|-
|{{Flag|South Korea}}
|32
|46
|-
|{{Flag|Spain}}
|28
|26
|-
|{{Flag|Sweden}}
|47
|39
|-
|{{Flag|Switzerland}}
|48
|44
|-
|{{Flag|Turkey}}
|0
|0
|-
|{{Flag|United Kingdom}}
|54
|57
|-
|{{Flag|United States}}
|6
|19
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Economics|Money}}

=== Topics ===
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Community cohesion]]
* [[Constitutional economics]]
* [[Cost of living]]
* [[Guaranteed Annual Income]]
* [[Guaranteed Income Supplement]]
* [[Guaranteed Minimum Pension]]
* [[Job guarantee]]
* [[Living wage]]
* [[Social credit]]
* [[Social dividend]]
* [[Solidarity]]
* [[Universal basic income]]
* [[Wage slavery]]
{{div col end}}

=== Countries ===

* Belgium: [[:fr:Revenu_d'intégration|Integration income]], [[:nl:Leefloon|Living wage]]
* Cuba: [[Economy of Cuba]]
* Germany: [[Hartz concept#Hartz IV|Hartz concept]], [[:de:Sozialhilfe_(Deutschland)|Social assistance]]
* Hungary: [[:hu:Szociális_intézmények|Social institutions]]
* Netherlands: [[:nl:Participatiewet|Participation Act]]
* Poland: [[:pl:Zasiłek_stały|Permanent benefit]]
* Switzerland: [[:de:Sozialhilfe_(Schweiz)|Social assistance]]
* United States: [[Homelessness in the United States|Homelessness]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Coady, D., Shang, B., Jahan, S., & Matsumoto, R. (2021). Guaranteed minimum income schemes in Europe: Landscape and design. ''IMF Working Papers'', ''2021''(179), 1. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513584379.001 
*Colombino, U. (2011). [https://ssrn.com/abstract=1955399 Five issues in the design of Income support mechanisms: The case of Italy], IZA Discussion Papers 6059, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080513041232/http://bostonreview.net/BR25.5/vanparijs.html Basic income for all-Philipp van Parijs, Boston Review]
* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/social-minimum/ "Social minimum" in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130901103103/http://www.basicincome.org/bien/papers.html Guaranteed Basic Income Studies: How it could be organised, Different Suggestions]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080621140909/http://www.basicincome.org/bien/aboutbasicincome.html About a Guaranteed Basic Income: History]
* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/guaranteed-minimum-income "Guaranteed minimum income" in the Encyclopædia Britannica]

{{Basic income}}
{{Portal bar|Economics|Money}}

[[Category:Economic reforms]]
[[Category:Income]]
[[Category:Labor relations]]
[[Category:Legal terminology]]
[[Category:Minimum wage]]
[[Category:Personal taxes]]
[[Category:Poverty|Reduction]]
[[Category:Social programs]]
[[Category:Universal basic income]]

[[ru:Гарантированный минимум]]