اخبار

The low-income benefit (LIV)

The low-income benefit (LIV) is an annual allowance for employers who employ employees of 21 years or older with a low wage, with the aim of hiring or retaining employees with a vulnerable position in the labor market. This allowance can be up to €960.

An employer is entitled to the LIV when an employee meets all of the following conditions:

• The employee is insured under 1 or more of the employee insurance policies.
• The employee has an average hourly wage of at least €10.48 and at most €13.12.
• The employee has at least 1248 paid hours per calendar year.
• The employee has not yet reached the state pension age.

In addition, employees between the ages of 18 and 20, with a reference date of 31-12-2020, may be eligible for the youth LIV. This can go up to an allowance of €613.60 for a 20-year-old. With the youth LIV there is no minimum number of paid hours per calendar year and every employee with an hourly wage within the correct limits is eligible for this allowance.

If you qualify for the above LIV, no action is required. However, we do recommend that you assess for your specific situation whether there are certain employees who just do not meet the conditions, but will now meet the full terms and conditions due to an adjustment in the last month of 2020. You can think of, for example, paying extra hours or an (extra) allowance or deduction, so that you will still receive LIV for the employee.