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NEWS
Decrease in Eligibility for Guaranteed Income in 2004
By G. Kleiman
National Insurance Foundation Director Dr. Yigal Ben-Shalom
revealed last week that the year 2004 brought a sharp 7
percent decline in eligibility for Guaranteed Income due to
the stricter criteria legislated in 2003. The legislative
changes and income assessments also led to changes in the
profile of typical recipients: 64 percent of Guaranteed
Income recipients in 2004 were defined as "job seekers,"
compared to just 37 percent in 2003.
According to National Insurance figures, 145,000 families
were eligible for Guaranteed Income in January-August 2004,
compared to 158,000 during the same period in 2003.
L. Achdut, Deputy Director of Research and Development at the
National Insurance Foundation, explains the reduction in the
number of families receiving Guaranteed Income stems from
legislative changes that applied starting in January 2003.
National Insurance officials say 5,000 families were denied
Guaranteed Income and the rate of entry into the Guaranteed
Income system was significantly diminished as a result of
these changes.
The National Insurance figures also show an 18 percent drop
between January and August of 2004 in the number of single-
parent families eligible to receive Guaranteed Income
allowances— from 51,200 in 2003 to 42,700 in
2004—due to a new requirement for parents of children
over the age of two to report to the Employment Bureau.
Previously parents of children up to age 11 were exempt from
this requirement.
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