aukabætur

Aukabætur are supplementary cash benefits in the Icelandic welfare system intended to lift a person’s total income above a defined minimum. They are paid in addition to standard state benefits and are targeted at individuals or households whose regular benefits do not reach the minimum income level.

Types and scope vary over time, but aukabætur commonly apply to pensioners with low income, as well as recipients of unemployment, sickness, or disability benefits. In some cases households with children or housing costs may also be eligible. The specific categories, amounts, and eligibility rules are adjusted periodically through budget decisions and social welfare reforms.

Eligibility is typically means-tested and depends on total household income, assets, family size, and residency. Applicants submit an assessment through the relevant public agency, and awards are calculated as a top-up to base benefits so that total income reaches the applicable minimum level. Payments are usually made monthly and may be renewed annually or adjusted automatically for inflation.

Administration and financing reside with the government and public agencies responsible for social insurance. In Iceland, aukabætur are administered by the Icelandic Social Insurance Administration (Tryggingastofnun ríkisins) in cooperation with municipalities, with funding drawn from the state budget. Changes to amounts and eligibility are announced as part of annual budget processes or welfare policy revisions.

Aukabætur aim to reduce poverty and supplement income for low-earning groups within the welfare state. Debates around them often address adequacy, targeting, accessibility, and long-term sustainability of the benefits system.

See also: social security, welfare state, minimum income schemes, pension systems.