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UNEMPLOYED MOMS BONUS. REQUIREMENTS AND BENEFICIARIES

03/09/2022

This is an important contribution to help non-working mothers going through a period of economic hardship. It is officially called "maternity allowance of the municipalities," an economic contribution provided precisely by the municipality of residence, but recognized by INPS.

The subsidy will be paid following the birth of a child or the adoption or pre-adoptive fostering of a child under the age of 6, or, again, a child under the age of 18 if it is an adoption or international foster care. This is an economic subsidy designed for unemployed mothers on maternity leave with low ISEE. The 2022 Unemployed Moms Bonus, or the Municipalities‘ Maternity Allowance, is thus an income support measure, granted by the Municipalities but paid by the INPS agency, aimed at unemployed or non-working mothers (such as housewives) in the case of birth or adoption and pre-adoptive fostering of a child no older than 6 years (or 18 years in the case of international adoption or fostering).

Some working mothers can also apply for it, but only if they are not already entitled to State Maternity Allowance or employer‘s pay for the maternity period (compulsory maternity). In addition, if the amount of the state allowance or salary is less than the amount of the municipal allowance, the working mother can also apply to the municipality for the allowance, but in a reduced amount.

Therefore, the Bonus can be claimed by those who gave birth to, fostered or adopted a child between January 1 and December 31, 2022. New mothers who have Italian citizenship or citizenship of another EU or non-EU member state, with a residence permit, can also apply for it (in any case, Italian residency is mandatory).

To be eligible for the unemployed mothers bonus, the following requirements must be met:

• have Italian or EU citizenship with residence in Italy or non-EU citizenship with regular residence permit;
• have an ISEE value of less than €17,747.58;
• the mother‘s residence must be in Italy at the time of birth, adoption or pre-adoptive fostering;
• must not be a beneficiary of other maternity benefits guaranteed by the state (e.g., Naspi) or by the employer;
• in case of adoption or pre-adoptive foster care, the child must not be older than 6 years of age at the time of adoption or foster care (the age of majority in case of international adoption or foster care).

The bonus lasts for 5 months and the amount can go up to a total of 1,773.65 euros. Monthly amounts have increased from 348.12 euros in 2021 to 354.73 euros in 2022. The unemployed mom bonus is payable for each child, consequently, in the case of twin births or adoption/foster care of more than one child, the amount is multiplied by the number of children.

Application and necessary documents

In order to apply for the grant, the following documents must be submitted:

 

• identification document of the applicant;
• tax identification number of the applicant;
• residence permit, if any;
• ISEE 2022 model;
• self-certification declaring compliance with all requirements;
• preferred method of crediting:
• IBAN of the applicant;
• domiciliary transfer.

 

The application must be made by mothers within 6 months of the birth, adoption or foster care of the child. In some cases, if the mother is unable to apply for the allowance, the benefit can be applied for by the child‘s father, the mother‘s parent, the adoptive parent, the pre-adoptive foster parent, or the non-pre-adoptive foster parent.

Local governments will handle all applications, depending on the delivery method chosen on a voluntary basis by each municipality. It will take at least 30 days to process the file; then INPS will credit the amounts to the beneficiaries‘ bank accounts. As for the timing of the transfer, it will not go beyond 45 days from the date of receipt of the data transmitted by the municipalities.