The Maintenance Guarantee Fund pays child maintenance if one or both parents fail to provide it.
The law provides that the amount of maintenance to be paid from the fund is reviewed every three years, taking into account the possibilities of the national budget.
Since 2020, the State has guaranteed €107.50 per month in child maintenance for children up to 7 years of age, and €129 for children aged 7 to 18 years, which continues to be paid until the person reaches the age of 21 if he or she continues to pursue primary, secondary, vocational or special education.
The government has decided to increase the amount of maintenance from next year by €17.50 for children up to the age of 7, to €125, and by €21 for children over 7, to €150.
As the Maintenance Guarantee Fund pays maintenance for the previous month, the first payments will be made in February 2025.
There are currently just over 42,000 maintenance debtors in Latvia, for whom the Maintenance Guarantee Fund pays maintenance for more than 32,000 children.
In the first 8 months of this year, €33.5 million in maintenance payments were made from the state budget, and €11.2 million were recovered from non-payers through recourse.
The Ministry of Justice explained that the amount of recoveries was increasing each year, which made it possible to increase the amount of maintenance payments.
The Ministry of Justice found the funding for the increase as a result of an internal reallocation, and no additional funds will be requested for this purpose in the 2025 budget.
