The Minimum Living Income (IMV) is not reaching the majority of vulnerable households in the Balearic Islands. According to the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF), a very significant part of the families that meet the requirements do not apply for the aid, which places the archipelago among the communities with the highest level of exclusion from this benefit.
The diagnosis comes from AIReF, the independent body in charge of evaluating public policies, which has analyzed both access to the MVI and its social and labor impact since its implementation. The data correspond to 2024, the last complete fiscal year analyzed, and are framed in a context in which the benefit has been in operation for several years.
The problem is particularly concentrated in the Balearic Islands, although the community shares this situation with Catalonia. In the archipelago, 67% of households entitled to the IMV did not apply for it, a figure that exceeds the national average by twelve points. In the case of the Complement of Aid for Children (CAPI), the situation is even more extreme: 85% of eligible Balearic households were left out of the system, the highest percentage in the country, according to Diario de Mallorca.
AIReF attributes this high level of non-take-up to the administrative complexity of the procedure and the lack of coordination between the state MVI and the regional minimum incomes. These barriers are especially burdensome in a territory with a high cost of living, strong pressure from the housing market and an economy highly dependent on the seasonal nature of the labor market, which leaves thousands of households without an aid designed to prevent poverty.
Beyond access, the report also analyzes the effects of the MVI on employment. Nearly 60% of beneficiaries receive the benefit for more than three years, which is evidence of its prolonged nature. In addition, receiving the MVI reduces the probability of working by 12% and cuts the average number of days worked by 0.6 per month, even after the introduction of the employment incentive in 2023. These effects are stronger among young people, single-parent households and recipients of higher amounts.
Nevertheless, AIReF detects a positive nuance: among those who combine the LMI with a job, the probability of having a permanent contract increases slightly, an effect that exists in the Balearic Islands, although it does not manage to offset the general drop in labor participation.
Against this backdrop, the agency recommends reforming the employment incentive, moving towards automatic concessions, especially CAPI, and strengthening individualized support.
