It's not a lot here either where costs are extremely high. But it's a lot more than social services provides here, as far as I am aware. Of course no one would choose to be sick, but it is the equivalent amount of what someone making 8-10/hr in the USA lives on... and lots of people only make 8-10 dollars an hour, after taxes, here, lots. So essentially I am just making a comparison, not a judgement of your situation. By all means sunflower, if your gov gives you that for support, take it. It sure beats sending tax money to Saudi Arabia or Russia.

It's actually quite a bit more than most elderly people in the USA get for their monthly social security payments too, adjusted to the exchange rate. The exchange rate is 1 Euro = 1.46 dollars. So 868 euros equals 1267 dollars. What that means is that you need 1267 dollars to buy what 868 euros buys. Most elderly people get only around 400 - 600. dollars a month or so social security. The average cost of an apartment in any city in the USA, except NYC which is a lot higher, is about $750 a month for a halfway decent place. You can find some lower, most higher. Doesn't include utilities. Forget groceries on hat budget. I see a lot of elderly people in the grocery store that are squeaking by, I see quite a few even working there for about $7.00 an hour. Expecting the govt to take care of them in their retirement years is a real bad joke. The govt even taxes them on their social security payments. People who end up in nursing homes with only medicaid to pay the costs have to go to the cheapest places with the worst reputations. pretty much a death sentence. So we already have a pretty good idea of what socialized care/medical care looks like in the USA from that perspective.