Legal work is important for key benefits.
The pregnancy and childbirth allowance, for instance, depends mainly on your legal employment status that guarantees insurance contributions; that is decisive not only for the benefit itself, but also for its ultimate maximum amount.
A woman only needs two calendar years of legal work ahead of maternity leave to have her benefit calculated on the basis of her full average earnings.
"A marked increase in the benefit amounts that we see today became possible, among other things, due to the social insurance system reforms," emphasizes Sergey Chirkov, Chairman of the Social Fund of Russia. "I am talking about merging the Pension Fund and the Social Insurance Fund into the single Social Fund, introducing a unified tariff and, most importantly, introducing a unified taxable base for insurance contributions starting in 2023. In practice, that means that the benefit is now based on the greatest amount of a woman's legal earnings insurance contributions."
The maximum benefit growth dynamic is illustrative. The maximum amount of the pregnancy and childbirth benefit was RUB 383,178 in 2023; in 2024, it grew to RUB 565,562. In 2025, the benefit amount reached RUB 794,355; in 2026, it will be as high as RUB 955,836. So, in three years, from 2023 to 2026, the maximum benefit amount grew more than 2.5 times.
Unlike the maternity capital, which is a targeted payment, that benefit can be used by the mother right away, on her own discretion, to tend to her current needs.
There is another key insurance benefit: the monthly allowance for children under 18 months, paid to people on parental leave.
"The key new thing here is an option to receive that allowance while working," Mr. Chirkov reminds. "Unlike the old rules that terminated the allowance as soon as the worker returned from their parental leave, today mothers who are so inclined can work remotely or part-time, or take projects, like journalists do, for instance, while still receiving full benefits. That provides women with financial stability and makes them able to combine motherhood and professional development without sacrificing their income level."
Not only mothers, but also fathers, grandparents or legal guardians can go on parental leave and receive monthly benefits.
Growing benefits and new opportunities are illustrative of the government's strengthening support for families. But remember: working legally is not a formality, but an investment in your social welfare and confidence in your future.