The Fund's effort to safeguard the rights of new payment and benefit recipients has been set up ahead of time. Even before the law of St. Petersburg simplifying the award procedure for the Resident of Leningrad under Siege badge, all Social Fund offices have received detailed instruction on how to interact with citizens and social welfare authorities. We completed tentative lists of Social Fund pension recipients who could potentially be covered by the new legislation.
"That was more than a new legal norm for us, but an issue of our conscience and our duty to the people who went through unbelievable hardship during the siege. We understand that many of them, especially those who were evacuated from the besieged city as children, have been waiting for their justice for years. Our duty today is to not make them petition anyone, proving their right to assistance once again. We do all the work to ensure that group of people get all their lawfully assigned benefits," says Sergey Chirkov, Chairman of the Social Fund.
Head of the Social Fund emphasized that their proactive work includes all support for every payment recipient. The Fund's staff contact citizen to explain them all the available benefits, both federal and regional, in detail, help them compare the conditions and make an informed decision.
According to Mr. Chirkov, right now, the Social Fund has the list of 641 retirees born in Leningrad under siege, who now can get their certificate for the first time. On top of that list, the St. Petersburg Committee for Social Policy complied another one that includes 1,170 individuals who have lived in Leningrad under siege for less than 4 months. All of them will get all the necessary explanations and assistance.
"Our proactive approach includes contacting the people first, explaining their rights and helping them receive maximum benefits out of all available options. Every individual should know which payments they are entitled to today and how those payments will change in the future, in order to make an informed decision," Mr. Chirkov adds.
For reference:
The new procedure launched after the new law of St. Petersburg simplifying the award procedure for the Resident of Leningrad under Siege badge came into effect. The requirement to prove an uninterrupted 4 months long stay in the besieged city has been withdrawn. The status is now available to any individual who lived in Leningrad at any time from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944.
The badge certificate is grounds for the status of the Great Patriotic War veteran and all the benefits that go with it by law