Today, the Social Fund provides about 40 different insurance and welfare benefits for children. These include lump-sum payouts and monthly allowances, state programs and federal projects, such as maternity capital or the unified allowance, as well as the provision of in-kind compensations and benefits, including health resort vouchers, funding for summer vacations, etc.
For instance, families receive financial assistance from the fund as early as the pregnancy stage. Before the child is born, the mother is granted a maternity allowance. This year, its maximum amount is about RUB 955,000. Another such benefit is the childbirth certificate. It is used to pay for the services of an antenatal clinic, medical care during childbirth and the postpartum period, as well as for preventive checkups for children under 12 months.
To support parents after their child is born, the Social Fund provides maternity capital. This year, its amount grew to RUB 728,900 for one child and to more than RUB 963,200 for two children.
Starting today, the Social Fund has begun providing a new benefit for families with two or more children: the annual family payout. It allows working parents to get a partial refund on paid taxes and use the money to raise their children.
The Social Fund provides a range of payouts and social services for disabled children, including health resort vouchers granted not only to the child but also to the person accompanying them. When sending a child for treatment, the Social Fund also covers travel expenses.
Notably, this year, the Social Fund's spending on family and children's protection have already increased by RUB 23 billion. The welfare expansion is driven not only by scheduled adjustments, but also by broadening social guarantees for families with children.
Starting last year, for instance, support for female undergraduate and postgraduate students preparing to become mothers has grown significantly. While the maternity payout was previously provided to them in the amount of their average scholarship, it has now quadrupled, reaching an average of nearly RUB 100,000 across Russia.
Many parents today receive child allowances from the Fund up until the point their children graduate from school or university. Furthermore, payout amounts are growing, and eligibility criteria are expanding. The Social Fund is working to ensure that the necessary assistance arrives in a convenient format: either after a single application or even without one. Supporting families remains one of the Fund's chief priorities.
Please note that all Social Fund's services are free of charge, regardless of where you receive them from: customer offices, multifunctional centers the Gosuslugi Portal online.