Those will be participants in the voluntary temporary disability insurance experiment who submitted their applications to join this January and began paying contributions in February.
The voluntary insurance program for self-employed individuals launched six months ago, in January 2026. individuals working for themselves who are professional income tax payers can participate in it. In order to do so, they have to submit an application to the Social Fund and make contributions for temporary disability insurance.
The payout amount is based on the insured amount chosen: RUB 35,000 or RUB 50,000, as well as the insurance duration and the time of experiment participation.
A self-employed individual will be able to receive sick leave benefits six months after making an annual contribution or following continuous payment of monthly contributions. Under the current rules, these are paid starting from the month following the month of signing up to the program. That means that the participants who joined in January made their first contributions in February. They will become entitled to sick leave benefits in July, and the payouts will arrive in August once the sick leave certificate is closed.
The Social Fund will notify the self-employed individual once their entitlement to sick leave benefits arises. Benefit notices will also be sent right after closing sick leave certificates.
Please note that the ongoing experiment applies only to sick leave benefits and does not affect maternity allowances for pregnancy and childbirth or child care entitlements for children under 18 months.