In 2019, the maternity capital program continues to offer new areas of support to families with children instituted last year. One of these areas is the monthly payments for a second child born or adopted by families with a low income after January 1, 2018.
A family can verify its eligibility for the monthly payment by dividing the income of parents and children for the past year by 12 and by the number of family members, including the second child. If the amount is smaller than 1.5 of the regional able-bodied subsistence minimum, the family can apply for the payment with the Pension Fund. For the purpose of convenience, the PFR website provides a special calculator with subsistence minimums of all Russian constituent territories and the maximal monthly income of families entitled to the monthly payment.
The calculated sum includes salaries, bonuses, pensions, social benefits, scholarships, and some types of monetary compensations. These incomes, except for payments received from the PFR, must be confirmed by the applicants with documents. The calculated sum does not include lump-sum assistance given by the federal budget due to emergencies.
It is possible to apply for the monthly payment any time during the first 18 months of life of the second child. Applications made within the first six months result in payments from the child’s birth date, and such families will receive compensations for the entire period. Applications filed after the first six months result in payments, which begin with the application filing date. The money is transferred to the account of the maternity capital certificate’s holder in a Russian bank.
It is possible to apply for the monthly payment via the client service of the Russian Pension Fund, multifunctional centers or the personal account section on the PFR website. Families which have been assigned maternity capital but have not received relevant certificate can receive it simultaneously with the filing of their application for the monthly payment.
The amount of the monthly payment depends on the region and corresponds to the regional child subsistence minimum for the second quarter of the previous year. In 2019 the payment is equal to the subsistence minimum, which was in effect in the second quarter of 2018.
The monthly payment is received by the family until the child reaches the age of 18 months. However, the first payment period is yearlong, and further payments would require another application to the Pension Fund. Payments will stop if the family has completely spent maternity capital funds, has changed its residence, or the child has reached the age of 18 months.
Importantly, monthly payments are denied to families whose children are fully supported by the government, if the family provides inaccurate information about its income, or if the parents are deprived of their parental rights.
In 2018 and the first two months of 2019, the Pension Fund received 55,600 applications from families for monthly payments and paid a total of 3.7 billion rubles.