Single benefit from January 1, 2026: new accrual rules and payment amounts
Since January 1, 2026, updated rules for the appointment of a single allowance for families with children and pregnant women will come into force in Russia. The changes will affect the accounting procedure for income, employment requirements for parents, as well as the list of payments that will not be taken into account when assessing need. For more information about the features of the innovations and the principles of operation of the unified manual, see the Izvestia material.
What is a single allowance and to whom is it assigned?
The single allowance was introduced on January 1, 2023 on behalf of the President. It is a targeted support measure aimed at low-income families whose per capita income is below the subsistence level per person.
— A single benefit is a targeted payment intended for low—income families. The main purpose of the single benefit is to help families overcome poverty," said Pavel Smelov, Director General of the Center for Strategic Research.
According to the expert, the uniqueness of the manual lies in the fact that it has become one of the key tools for achieving the national goal of reducing poverty, as well as one of the most comprehensive social support measures.
— Such assistance is available to families from the moment of waiting for a child to the age of 17. The payment is assigned for a period of one year for each child in the family," he explained.
To date, a single monthly allowance is paid for 9.7 million children and about 140 thousand pregnant women.
What is a comprehensive need assessment for?
Pavel Smelov recalled that the single benefit was the first significant monthly payment, which is assigned not upon the occurrence of a specific life situation, but upon the fact of low income and immediately for a long time.
"Given that this is the first experience on a national scale, it was necessary to formulate criteria that, on the one hand, would comprehensively assess the circumstances of family life, and on the other, would create conditions for employment and exclude situations of abuse," he said.
For this purpose, a comprehensive need assessment was developed. When assigning payments, more than 30 parameters are taken into account, including family income, the availability of real estate, vehicles, as well as the employment of parents and the reasons for their absence. At the same time, the allowance is assigned according to the principles of the social treasury — in most cases, one application at a time, and the Social Fund receives all additional data as part of interdepartmental cooperation.
— Every year, the amount of assistance increases as the subsistence level increases, the amount of monthly payments and the amount of income that allows a family to qualify for assistance increases, — Pavel Smelov emphasized.
The amount of the single benefit in 2026
The press service of the Ministry of Labor of Russia reported that a single allowance is assigned in the amount of 50, 75 or 100% of the regional subsistence minimum for each child or 50, 75, 100% of the regional subsistence minimum for an able-bodied person if it is paid to a pregnant woman.
The national average for a child's living wage in 2026 will be 18,371 rubles, but the specific amount of the payment depends on the family's region of residence. Taking into account the practice of appointment, appeals from the regions, the parent community, monitoring of appointments and refusals to assign payments, the rules are adjusted. The full list of regional subsistence levels is posted on the Social Fund's website.
The Ministry of Labor emphasized that the amount of assistance increases annually as the cost of living increases, while at the same time the income threshold that allows a family to qualify for payment is expanding.
What income is taken into account when assigning benefits
When assigning a single benefit, the average monthly family income is calculated for the 12 months preceding the month before the month of application. The income structure takes into account:
— income from work, including royalties;
— income from entrepreneurship and self-employment;
— payments for temporary disability (from January 1, 2026 — as income from work);
— pensions, scholarships, social support measures;
— alimony payments;
— income from deposits, rent and sale of property;
— winnings, income from abroad;
— dividends and interest on securities;
— monetary allowances for employees of law enforcement agencies.
At the same time, the calculation of need does not include the social contract, maternity capital, regional family capital, tax deductions, compensation for rehabilitation funds and a number of other payments.
From January 1, 2026, additional exceptions are:
— corporate payments at the birth of a child in the amount of up to 1 million rubles;
— annual family payment;
— payments to residents of the Kursk region received in connection with the loss of property.
Property criteria for receiving benefits
Families with the following assets and savings can receive a single benefit:
— one apartment of any size or several apartments, if the area for each family member is less than 24 square meters. m. If the real estate is jointly owned and not only family members of the applicant are among the owners, then only shares of 1/3 or more are taken into account;
— one house of any size or several houses, if the area for each family member is less than 40 square meters. m;
— one cottage;
— one garage, parking space, or two if the family has many children, there is a citizen with a disability in the family, or a motor vehicle or motor vehicle has been provided to the family as part of social support measures.;
— land plots (or one plot) with a total area of no more than 0.25 ha for urban residents or no more than 1 ha for rural residents. At the same time, the land plots provided as a support measure, as well as the Far Eastern hectare, are not taken into account when calculating the need.;
— one non-residential building;
— one car or two if the family has many children, a family member has a disability, or the car was received as a measure of social support.;
— one motorcycle or two if the family has many children, a family member has a disability, or a motorcycle was received as a support measure.;
— one unit of self-propelled machinery under 5 years of age (tractors, combines and other agricultural machinery) or two if the self-propelled vehicle is received as a measure of social support;
— one boat or motorboat under 5 years old;
— savings, the annual income from interest on which does not exceed the minimum subsistence level per capita in the region, or if the account from which the income was received was closed no later than 6 months before the month of applying for a single benefit.
The Ministry of Labor stressed that the assessment does not take into account the property under arrest, the property of children under guardianship, as well as facilities provided as a measure of social support.
The zero-income rule and new requirements
When assigning benefits, the "zero income rule" is used. It assumes that the allowance is awarded if adult family members have earnings (pensions, scholarships, income from work or business activities) or if they do not have income for objective reasons.
The minimum wage for parents applying for benefits should be 8 minimum wage per year. At the same time, taking into account the changes that will take effect on January 1, 2026, when calculating such labor income, "sick leave" and maternity payments are considered as labor income, since they are received only by working citizens. The minimum income requirement does not apply to pensioners and people with disabilities.
The Ministry of Labor clarified that the reasons for the lack of earnings may be:
— pregnancy;
— child care, if it is one of the parents in a large family;
— child care, if we are talking about a single parent;
— caring for a child until he reaches the age of three;
— caring for a citizen with a disability or an elderly person who, according to the conclusion of a medical institution, needs constant outside care or who is over 80 years old;
— full-time education;
— military service and a three-month period after demobilization;
— receiving an old-age, survivor's, or disability pension;
— continuous treatment lasting from 3 months or more;
— Unemployment;
— belonging to the indigenous peoples of the North;
— serving a sentence and a three-month period after release from prison.
The procedure for applying for benefits
If the family is applying for a single benefit for the first time, the application can be submitted at any time after the birth of the child. If you apply within six months, the payment is assigned from birth, if you apply later — from the month of filing the application.
If a family already receives an allowance for older children and another child is born, the payment is assigned automatically without a second comprehensive assessment of the need. If a woman received a single maternity allowance, she can apply for a single child allowance the next month after her birth. A single maternity allowance is paid up to and including the month of birth.
The Ministry of Labor stressed that the adjustment of the rules is aimed at increasing the targeting of assistance, the fairness of payments and a more accurate allocation of budget funds among families in real need of support.
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