Conditions for benefits up to seven years
It can be received by families whose average per capita income does not exceed the subsistence minimum per capita established in the region. In this case, the cost of living is taken for the 2nd quarter of the previous year.
The benefit amount is 50% of the child’s regional subsistence level. This is approximately 5.5 thousand rubles.
The benefit was introduced in March (retroactively), and it began to be paid in June for periods starting from January 1.
The rules for payments for children from three to seven years old are established by Government Decree No. 384 of March 31, 2020. The document contains the requirements for this payment, a list of documents for its execution and a sample application.
There, in particular, it is indicated what income is taken into account when determining the criterion of need.
Expert: The cost of living should reflect the consumption standard of at least half of the population
The cost of living and the minimum wage will be calculated in a new way. The government approved and submitted to the State Duma changes to the minimum wage law. Dmitry Platygin, General Director of the All-Russian Research Institute of Labor of the Russian Ministry of Labor, told the MIR 24 TV channel what will change
— The minimum wage is proposed to be set at 42% at the level of the median salary for the previous year. What does it mean?
Dmitry Platygin:
The minimum wage is an important labor market institution. In many countries, there is a practice of establishing a minimum wage taking into account the situation on the labor market, the level of employment and unemployment, including the situation with wages.
The minimum wage today is tied to the subsistence level. The state guarantees the employee an income that will provide his minimum basic needs. In the proposed approach, the minimum wage is proposed to be linked to the median salary. This is the level in rubles below which half of the Russian population who works receives a salary. And the other half of the population receives a salary greater than this level.
The most logical step seems to be to link the minimum wage to the median wage.
— Why exactly at the level of 42%?
Dmitry Platygin:
Both the law and the Constitution stipulate that the minimum wage cannot be less than the subsistence level. For the calculations, we used the cost of living - the current amount was increased by the inflation rate for 2020, and the minimum wage was set at a level that ensures that the minimum wage does not decrease in relation to the calculated values. This turned out to be 42%.
— How is the cost of living calculated now and how will it be calculated from 2021?
Dmitry Platygin:
Today, the cost of living is set equal to the cost of the consumer basket. The consumer basket includes a set of food products, non-food products and services. In this case, only the food set is calculated based on the specific names of products, their diet and cost. The non-food part is calculated as 50% of the food part. Services are also calculated as 50% of the product portion. It is believed that such a set is the minimum necessary to ensure human life.
The very concept of a consumer basket, a living wage, appeared in the early 90s, when there was a deep crisis in the economy, and the state had to guarantee a minimum income that would ensure the satisfaction of minimum needs. It was assumed that this approach would be used to overcome the crisis situation. But we lived with him for more than 25 years.
It is assumed that the cost of living will be linked to median income. This is the income level below which half of the Russian population receives income, and above which the other half of the population receives income. We understand that the standard of living follows and is determined by income level. The most fair and objective is to set the living wage at the level of the median income - it should reflect the standard of consumption that has developed for at least half of the population.
— How much will the new budget calculation mechanism cost?
Dmitry Platygin:
According to government estimates, the cost of the mechanism will be just over 130 billion rubles in 2021. These will be additional costs for increasing wages. Changes in the approach to calculating the minimum wage will affect almost four million people. This money will also be used to increase the volume of social assistance for low-income groups of the population.
— Where will the treasury find money for these needs?
Dmitry Platygin:
The decision was supported by the government. The bill has been submitted to the State Duma, which means that there are resources to implement the decision.
— The transition to the new system caused a mixed reaction from experts. Some said that the technique could lead to a real reduction in the minimum wage. Is this possible?
Dmitry Platygin:
This is wrong. The bill formulates protective standards that do not allow the values of this year to be reduced next year. I am one of those who perceive the decision positively and as a logical step.
— Some experts suggest calculating the minimum wage as a percentage of the average salary.
Dmitry Platygin:
The concept of average is ambiguous. Both median and arithmetic mean are the concept of average. But the arithmetic average is strongly influenced by extremely high or extremely low values. Recently, a negative connotation of average has developed - like the average temperature in a hospital, that is, a concept that does not reflect the real situation.
The median reflects the situation for half the population. The cost of living, if it is related to the median income, reflects the standard of consumption that has developed for half of the population. How does the median salary reflect the wage situation for half of the working population? It is necessary to set a consumption standard taking into account the real situation for half of the population.
— How close is the new calculation mechanism to the world standard?
Dmitry Platygin:
This approach meets international standards. Almost all European countries have the practice of correlating the minimum wage with the median income. There are countries whose ratio roughly corresponds to that proposed to be established in Russia. These are Spain, Czech Republic, Japan.
In the USA, the ratio of the minimum wage to the median salary is 34%. In the United States, there is still the practice of calculating the consumer basket to determine the poverty level. Today we see that it has a negative effect. In the United States, the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Many states have independently raised the amount to $15. This happened because political decisions do not reflect the actual situation in the economy. The establishment of a minimum wage in the United States has led to its real purchasing power decreasing. These are the risks that arise when the minimum wage is established not through reference to objective economic indicators.
— How effective is the new mechanism than the previous one in the long term?
Dmitry Platygin:
It is much more effective than the previous one; it allows us to reduce income differentiation. If the cost of living is linked to median incomes, and not to the consumer basket, this will ensure a high growth rate of the cost of living. In recent years, median income and median salary have grown at a faster rate than the cost of the consumer basket.
Establishing a living wage in relation to the median income will lead to a reduction in income differentiation. The minimum wage, if it is linked to the median wage, will also grow at a rapid pace, not only relative to the current level of the cost of the consumer basket, but also relative to the cost of living. Income will be guaranteed not only to meet the minimum needs of citizens, but also income slightly above this level.
Today, the cost of living for pensioners in a number of regions is significantly underestimated. The proposed approach will solve this problem by establishing a certain ratio of the minimum income of pensioners, children and the working population to the average per capita income. When analyzing the situation, we saw that the cost of living in a number of regions is seriously underestimated, including due to budget restrictions. In some regions, understatement occurs up to 20-30% of the rational consumer basket. The new approach will make it possible to level out the situation in the regions and raise the values to a level that will truly reflect the economic situation.
Before three years there are some rules, after three - others.
Let us note that for children under three years of age the criteria for the so-called “Putin benefit” are different.
The benefit itself is twice as large - one subsistence minimum, and not half, as after 3 years.
In addition, the criterion of need differs significantly. A family receives benefits if the income per person is below two subsistence minimums. Many families fall under this criterion, while after the child turns three years old, the circle of recipients narrows significantly. Families recognized as needing benefits for up to three years are no longer classified as low-income for benefits up to seven years.
Why is the cost of living established?
The living wage in the Russian Federation is intended for:
- assessing the standard of living of the population of the Russian Federation in the development and implementation of federal social programs;
- justification for the minimum wage, scholarships, benefits and other social benefits established at the federal level;
- formation of the federal budget.
In the constituent entities of the Russian Federation it is intended for:
- assessing the standard of living of the population in a constituent entity of the Russian Federation in the development and implementation of regional social programs;
- providing state social assistance to low-income citizens;
- formation of the budget of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
Continued: What is included in the cost of living →
Example
The Ivanov family has one child, 2.5 years old, mom is on maternity leave, dad earns 34 thousand rubles. The cost of living in the region is 11 thousand rubles.
The family has the right to child benefit up to 3 years of age, since 34 thousand is less than 66 thousand (11,000 × 2 × 3). As a result, the state pays the Ivanovs 11 thousand rubles a month, and they live on 45 thousand a month.
After six months, the child turns 3 years old and the right to payments is lost, since 34 thousand is more than 33 thousand (11,000 × 3). Now the Ivanovs will live on 34 thousand rubles. per month.
Note that some citizens express dissatisfaction with the rules for benefits up to 7 years. Basically we are talking about criteria of need. The family considers itself to be in need, but according to the social security authorities this is not the case; the family is not recognized as low-income and does not receive benefits.
For example, in the Voronezh region alone, out of 70 thousand families who applied for payment, half were refused.
On the “Clerk” channel in Yandex.Zen, we previously covered the problems voiced by applicants for this benefit.
Basically, the main essence of the parents' complaints concerns the procedure for determining income, which, in turn, is a criterion for the need for state assistance in the form of benefits.
We have reviewed the aspects that parents of preschool children pay attention to.
