The State Duma announced a new system of voluntary insurance for the self-employed

A new voluntary social insurance system has been launched in Russia, which allows the self-employed to choose their own level of protection and receive paid sick leave. This was announced on July 5 by State Duma Deputy Dmitry Gusev.

The experiment on the voluntary participation of citizens applying a special tax regime in the social insurance system began on January 1, 2026 and is calculated until December 31, 2028. According to the terms of the program, professional income tax payers can choose an insurance amount of 35 or 50 thousand rubles.

"The new voluntary insurance system gives the self—employed the opportunity to choose the level of protection themselves: the insurance amount is 35 or 50 thousand rubles," Gusev explained in an interview with RIA Novosti.

A participant in the system becomes eligible for temporary disability benefits six months after the start of payment of insurance premiums. The amount of the final payment is determined by the length of service of the insured person and the period of transfer of payments. The parliamentarian stressed that the first payments on sick leave will be available to the self-employed in August.

"It is essential for us that self-employment is not a "gray zone", but a full-fledged and protected format of work. If the state wants people to come out of the shadows, work legally and pay taxes, it must give them not only responsibilities, but also guarantees," the deputy added.

According to Gusev, the introduction of an understandable mechanism of social support instead of one-time assistance or complex bureaucratic structures is the right step. He noted that millions of people who work legally have been left without basic protection in case of illness for a long time.

We have recovered: the maximum amount of sick leave will exceed 8 thousand per day.

Under what conditions can such payments be received and why do Russians rarely apply for disability certificates?

Anton Kotyakov, Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation, announced on July 3 that the participation of the self-employed in the voluntary insurance system entitles them to payments upon the occurrence of an insured event. He stressed that participation in the system allows citizens to form social guarantees that will be provided by the state — in this case, we are talking about the payment of sick leave. According to him, Russians have already started using this system.