Multiplying factor: maternity allowance to be increased in Russia
In 2026, the upper limit on maternity payments will amount to almost 956 thousand rubles, and monthly assistance to working parents for caring for children under one and a half years will reach about 83 thousand rubles, the press service of the Ministry of Labor reported. Izvestia investigated how changes in benefits will affect demographic policy and fertility, as well as what additional measures are planned to support families with children.
Calculation of payments
Payments for pregnancy, childbirth and child care for up to one and a half years are considered insurance, and their amount is directly determined by the amount of contributions paid, that is, it depends on the level of earnings, the press service of the Ministry of Labor reminded Izvestia. In other words, for each recipient, the amount of the benefit is calculated individually and linked to his salary. At the same time, the general increase in household incomes leads to an increase in the amounts allocated to finance insurance payments.
"The maximum amounts of these insurance benefits are calculated from the maximum value of the base for calculating insurance premiums. As average salaries increase, the maximum amounts of insurance payments increase in order to adequately compensate for the income of citizens who find themselves in a situation of temporary interruption in professional activity due to the birth of a child," the ministry explained.
The maximum amount of maternity benefits for women who will go on maternity leave in 2026 will amount to 955.8 thousand rubles for 140 days, the Ministry of Labor reported. At the same time, the maximum amount of child care allowance for up to one and a half years for persons who will take parental leave in 2026 will amount to 83 thousand rubles per month.
In 2025, prices for everyday goods increased by about 12-14%, while the official inflation index calculated by Rosstat on September 10 was 8.14%, Svetlana Sazanova, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Institutional Economics at the State University of Management, told Izvestia. At the same time, the maximum monthly child care payment in 2024 was 49,123.12 rubles, and in 2025 it increased to 68,995.48 rubles, which meant an increase of almost 40.5%. For the next year, 2026, it is planned to increase to 83 thousand rubles per month, that is, by another 20.3%.
In addition to various payments, in Russia there are such measures to support families with children as preferential family mortgages, repayment of part of the mortgage for large families, tax deductions, travel allowances for large families, she recalled. It also provides free access to exhibitions and educational assistance.
— Benefits have increased by 40.45% in two years, an average of 20% annually. According to the Government, such changes should stimulate the birth rate. However, for most families, the decisive factor remains the availability of their own housing, at least a two- or three—room apartment for a family with two children," Svetlana Sazanova said. — Monetary measures usually stimulate an increase in the birth rate in families with low levels of education and professional qualifications, for example, in families of migrant workers or new Russian citizens from Central Asian countries.
The increase in payments certainly affects state budget expenditures, Yulia Kovalenko, associate professor of the Basic Department of Financial Control, Analysis and Audit of the Main Control Department of the City of Moscow, Deputy head of the Higher School of Finance of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, noted in an interview with Izvestia. However, such expenses are considered as investments in the future.: They correspond to social policy and are able to provide additional economic benefits over time. There is no reason to expect rapid changes in demographic indicators, but the gradual positive impact of this initiative on the situation in the country is considered very likely.
The increase in benefits is due not only to inflation, but also to the dynamics of average wages, and its increase affects those who officially work, Andrei Girinsky, associate professor at the Faculty of Economics at the RUDN University, told Izvestia. The total amount of payments is determined by the length of service and earnings for the two years preceding the date of entitlement to benefits. Such a mechanism can have a positive impact on demographic processes.
"Support for families with children is complex and at the same time differentiated," the expert is convinced. — Possible measures of social motivation for full-fledged families with a large number of children can be applied not only at the federal, but also at the regional level.
The difference in performance
Even after the increase, the maximum amount of benefits will still be lower than the national average salary, which in 2025 is about 100,000 rubles, Elena Churilova, senior researcher at the International Laboratory for Population and Health Research at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told Izvestia. Taking into account inflation and further income growth, the gap will become even more noticeable in 2026. Nevertheless, the expansion of the maximum amounts of payments for pregnancy, childbirth and child care can be considered the right step. These funds are considered as an important measure of social support, which partially compensates for the lost earnings of women during the period of temporary child care and a break in professional activity.
"But I would not consider an increase in the maximum amounts of maternity and child care benefits as incentive measures," the expert said. — These payments compensate only a part of the woman's income, and it turns out that, despite the increase in benefits, the total family income after the birth of the child and before the woman goes to work will still be greatly reduced. Yes, there is an opportunity now to work full-time and receive a monthly payment. But if a woman goes out to work, then this monthly payment, in fact, goes to pay for child care and supervision.
In her opinion, there is a wide range of different benefits in Russia, but a key part of them is focused on reducing poverty in families with children. Among the new forms of support, there is a tax cashback, which will be provided only to those families with two or more children. The conditions for obtaining it will be the official employment of both parents, the payment of personal income tax, as well as the level of per capita income not higher than 1.5 regional subsistence minimum.
The main advantage of this measure is considered to be the opportunity for families with limited incomes to return the difference between the tax calculated at the rate of 13% and the reduced rate of 6% at the end of the year, the expert noted. Such compensation can be significant and will allow the funds received to be used for any family needs.
— Among the disadvantages, this support measure will again be available only to families that meet the income criteria, which creates a situation where some families will not be able to receive a refund due to a small excess of income. In my opinion, for families with three or more minor children, it would be possible to completely remove the income criterion, because if parents with many children work hard and successfully to support their children, this does not mean that such a cashback will be superfluous for them," the expert noted.
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