- Статьи
- Economy
- Marriage by settlement: it will be easier for newlyweds to receive a single child allowance
Marriage by settlement: it will be easier for newlyweds to receive a single child allowance
The income of a husband or wife received before the wedding was forbidden to be taken into account when assigning a single benefit, Izvestia found out. Because of this calculation, the newlyweds could suddenly find themselves "too rich" on paper and lose their monthly child support. The Supreme Court declared this practice illegal: a spouse becomes a family member only after marriage is registered, and accordingly, his income should be taken into account only from the day of the wedding. The decision will affect tens of thousands of Russians. Who will be able to challenge the refusal and whether it is possible to refund the money for the past months — in the Izvestia article.
How is family income calculated for a single benefit?
In Russia, the most popular measure of support for low—income families is a single monthly allowance. Parents of children under the age of 17 can receive it, as well as women who are registered for pregnancy before the 12th week. In the first quarter of 2026, almost 10 million people received the payment, according to the data of the Accounting Chamber (the editorial staff studied them).
However, not everyone can get help. By law, the applicant and the child must have Russian citizenship and live permanently in the country. The average income per family member cannot exceed the regional subsistence level. At the same time, adults must earn at least eight minimum wages during the billing period or confirm a valid reason for the absence of such income.
The social Fund also checks the family's property. For example, the reason for refusal may be more than one cottage or two cars. The latter restriction does not apply to large families and families with a person with a disability.
The amount of assistance depends on the region and the degree of need. In 2025, the payment for a child averaged from 9 thousand to 18 thousand, and for pregnant women — from 10 thousand to 19 thousand. In 2026, in some regions, including the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the northern regions, the maximum size exceeded 30-40 thousand.
But a complex counting system sometimes leads to failure. When assessing the need, the Social Fund takes the earnings of all family members for 12 months. The billing period ends one month before the application is submitted. The total amount is divided by 12, and then by the number of relatives.
The problem arises if the family composition has changed during this year. This happened to a woman whose case was included in the July review of the Supreme Court's practice. Izvestia has reviewed the document.
The social Fund included the spouse's earnings for August 2023 - July 2024 in the family income. However, the couple only registered their marriage on June 8, 2024. As a result, on paper, the family turned out to be well-off enough and was rejected. Without a man's salary before the wedding, the amount per person would have been below the subsistence level, meaning the woman was entitled to support.
The prosecutor appealed to the court in the interests of the applicant. The first instance refused to satisfy the claim, but the appeal declared the calculation illegal and ordered to assign benefits from August 2024, the month of the woman's registration for pregnancy. Then the Court of Cassation overturned this decision, and the dispute reached the Supreme Court.
The sun sided with the family. The Judicial Board reminded: According to the Family Code, the rights and obligations of spouses arise only after the marriage is registered. This means that the man became a member of the applicant's family only on June 8, 2024, and his previous income should not have influenced the assessment of need.
In fact, the Supreme Court has closed the issue, because of which families were deprived of assistance. Now, when calculating, you need to take into account people's income only from the date of marriage registration.
The editorial board sent a request to the Social Fund.
What to do in case of denial of benefits
Mistakes in calculating family incomes have left people without government support more than once. Since 2020, the prosecutor's office has eliminated more than 4,500 such violations, said Natalia Prodanova, Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Finance at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
It is not known how many applicants were confronted with the spouses' pre-marital earnings. The Social Fund does not disclose general statistics, and open sources contain only data on individual regions. But the problem is clearly serious: such refusals regularly reach the prosecutor's office and the courts, said Maria Kutarova, associate professor at the Presidential Academy.
The Supreme Court's decision concerns those who got married shortly before applying for benefits, explained Olga Turunina, lawyer at Leges Bureau Law Firm. For example, the application was submitted after the wedding, but part of the 12 months taken into account fell during the period when the man and the woman were not married yet. According to experts, the new practice could potentially affect 50-100 thousand families per year, taking into account about 10 million recipients of payments and about 1 million marriages.
The confusion arose because of two rules. The composition of the family is determined on the day of the appeal, and its income is checked for the previous 12 months, Olga Turunina explained. Because of this, the new spouse seemed to become a member of the family retroactively, and his previous earnings increased the total amount. As a result, people could lose help, even though they were not married at that time.
The Supreme Court found this approach incorrect. Before the marriage is registered, the person is not considered the applicant's spouse, so the money he received earlier should not affect the family's right to payment, the expert explained.
For those who have already been rejected for this reason, the lawyer advises them to request a detailed calculation from the Social Fund. In it, you need to check the date of the wedding, the period to be considered, and the arrival of a new husband or wife. If, after excluding premarital earnings, the family meets the criteria of need and meets the remaining requirements, the decision can be challenged.
But the money will not be automatically recalculated to anyone, Olga Turunina warned. First, you should submit an application for revision to the Social Fund and attach a marriage certificate. If the agency refuses again, you can contact the court or the prosecutor's office.
It is also possible to receive money for the past months if the family proves that the refusal was illegal, and at that time she met all the conditions. In the case reviewed by the Supreme Court, the allowance was assigned from August 2024, the month of the woman's registration for pregnancy. However, each case will be reviewed separately, taking into account the date of application, the type of assistance and the billing period, the lawyer added.
What other reasons are there for refusing government support?
Premarital earnings are far from the only reason for disputes with the Social Fund. A single benefit may be refused due to errors in family information, an unconfirmed reason for lack of income, missing documents, overlap with other support measures or non-compliance with property requirements, Natalia Prodanova from the Russian University of Economics listed.
Disagreements often arise over alimony, interest on deposits, income from property and one-time payments, which can be mistaken for regular income, said Maria Kutarova from the Presidential Academy.
Difficulties also appear after a divorce, the birth of a child, or a change in the age of the children. Questions are raised about the earnings of the self-employed, payments under civil law contracts, money from the sale of property and accounting for students under 23, Olga Turunina added.
Another common reason for rejection is the zero income rule. The social fund may not take into account the valid reason why a person temporarily did not work. For example, child care, pregnancy, studies, illness or official unemployment, the lawyer explained.
If the allowance is refused, you should not give up. First, you need to get an official decision with a precise justification. This will help to understand what information was taken into account incorrectly, collect supporting documents and appeal against the refusal, Natalia Prodanova concluded.
Thus, denial of benefits does not always mean that the family does not meet the requirements. Therefore, the decision of the Social Fund should be carefully checked and, if necessary, appealed — the position of the Supreme Court shows that even an established practice may turn out to be illegal.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
