Child benefit in Belarus. Child benefit Other types of child benefits existing in Belarus

In the Republic of Belarus, as in most developed countries of the world, special benefits are paid to non-working mothers raising children. The law also provides for the possibility of paying such benefits to persons who replace the child’s mother - for example, a widowed spouse-father or guardian.

There are several types of child benefits in Belarus. It is paid both as a one-time payment and until the child reaches 3 years of age. The amount of benefits is clearly tied to the subsistence level budget (LSB), the average salary in the country and is regularly indexed.

Types of child benefits in the Republic of Belarus

At the moment there are 3 main types of child benefits:

1. Benefit for women who registered for pregnancy before the 12th week of pregnancy. Its size is equal to the maximum BPM value. Payment of this benefit is usually made after the birth.
2. One-time benefit in connection with the birth of a child. Its value is determined by the number of children born in the family. If this is the first-born, then the state pays the parents (or parent, if the family is single-parent) 10 subsistence minimum budgets. If this is the second and subsequent child, then the payments are already 14 BPM.
3. Child benefit for child care. This is what they most often mean when they talk about child benefits in Belarus. Paid until the child turns 3 years old. For the first child in a family, the benefit is 35% of the average monthly salary in the country. For the second and subsequent ones - already 40%. Cases with disabled children are separately covered - the state pays their parents 45% of the average salary.

Child benefit in 2018, as of July is equal to:

• for child care up to 3 years old - from 312 to 401 rubles;
• one-time in connection with the birth of a child - from 2065 to 2892 rubles;
• women registered for pregnancy before 12 months - 206 rubles.

Other types of child benefits existing in Belarus

The law provides for payments of other types of benefits in addition to the above. Let's name the main ones:

• benefits for disabled children and HIV-infected children. This benefit is paid until children turn 18 years old. In both cases, its size is 70% of the BPM;
• allowance for caring for a disabled child. Its size is 1 BPM, payments are made to parents or persons replacing them;
• benefits for children aged 3 to 18 years, if the family has one or more other children under 3 years of age. This is a relatively new benefit, existing since 2015. Its size is half of the maximum BPM per capita in Belarus.

Summary table of changes in child benefits in Belarus since 2016

Of course, the amount of Belarusian child benefits cannot be called very high. However, they are indexed several times a year, and the state regularly fulfills its duties and never delays payments. Currently, the amount of child benefits in Belarus is absolutely adequate to the current economic situation and is an important part of the family budget for many residents of the country.

Child benefit is a social payment made by the state to non-working mothers or other persons who replace them in accordance with current legislation (guardians, single fathers, etc.).

In Belarus, there are several types of child benefits, paid both once and over a certain period of time. The amounts, frequency and duration of payments depend on the specific situation.

Benefit up to 12 weeks

One-time benefit. The expectant mother must register with the antenatal clinic no later than 12 weeks of pregnancy. The amount of payment coincides with the subsistence level budget and is reviewed quarterly. The amount is paid after the birth along with the birth benefit.

Payments upon birth of a child

Payment in connection with the birth of a child is a one-time payment. Its size depends on the number of children in the family: upon the birth of the first child, 10 BPM are paid, and for each subsequent child, 14 BPM.

You should contact social security with a corresponding application before the child reaches 6 months of age, and submit:

• passport;
• birth certificate and certificate;
• birth certificates for each of the older children (if available).

Depending on the situation, social security workers may request additional documents, for example, certificates of residence or family composition, an extract from the work record book, etc.

Child care allowance up to 3 years old

Payments are made monthly until the child reaches three years of age (until the end of maternity leave). The amount of the benefit is calculated as a legally established percentage of the average monthly salary in the Republic of Belarus:

• 35% - for the first-born;
• 40% – for the second and for each subsequent one;
• 45% – for a disabled child.

The monthly payment amount will be halved if the mother leaves work early at more than half the rate. When working less than half-time, the benefit will remain in full, provided that an employment contract has been concluded with the woman. If the same amount of work is formalized by a civil contract (contract), this is interpreted as an early return to work, so the amount of payments will be halved. The same applies to mothers who are entrepreneurs, private lawyers or notaries, or artisans.

Payments for children with HIV and disabled children

Payments are monthly, paid for each HIV-infected child or disabled person until he reaches adulthood and amount to 70% of the BPM.

Allowance for caring for a disabled child

The benefit is paid to parents or persons who replace them in accordance with current legislation. Payments are made until the disabled child reaches adulthood in an amount corresponding to 1 BPM.

Allowance for children from 3 to 18 years old if there is a child under 3 years old in the family

A relatively new type of payment that appeared in 2015. The amount is 0.5 BPM, the benefit is paid monthly to families with children under three years old, and aged 3-18 years, until the youngest child reaches the age of three.

Summary table:

Who will not receive child benefit?

Payments are not made:

• for children whose parents were deprived of parental rights;
• for children removed from families;
• to surrogate mothers.

Also, benefits are not paid for children raised in family-type orphanages, in foster families, or in state care.

The mother, father or the person who took custody of the child before the child reached the age of six months are entitled to benefits for the birth of a child.

Diagram of a survey of Belarusian dads, “Why dads don’t strive for maternity leave”

The amount of child benefit in connection with the birth of a new person is:

• for the first child born, the benefit amount is ten, which was relevant before his birth;
• for the second and subsequent children, maternity pay is equal to 14 subsistence minimums in force at the time of birth;
• when calculations are made, adopted children, stepdaughters and stepsons who have not yet reached 18 years of age are also taken into account;
• women who register before 12 weeks receive full payment of the Belarusian subsistence minimum.

Birth of twins

If twins or twins are born, families are paid according to the same principle: for the first child 10 times the amount, for the second child 14 times. If a child has already been born into the family before this, then for twins there will be a payment in the amount of 14 times the minimum subsistence level of Belarus for each individual.

The rights to receive compensation also remain with persons who took guardianship of twins before they reached 6 months of age.

Child care benefits must be paid by social protection authorities at the place of residence of the mother, the person receiving guardianship rights, or the father, if the mother has not had a permanent place of residence since the birth of the twins. And also 100% BPM compensation is due for each twin.

Documents required to receive government financial support

As the Belarusian law on the calculation of payments and Article 20 of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus states, state benefits are calculated at the mother’s place of work or study if she is a full-time student. If she is unemployed and does not undergo training, then social benefits are calculated at the place of work or study of the father. Families in which the father does not work or is absent, at the place of residence in the employment or social protection authorities.

In accordance with the presidential decree issued on April 6, 2010, the following documents are required to be submitted:

• statement;
• civil passport or other identity document;
• extracts from work books or copies of other documents that can confirm that the person is working, and this is necessary to determine the place where the benefit will be calculated.

Benefit for children under three years of age:

• for the first child under 3 years of age, the benefit amount is equal to 35% of the average salary for the current quarter;
• for 2, 3 or more children, the amount of payments is equal to 40% of the average salary for the quarter;
• for a child with disabilities up to 3 years old, 45% of the average salary;
• for children under 3 years of age living in areas affected by radiation with subsequent resettlement and the right to do so, 150% of the established benefit amount;
• allowance for the second and subsequent children under 3 years of age living in an area contaminated by radiation is also 150% of the established amount for caring for children under 3 years of age;
• monthly allowance for children over 3 years of age is equal to 50% of the national subsistence level.

The following have the right to receive benefits for the maintenance of a child under 3 years of age:

• mother;
• father;
• stepmother;
• stepfather;
• adoptive parent.

As for other representatives of the child, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, they can count on these payments if, for example, the mother went to work and thus she is no longer paid child benefits, and the raising relative must take leave baby care.

Benefit payments are reduced by half if the person raising the children has done the following:

• works full-time or part-time (in total, works more than half of the monthly working time);
• carries out work part-time (half full time and additionally performs work from home);
• works from home for more than one employer;
• performs work under a civil contract, provides services related to intellectual property;
• works as an individual entrepreneur;
• a private notary or provides legal services;
• artisan;
• is busy receiving postgraduate education and has a scholarship (for those who are studying full-time);
• undergoes clinical residency (full-time).

For persons caring for a child, the full benefit calculation is retained:

• for working citizens part-time (working time does not exceed half of full working time per month);
• a person who has taken on parenting responsibilities and temporarily suspended his notary, lawyer, craft activities or individual entrepreneurship;
• is a full-time student (whether or not there is a scholarship does not matter);
• busy getting an education after graduating from university, does not have a scholarship;
• has maternity benefits;
• registered the child in a preschool institution.

To receive benefits for a child under three years of age, you must provide the following list of documents:

It should be remembered that you must apply for benefits from the moment you receive the right to such payments, otherwise it will be assigned from the moment you apply for it.

Caring for a small child takes a lot of time. Understanding this, the legislator secured the right of the mother (other relatives, family members) of the baby to leave to care for the child until he reaches the age of 3 years with the payment of state benefits<1>. Let's figure out how to get such a benefit and what is useful to know about it.

Who is paid and in what amounts?

For child care benefits under 3 years of age (hereinafter referred to as the benefit) have the right citizens of the Republic of Belarus, foreign citizens and stateless persons, if they<2> :

- permanently reside in our country;

— temporarily reside in the Republic of Belarus subject to payment of mandatory social insurance contributions.

Benefit assigned to the child who, on the day of applying for benefits, is registered at the place of residence (place of stay) in Belarus (received a residence permit). Moreover, as a general rule, he must actually reside in our country<3> .

The benefit is not assigned or paid to a child if he<4> :

- left our country for a period of more than 2 months (this does not include children who left for treatment, as well as children of employees of diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Republic of Belarus);

- resides and is registered at the place of residence in Belarus, but is not registered at the place of residence because he permanently resides abroad;

- in other cases provided for by law.

Benefit may be assigned the following persons actually caring for the child (hereinafter referred to as recipients)<5> :

1) mother (stepmother) in a complete family, parent in a single-parent family, adoptive parent (adoptive parent), guardian (hereinafter referred to as the main recipient).

2) to the father (stepfather) in a complete family, another relative or family member of the child, subject to the following conditions:

- he (she) is on parental leave and (or) has suspended activities as an individual entrepreneur, notary, lawyer, craft activities, activities providing services in the field of agroecotourism (hereinafter referred to as other income-generating activities ).

Pay attention!
To suspend activities in connection with caring for a child under 3 years of age, you must submit an application to the following authorities <6> :
- an individual entrepreneur, a craftsman, a person operating in the field of agroecotourism - to the tax office, where he is registered;
- to a notary - to the Ministry of Justice;
- for a lawyer - to the territorial bar association of which he is a member;

- the main recipient goes to work, studies, carries out other income-generating activities, and is undergoing clinical residency training as a full-time student.

Example
The mother interrupted her maternity leave and went to work. Instead, her grandmother took care of the baby and suspended her activities as an individual entrepreneur. The benefit will be assigned to the grandmother;

3) to a father (stepfather) who does not work, is not a full-time student, does not carry out other income-generating activities, etc., if the mother (stepmother) works (serves) or is employed in other ways provided for by law.

Example
The child's mother operates as an individual entrepreneur. The father has no job and takes care of the child. The benefit will be assigned to the father.

The benefit is calculated based on the average monthly salary in the republic for a certain period (hereinafter referred to as the AWP). It is paid for each child in the following amounts<7> :

— for the first child — 35% FFP;

- for the second and subsequent children - 40% FFP;

— for a disabled child under 3 years of age — 45% of the FFP.

Note
Some categories of recipients are entitled to 150% of the benefit. This applies to persons living in certain areas contaminated with radiation <8> .

The recipient is only entitled to half the benefit if he<9> :

- carries out other income-generating activities.

Pay attention!
If the recipient carries out other income-generating activities, he will receive the full amount of the benefit if <10> :
— suspend activities (in connection with child care, by court verdict, etc.);
- will not carry out activities due to being in the process of terminating it;

- works for one or more employers for more than 0.5 wages;

- works at 0.5 rate or less, but also performs work at home for one or more employers;

- performs work at home for more than one employer;

— receives full-time postgraduate education with a scholarship;

- in other cases.

When to apply for benefits

It is important to know from what moment the recipient becomes entitled to benefits. Let's name the most common ones<11> :

- the day of granting parental leave or the day following the last day of sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth;

— the child’s birthday, if maternity benefits were not provided;

- the day of registration of the child in our country at the place of residence of one of the parents, if the child was born abroad;

- the day of granting parental leave to the father (stepfather), relative, member of the child’s family (day of suspension of other income-generating activities), but not earlier than the day following the day of termination of payment of benefits to the main recipient.

As a general rule, from the moment the right to benefits arises, the recipient can apply for its appointment within 6 months. In this case, the benefit will be assigned for the period starting from the day the right to it arises<12> .

Pay attention!
If the recipient misses the 6-month deadline and applies later, he will still be awarded the benefit. However, it will be assigned not from the date the right to it arises, but from the date of application for the appointment. That is, the recipient will lose part of the benefit for an earlier period <13> .

Example
On May 15, 2017, the mother went on maternity leave. On June 7, 2017, she applied for benefits. The benefit will be assigned to her from May 15, 2017.

Example
The mother was caring for the child. On January 10, 2017, she went to work. From that day on, my grandmother went on maternity leave. The grandmother applied for the benefit only on July 17, 2017. Since the 6-month application period was missed, the grandmother’s benefit will be assigned from July 17, 2017.

Where to go

To apply for a benefit, you must contact the appropriate commission.<14> :

1) at the place of main work (full-time study, place of training in clinical residency) of the main recipient;

2) the place of main work (full-time study, etc.) of the father (stepfather), if the mother (stepmother) is a housewife (that is, does not work, does not study, is not an individual entrepreneur, etc.);

3) to the labor, employment and social protection authorities (hereinafter referred to as the social protection authority) at the place of residence (place of stay) of the benefit recipient in cases provided for by law. For example, if both parents:

— pay social insurance contributions independently;

— work in commercial organizations with an average number of employees up to 15 people inclusive;

— carry out work under civil contracts (contracts, paid services, etc.).

An application must be submitted to the benefits assignment committee. It must be accompanied by a package of documents required by law. In particular, such documents include<15> :

— identity document;

— birth certificates of children raised in a family;

- a document on the basis of which you can determine the destination of the benefit (extract from the work book, certificate of state registration of an individual entrepreneur, certificate from the place of study, etc.)<16> ;

— marriage certificate or documents confirming the status of a single-parent family (copy of a court decision on divorce, certificate of death of a spouse, etc.)<17> ;

- other documents.

Receiving benefits

The benefit is paid monthly for the current month.

The benefit assigned at the place of work (study), etc., is paid on salary payment days in the ways provided for by law and accepted by the organization (by bank card, in cash according to the statement).

If the benefit was assigned by the social security authorities, the recipient has the right to choose to receive it through the post office and (or) banks in accordance with the established schedule. Benefits can also be delivered directly to your home.<18> .

Termination of benefit payment

As a general rule, the last day of benefit payment is the day the child turns 3 years old.<19> .

There are cases when benefits stop being paid early. In particular, these include the following<20> :

- the child has left the country for more than 2 months (with some exceptions). In this case, the payment of benefits will resume upon the request of the benefit recipient after the child returns to the Republic of Belarus<21> ;

— the child is deregistered at the place of residence in the Republic of Belarus;

- the child is no longer being raised in the family (removal of the child, cancellation of adoption, abandonment of the child, etc.);

- when changing the place of payment (due to a change in place of work, study, new place of residence, dismissal, etc.). To receive benefits in a new location, the recipient must apply for the assignment again. It is important not to miss the 6-month deadline for applying for benefits. This period begins to count from the day following the day of termination of payment of benefits at the previous place<22> .

Pay attention!
It is important to report the occurrence of such circumstances at the place of receipt of benefits no later than 5 calendar days after their occurrence. Then the benefit ceases to be paid from the first day of the month following the occurrence of terminating circumstances. Otherwise, in most cases, benefits will cease to be paid from the day the terminating circumstances occur (with some exceptions) <23> .

Example
Situation 1. On July 15, 2017, a mother and child left the country for more than 2 months. She informed about this in advance at the place of work where she receives benefits. In this case, the woman will receive benefits for the entire month of July. And only from August 1, 2017 it will stop being paid.
Situation 2. On July 15, 2017, the mother left the country with her child for more than 2 months and did not report this within the prescribed period. The benefit was credited to her card. In the described case, the benefit ceases to be paid on July 15, 2017, and amounts paid for a later period are subject to refund.

The excess amount of benefits paid is subject to refund. If the recipient refuses to return this amount voluntarily, by decision of the commission it will be withheld from the amounts of other state benefits, wages, scholarships and other income of the recipient. If there is no such income, the debt is collected through court<24> .

Benefits for children under 3 years of age

In Belarus, from August 1, 2019, benefits for children under 3 years of age will increase. The increase in payments will be from 13.65 to 17.55 rubles, depending on the type of benefit. Thus, the benefit for the first child will be 376.11 rubles, for the second and subsequent children - 429.84 rubles.

For a disabled child under 3 years of age, payments will increase to 483.57 rubles per month.

The last time benefits for children under three years of age was increased was on February 1 of this year. Then payments increased by an amount from 33.42 to 42.97 rubles.

The growth of the benefit depends on how the average salary in the country changed over the previous quarter. If it falls or does not change, then the amount of the benefit remains at the same level, and if it grows, then the benefits are raised as well.

The average salary in the first quarter was 1,011 rubles, and in the second - 1,074.6 rubles.

Birth benefits

From November 1, 2019, benefits for the birth of children will increase in Belarus, which depend on the size of the subsistence level budget.

The size of the lump sum benefit is proportional to the growth of the BPM

• in connection with the birth of the first child: 2,318.3 rubles,
• and at the birth of the second and subsequent children - 3,245.62 rubles;
• a one-time benefit for women registered with state healthcare organizations before 12 weeks of pregnancy will increase to 231.83 rubles

Amounts of benefits for some families raising children

Family support

The government will review the current state support for families with children, previously Prime Minister Sergei Rumas. The head of government said that in the near future, government efforts will be concentrated on additional support for families with children - child benefits, housing, pension guarantees for mothers with many children, and increasing the availability of reproductive technologies, primarily IVF.

The authorities may also review the payment of benefits to families raising a disabled child. “The issue of continuing the payment of benefits for other children over 3 years of age after a disabled child reaches 18 years of age will be worked out as part of a comprehensive adjustment of the legislation on state benefits,” the Ministry of Labor reports.

Let us recall that in March of this year it was reported that changes had been prepared for families raising children. Among them are to raise child benefits, solve the problem of insurance coverage for mothers of four children, and allow the use of family capital after the child reaches 3 years of age.

Benefits may also be increased for some families with children. Now families with several children, one of whom is under 3 years old, are paid a monthly allowance that is half the subsistence level budget. And the size of these payments does not depend on the number of children.

Now they want to pay this benefit depending on the number of children. It is proposed to differentiate this benefit: three children - 50% of the BPM, four - 75%. Families with 5 children, one of whom is under 3 years old, are offered to increase the benefit amount to 125% of the BPM.

Another proposed change is to include in the total length of service, which is important for calculating pensions, maternity leave for mothers raising 4 children.

Today, the maximum length of periods of child care included in the length of service is 9 years. Regardless of the number of children. For those who have three children, maternity leave is included in their full length of service, and additional benefits are provided for mothers of five or more children.