We will look at what recent changes were made to the maternity capital program in 2021 in this article.
Maternity capital is one of the effective tools for influencing demographic processes in the country, introduced in order to increase the birth rate and encourage couples to have second and subsequent children. Adopted in 2007, the program has undergone changes over the 13 years of its operation - the amount of targeted financial assistance increased by 216,617 rubles (from 250,000 to 466,617 rubles). It is already known about the extension of the program until the end of 2021, and the indexation of the matcap amount to 489,051 rubles. Considering the positive demographic effect of the introduction of this measure to support families with children, it is very likely that its validity will be extended.
Important changes from the beginning of 2021
The government is working to improve the program, amendments to the law are being adopted, new areas of spending are being discussed, issues regarding the amount of payments, validity periods, and others are being resolved.
The most important change of 2021 in the Maternity Capital program was definitely the long-awaited “unfreezing” of the certificate amount - the fixed amount of state support has not changed and has not been indexed over the previous 5 years.
Indexing
In 2021, the amount of maternity capital has been increased by the forecast inflation rate (3.8%). After indexation, the size of the capital is 466,617 rubles. Previously, in 2015-2019, the amount of financial capital was 453,026 rubles.
Monthly payments
From January 1, 2021, families whose average per capita income does not exceed twice the subsistence level (previously 1.5 times) of the working-age population in the region of residence will have the right to receive a monthly cash payment from maternity capital funds.
Child's age
From 2021, monthly payments are paid until the second child reaches the age of 3 years (previously until the age of 1.5 years).
Let us remind you that from 2021 the certificate can be issued electronically, which is very convenient.
The process of processing and calculating cash payments does not start automatically! Payments are assigned only to families who apply for their accrual, and the application is written exclusively by the person for whom the document is issued!
Initially, the terms of the maternity capital program provided for its annual indexation based on the level of inflation. This condition was observed for 9 years, and in 2021 the government “froze” indexation until 2021, explaining this decision by the unstable financial and economic situation in the country.
Read more about indexation in the article “Indexation of maternity capital”
Amounts of maternity capital payments after “unfreezing”
| Years | Certificate amount, rub. |
| 2016 | 453026 |
| 2017 | 453026 |
| 2018 | 453026 |
| 2019 | 453026 |
| 2020 | 466617 |
| 2021 | 489051 |
4) Payment for education.
According to the new conditions, parents will be able to pay for nurseries and services of other preschool institutions until the child reaches the age of three. It will still be allowed to use money from maternity capital to pay for preschool education for children and dormitories. This will generally simplify the problem of financing education for parents who have very young children or students.
5) On-lending.
It is allowed to repay loans with maternity capital funds that were issued after the right to a state subsidy arose.
Another good news regarding changes in maternity capital in 2021 is the timing of consideration of an application for a certificate. Pension Fund specialists will process the application in 15 days instead of one month.
In accordance with the adopted adjustments, Russians were given expanded opportunities to use state support funds immediately after the birth or adoption of a second child.
Prohibition on spending MSC for dilapidated and emergency housing
It is obvious that purchasing an apartment in a building unsuitable for habitation significantly violates the interests of the child and the entire family.
However, according to the current version of Law No. 256-FZ, it was almost impossible to refuse the allocation of MSC for the purchase of such “housing”. The Pension Fund of Russia bodies did not have the authority to request and verify documents about the condition of the house, or to include it in the registers of dilapidated and dilapidated housing. To protect the interests of children and the state, PFR specialists refused to allocate capital for dilapidated housing at their own peril and risk.
However, the owner of the certificate could file a lawsuit and obtain the transfer of funds to the seller. Now such problems have been practically eliminated, because when checking transaction documents:
- Pension Fund specialists are required to send an interdepartmental selection to local authorities to obtain information from the register of dilapidated and dilapidated housing, houses for demolition and reconstruction;
- if the house is included in these registers, purchasing an apartment in it will not allow you to receive maternal capital, since children living in unsuitable housing is unacceptable;
- In addition to this norm, a project is being considered to actually check the conditions of improvement in the purchased apartment (this innovation will help avoid cases where children are moved into apartments without utilities and in poor technical condition).
Local authorities and property management institutions are obliged not only to respond to the Pension Fund's request in a timely manner, but also to provide additional information - details of the decision to include the house in the list of dilapidated and dilapidated housing, the planned date of major repairs or reconstruction, and other information. All checks and exchange of information must be completed no later than 30 days provided by Law No. 256-FZ.
Matcap size in 2021
Married couples with children have been receiving government assistance in the form of a maternity capital document for more than ten years. During this time, the amount of state support has increased significantly. The program began with a certificate worth 250 thousand rubles, and after 9 years, in 2021, the amount of state subsidy increased to 453,026 rubles.
The government increased the denomination of the certificate through indexation, a government instrument for equalizing the well-being of the population.
This parameter is calculated based on monitoring the level of inflation - as soon as its growth exceeds a given threshold, an indexation coefficient is applied. Based on this figure, the income of the population is adjusted, so the government does not allow a critical drop in people’s income levels.
The last time the amount under the maternity capital certificate was indexed in 2015 by 5.5%, according to the projected inflation rate.
Until 2021, the last time the amount under the maternity capital certificate was indexed was in 2015 by 5.5%, according to the projected inflation rate.
Until what year will the maternity capital program be valid?
To improve the terrible demographic situation, when birth rates did not exceed mortality rates, the Russian government developed measures aimed at encouraging citizens to have more children. This measure was the issuance of a certificate for maternal or, as another name has taken root, family capital.
Unfortunately, despite numerous conversations that the program to support an increase in the birth rate should be significantly improved and extended, however, at the present time, no guidance documents have been adopted at the level of the country’s leadership in this regard. Therefore, in order to acquire the right to participate in the maternity capital program, you need to hurry and do it before December 31, 2021 .
Where can I spend it?
The list of directions explaining where you can invest money for a second and subsequent child has been updated in 2021. The main options for spending state support funds approved by law:
- improvement of living conditions (the most popular and relevant way to use matcap, more than 90% of recipients use it to buy housing);
- child education (paid educational services for any child from the family);
- mother’s pension savings (in practice, this option is the most unpopular; families are distrustful of the long term, fearing the depreciation of money);
- social adaptation of disabled children (new direction since 2016).
And from the beginning of 2021, a new direction for spending state support funds has been added - monthly payments from matkapa funds to families with low incomes.
You can determine whether a family fits the payment criteria by studying the list below:
- Calculate total family income for the last 12 months;
- Divide the resulting amount by 12 - calculate the amount of total income per month;
- “We divide among everyone” - we distribute the family income per month among all family members, including a newborn baby;
- We compare the value obtained as a result of calculations with twice the subsistence level in the region;
- If the result of the calculations is below twice the subsistence level, the family can apply for registration and receipt of payments from maternity capital.
Matkapital without a building permit
If a family decides to spend capital funds on building a new house, it can hire a contractor or do all the work on its own. There will be no problems when allocating funds to MSC, however, from March 29, 2019, the list of documents for receiving funds from the budget will change. In lieu of a building permit, applicants must:
- to receive the first half of the MSC, submit a copy of the notification of the local government about the start of construction;
- to receive the balance of MSC, you need to submit another notification - about the completion of construction work and putting the house into operation;
- the presence of notifications must also be indicated when drawing up a notarial obligation with the Pension Fund (this document is drawn up if the distribution of shares to family members takes place later than the allocation of MSC funds).
Construction permits will no longer be issued in the fall of 2021. However, no amendments have yet been provided for in the legislative acts on the allocation of maternal capital. In March 2021, the legislator eliminated this gap and introduced notifications instead of construction permits into the list of documents for MSK.
The notification is sent to the municipality that issued the land plot for construction. The period for document verification cannot exceed 10 days, after which citizens are sent confirmation that the planned or completed stand complies with the law. It is this document that must be attached to the application for the allocation of MSC funds.
The notification procedure significantly simplifies the procedure for construction, registration of rights to a finished house, and receipt of capital funds:
- the time frame for reviewing notifications is significantly shorter than what was required for issuing construction permits;
- the permit indicated the validity period during which citizens were obliged to complete the construction (with a notification procedure, such restrictions do not exist);
- after completion of construction and receipt of notification from citizens, the municipality itself is obliged to transfer all documents to Rosreestr for registration of property rights (this is given no more than 10 days).
According to the new rules, citizens will not have to go through many approvals and independently register the rights to the built house . All these formalities will be completed by the municipal authorities. After the allocation of the second part of the capital, the Pension Fund authorities will independently request information from the Unified State Register of Real Estate on the registration of ownership rights for all family members. This will make it possible to check the fulfillment of the notarial obligation to re-register shares for all family members.
What is it prohibited to spend maternity capital on?
- Acquisition of land;
- purchase or construction of a summer house;
- current or major repairs of a home (for reconstruction - possible);
- purchasing a car (despite numerous proposals, the government has not approved this direction);
- purchase of furniture and household appliances;
- repayment of consumer and other non-targeted loans and borrowings;
- treatment of any family member;
- holiday at sea.
Question: payments of 250 thousand rubles to the motherboard in 2019?
An additional payment to maternity capital of 250 thousand rubles is of concern to a large number of Internet users - the answer to this question is searched for in search engines, discussed on forums... Some, the most active mothers, even demand this amount from the Pension Fund, citing a document allegedly adopted by the Government on the additional payment to mothers who became mothers twice before the age of 35.
Let us note right away that this issue was not discussed in the Government, and is nothing more than the subject of rumors.
Where does this question “grow” from?
The primary source of the news about the significant surcharge is the news portal “LIFE.ru,” which published hot news in April 2017, citing a “government source.” The website reported that Deputy Prime Minister for Social Policy Olga Golodets “instructed the Ministry of Labor, together with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development, to work out a proposal for an additional payment to the maternity fund for women who gave birth to their second and subsequent children before the age of 35.”
. The amount of 250 thousand rubles and the tentative launch of the program in 2021 were announced.
This information about the additional payment was picked up and reprinted by many unofficial publications, creating a “snowball” effect and unreasonably agitating young families.
Not a single official source confirmed this information, and authoritative Russian portals refuted the news, assigning it the category of another “duck.”
Effect of the program implementation
The Maternity Capital program in practice has proven to be one of the most effective levers of influence on the demographic problem in the country. Of course, a complete picture of assessing the effect of implementing the program can be obtained years after its completion, but, according to the statistical summary:
- by the end of 2015 the country's birth rate increased by 30%;
- the number of married couples deciding to have a second and subsequent children increased from 41% to 52%;
- The total fertility rate in the country, which dropped to critical levels in the 90s, at the beginning of 2021 amounted to 1.49%.
According to the Pension Fund of Russia, more than 90% of certificate holders use targeted funds to purchase housing.
It is likely that in 2021 there will be more refusals to provide maternity capital. This is due to the fact that there will be strict control over the verification of data provided by citizens. The accuracy of the following facts is checked: information of those who submitted the application, the presence of parental rights, whether crimes have been committed against children, etc. In addition, the issue related to the activities of organizations that issue loans against maternal capital will be resolved. Various microloan companies will become the object of close attention of the Government.
What's next?
The Government of the Russian Federation continues to discuss the birth rate situation in the country. As it became known, the Ministry of Labor proposed to extend the maternity capital program until 2023. However, the Ministry of Finance rejected this initiative.
As the authorities suggested, another extension of state support will cause a negative reaction. Families will not rush to plan for a second child.
Instead of extending maternity capital from 2021 to 2023, the Ministry of Finance proposed changing the scale of the program. It is possible that family certificates will be issued only to certain regions where the birth rate problem is particularly acute.
And on January 15, 2021, in an address to the Federal Assembly, President Vladimir Putin proposed issuing maternity capital after the birth of the first child in the family! There was also a proposal to extend the program until the end of 2026.
Who can count on maternity capital
Under the program, payments are made to families who have a second or more child. For those families who will have their first child in 2019, they will not receive financial assistance.
There are no restrictions on the number of times maternity capital can be received, that is, if a woman has received such assistance many times already, this cannot become a basis for refusal.
A special situation arises for those who become parents of twins, triplets, and so on. Despite the number of offspring already existing in the family and regardless of the number of children born at one time, multiple births give the right to receive only one amount of maternity capital.
The category of citizens applying for maternity capital also includes those who have officially adopted children. But an adopted child, just as in the case of relatives, must be at least the second in the family.
Can maternity capital “burn out”?
Currently, the family capital program continues to remain extremely relevant - the Pension Fund announced statistics for 2021, according to which only 60% of the 8.2 million issued certificates are fully used. It turns out that about 3 million families have not yet decided to take advantage of the government support they received.
In addition, a fifth of families who have received the right to mat capital have not yet acquired a certificate from the Pension Fund, but have the right to do so at any time. If we calculate the number of certificates possible for issuance in 2021, we will get about 4 million unused maternity capital by the beginning of 2019, and this is serious money!
The question is looming - what will happen to the issued but not yet used certificates if the program is closed, for example, at the end of 2021?
The answer is nothing! Families with a certificate in hand will not be affected at all by the completion of the program or its extension.
Why?
Firstly, by law, obtaining a certificate and activating it are not time-bound. And secondly, the program itself has already been extended until 2021, and with a high degree of probability will continue to operate, and as for indexation, the fact of its extension after 2021 is not excluded.
Based on the above, we are in a hurry to reassure doubtful certificate holders - your family capital cannot burn! There is no reason to succumb to panic on maternal forums, hastily and recklessly, to buy real estate at the end of 2018. Of course, investing a mother’s certificate in housing is the most reasonable use of it, but you should approach the purchase carefully, assessing the real estate market and studying the intricacies of a mortgage.
Until what year was maternity capital extended for the second child?
Maternity capital will be valid until at least December 31, 2021. The law introducing the corresponding changes was signed by the president in December 2021.
With a high probability, this federal program will be extended after 2021, as Tatyana Golikova reported in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency. The Deputy Prime Minister explained that maternity capital is a significant motivating factor for families to have children. Now the country is experiencing another demographic failure. From January 1, 2021, 12 more national projects will be launched, including the “Demography” project, the result of its action, as well as the action of the maternity capital program, should be a natural increase in the population by 2024.
Why it is better not to delay using funds under the certificate
And yet, cautious married couples who keep the treasured certificate for maternity capital at home on a shelf with documents may have cause for concern in the form of inflation and rising real estate prices that “eat up” the value of finances.
Therefore, it makes sense to gather a family council and decide how to invest the matcap in the most competent way, with maximum benefit for the family. Moreover, the economic conditions in the country are very favorable for this decision:
- The protracted crisis in the country, accompanied by a drop in demand for housing and, as a consequence, a “freezing” of real estate prices, is losing ground. If the positive economic trend continues, there is every reason to assume that the level of housing prices will return to the pre-crisis period and its further growth.
- In 2021 and 2021 a low level of inflation was recorded, which caused banks to reduce mortgage rates - currently, experts believe, the ratio of “housing price to mortgage cost” is as favorable as possible. Thus, the preferential mortgage rate of 6% per annum continues to decline, which will allow many families to profitably improve their living conditions with the help of matcap funds. Moreover, preferential mortgage funds can cover housing loans previously received by the family.
