In Russia, there is state aid for families whose income does not exceed a certain threshold. A family recognized as poor is entitled to a range of benefits and cash payments.
How to get the status of a poor family
Before you can qualify for benefits, you need to know if your household is poor. To do this, you need to take into account all the family's income for the last quarter. A family is a married couple or single parent and children. In some cases, grandparents can be considered a family, for example, if they are the legal guardians of their grandchildren. Couples who live together but are not married cannot apply for social assistance together. Family income should be divided by the number of people in the family. If the resulting income per person - per capita income - is below the subsistence level established in your area, you have the right to apply for social assistance and low-income family status.
To obtain benefits and the status of a low-income family, you need to contact the social protection authorities. The applicant will be required to provide certificates of income and employment, a certificate of family composition, which can be obtained from the housing department, as well as a certificate of ownership of real estate, if he has one.
It is necessary to distinguish between benefits for large and low-income families. Although the income of the former per family member is often low, not all large families receive benefits as low-income families. At the same time, in case of special circumstances, the benefits can also be extended to families without children.
The status of a low-income family must be confirmed annually.
Federal and Municipal Poor Benefits
Benefits and allowances depend on the region in which the family lives. However, some benefits are provided by the federal government to each household and are uniform throughout the country. For example, a working member of a poor family may be exempt from income tax. The state also provides assistance to students from low-income families. An applicant from a low-income family with a disabled parent of group I has the right to out-of-competition admission to a university. Also, a student from a low-income family studying at a state university can apply for a social scholarship. To do this, he must submit documents on family income to the social department of the university.
At the regional level, low-income families are provided with a number of other benefits, such as subsidies for utility bills. This benefit is also formalized through social security services. There are quite strict requirements for housing subsidies that the family must confirm every six months that it needs financial assistance.
Some additional benefits are provided for low-income families with many children and families of military personnel.
Low-income families with children are entitled to child allowance. Its size depends on the age of the child. The increased allowance is due to non-working parents of children under 1, 5 years of age, as well as single mothers of children under 16 or under 18 if the child is in school. When a child is born, non-working parents are also entitled to a special payment. The specific amount of material assistance depends on the region in which the family lives.
