Social protection of large families in Russia

This article is devoted to the consideration of the problems of social protection of the population in the Russian Federation, and in particular, the development of the social protection system for large families.

Keywords: large family, social support, social protection.

The development of social protection for large families in the Russian Federation is one of the most important tasks, as in many countries of the world. Social protection is aimed at providing certain segments of the population.

Large families represent a certain group of society, a family in which three or more children were born and/or are being raised. A large family is a unit of society in which a new generation of citizens of the state is being brought up.

In modern Russia, it is indicated that the family remains a family regardless of the nation and cultural aspects. The privileges of a large family can be obtained by children under the age of 18, and some areas cover the support of large families under the age of 23 [1].

If a mother or father is deprived of parental rights, and also refuses for one reason or another to raise children, sending them to an orphanage, orphanage or baby house, the family ceases to be considered large. In this case, the family is not allowed to enjoy the privileges intended for a large family. In most European countries, including Russia, large families receive state support. This is due to the extremely low and sometimes negative level of natural population growth. Population decline harms social stability in society and economic development.

At the moment, the status of a large family in Russia, as well as the legal, organizational and economic foundations of its social support are determined by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 431 dated 05.05.92 «On measures for social support of large families». In this presidential decree, the subjects of the Federation are instructed to independently determine which categories of large families should be provided with financial support. And the Ministry of Finance has been instructed to determine the financing procedure. After all, «having many children» looks different for each region: in one autonomous region, a family with three children is the norm, in another it is a rarity. For example, in Moscow, since 2009, benefits have been provided to large families, which include families with three or more children under the age of 16 to the youngest child (18 years old if he studies at an institution implementing general education programs). In the territory of the Udmurt Republic, a large family is considered to be a family raising (dependent on) three or more children under the age of 18 and (or) under 23 years old, provided that children who have reached the age of 18 are educated in educational institutions of primary vocational and secondary vocational education in full-time education, members of a large family are cohabiting spouses (single parent), their children (including adopted children) under the age of 18 and (or) children under the age of 23 studying in educational institutions of primary vocational and secondary vocational education in full-time education, as well as guardians (trustees) and children under guardianship (guardianship)

To study the social protection of large families, it is necessary to consider the statistics of their number.

At the beginning of 2021, the number of large families in Russia amounted to 1 million 566 thousand, which is 25 % more than the figures of the last population census (1 million 250 thousand families). The presence of large families has a positive effect on the demography in the country, the state has high hopes for an increase in their number, therefore it tries to comprehensively provide state protection and assistance to this category of families.

In 2021, the amount of assistance to parents with many children should not be lower than 6327.57 rubles and higher than 26116.52 rubles. Support is expressed in the form of rights that are necessarily granted to large families, additional and extraordinary opportunities. However, regardless of the state's hopes for the development of demography due to the abundance of large families, more than half of families with children in Russia are below the poverty line for one reason or another [4].

Social protection of large families is implemented at different levels. At the federal level, large families are entitled to:

1. Medical services;
2. Benefits for meals in educational institutions;
3. Tax-related benefits and land relations;
4. Benefits for public transport;
5. LCD services;
6. Education for both children and parents;
7. Assistance in farming and country farming.

To receive benefits and allowances within the framework of social protection for large families, it is necessary to apply to the IFC, the Pension Fund of Russia and the departments of the NWF in your area [2].

The most important thing in obtaining certain benefits is to prove that the family status really confirms having many children. Having applied with the necessary package of documents and confirmation of the status of a large family, one can really expect social protection from the state.

Regarding pension and labor benefits for large families, there are various advantages. For example, early retirement of a mother under certain conditions, unpaid additional leave provided there are at least 3 imperfect children in the family, the opportunity to get an auxiliary day off, receiving additional pension points on parental leave up to one and a half years [3].

Despite the substantial list of benefits, not every family is able to take full advantage of them. Bureaucratic procedures, the need to bypass many offices and bring more than a dozen certificates lead to the fact that many parents with many children do not receive the status of such immediately, or even do not use part of the preferential list they are entitled to. The situation is further complicated by the fact that there is no universal document guaranteeing automatic benefits in any instance — parents and guardians of three or more children have to make separate appeals to the Pension Fund department, the housing Inspectorate, the tax authorities, social protection, the municipality or the Federal Register.

In fact, the family is not obliged to register the status of a large family, this is done only at the request of the parents. Each family has the right to decide for itself whether to take advantage of certain benefits or not. There is a problem of collecting documents and applying for family social protection, as this is a long and time-consuming process. However, if a family wishes to take advantage of various state bonuses, they have the right to collect the necessary documents and register their family as having many children.

The article considered some of the advantages of the status of a large family, but they are not limited to those listed above. In practice, and taking into account regional differentiation, the state policy in the field of social protection of large families in the Russian Federation is more flexible and voluminous.

References:

1. Social protection. The official website. — [Electronic resource]. — Access mode: https://mintrud.gov.ru/social (date of application: 06/23/2021)
2. Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 431 of May 5, 1992 «On measures for social support of large families» / [Electronic resource]. — Access mode: https://belregion.ru/documents.
3. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation dated 12/30/2001. No. 197-FZ. — [Electronic resource]. — Access mode: http://base.garant.ru/57746794/. (Date of application: 06/23/2021)
4. Federal State Statistics Service. The official website. URL: https://rosstat.gov.ru/