For many years, the demographic situation in Russia is quite complicated. Fertility is very low, most people believe that it is enough to give birth and raise only one child. The danger of such a demographic situation for the country is obvious: young people are becoming smaller, the population of Russia is gradually aging and shrinking. In order to increase the birth rate in 2007, it was decided to pay the so-called maternity capital. It has become a measure of additional support for families with children and a way to stimulate fertility. A lot of questions interest applicants for maternity capital: before what year can I draw it up, what documents are needed, and what can I buy with this money.
The concept and size of capital
To understand the essence and effectiveness of this allowance for families, you need to decide what it is, how much money a family needs, and how it can be spent. Maternity capital is payments to those families who decide to have a second or subsequent child. It is guaranteed by the state to all its citizens. The conditions for obtaining maternity capital, the procedure for the appointment and use are regulated by a law adopted in 2007.
Initially, the state allocated a quarter of a million rubles. However, each year these amounts were indexed taking into account price increases in the country. The last time the amount was increased by law from 12/13/14. Since then, it amounts to 453 thousand rubles. It must be remembered that if some of the money is spent, the indexation of maternity capital will be carried out only on the remaining money.
Also, in addition to federal, in the regions permanent residents are given the so-called regional capital. The amount and conditions for obtaining maternity capital in the subjects of the country are determined by the laws of the region. The main difference is that it is paid only to those citizens who are registered in this region of Russia. And federal capital is paid to everyone, regardless of place of residence. Even those citizens who live outside our country can get it.
Who and under what conditions can qualify for payment?
Candidate for cash support can be not only a mother. The legislation provides for the possibility of obtaining a maternal certificate by the following persons:
- Russian citizen who gave birth to a baby;
- a man, a citizen of Russia, the only adoptive parent of the baby;
- father or adoptive parent with any citizenship if the mother has died, or mistreated the child, and she has been deprived of her rights to the baby, or if she committed a crime against her child;
- a child in the event that the mother, father or adoptive parent has lost the right to this material payment from the state.
To obtain a maternal certificate, the following conditions must be met:
- A born or adopted child should not be the first in the family, but the second, third or more. Moreover, if twins were born in the family, maternity capital is issued after the first birth.
- The parent or adoptive parent of the baby must be a citizen of our country, except in the case of termination of the right to financial support from the state from the mother - a citizen of Russia.
- Children can receive capital if they are under the age of 18 or study full-time (up to 23 years), and the right to family capital has been terminated from parents or adoptive parents.
If all these important and rather strict conditions for obtaining maternity capital are met, the candidate can apply for a family certificate.It is important to remember - you can get it only once.
We can say that the conditions for obtaining maternity capital are quite strict. They are respected by government to avoid misuse of budget money.
Duration of the Family Capital Act
When planning to exercise the right to maternity capital, up to what year the legislation on capital for a family is in force, this is a priority issue that worries the applicant. This law was adopted in 2007 and established that a child should be born or adopted in a family from 2007 to the end of 2016.
Subsequently, the right to maternal capital extended. The deadline for birth (adoption) was postponed to 2018. According to the latest changes in legislation, the baby should be born before the end of 2018.
Such an extension was required to stimulate the birth rate in our country and to provide support to families with children.
The procedure for registering capital for the family
Making maternity capital is a fairly simple process, does not take much time and does not require a lot of documents. You can issue a certificate at a convenient time. It is not necessary to do this immediately after the birth of the baby. Candidates for capital for the family can do this until the child is twenty-three years old. For registration, you need to collect the following documents for maternity capital:
- Applicant’s passport and two copies with information about the citizen, his residence permit and children.
- The birth certificate of the applicant for financial assistance.
- Birth certificate and two copies of it.
- If available, marriage certificate or divorce document.
- Pension insurance certificates for the applicant and his children.
- In case of adoption - the relevant court decision.
If the applicant for the assistance from the state is the father or adoptive parent of the child, you must bring papers that confirm the deprivation of parental rights or the death of the woman who gave birth or adopted the child.
Registration of maternity capital can be carried out personally through the main or territorial division of the Pension Fund. It is also possible to carry out registration through a multifunctional center (MFC). To draw up maternity capital for a second child, the personal presence of the applicant is not necessary. You can send copies of documents by mail or online. You can also draw up a power of attorney at a notary public for another person. With a power of attorney and a passport, a representative can submit all documents for maternity capital and write a statement instead of mother.
Opportunities for capital use
A very important question that interests a family with children is how to use maternity capital? This amount is not enough to satisfy all the needs of the family. Therefore, the state does not issue it in cash. The family receives only a certificate, not real money. Funds from the certificate can be directed only to certain purposes:
- improve family living conditions;
- spend on children’s studies;
- send mothers of children to the Pension Fund for the funded part of the pension.
Initially, legislation prohibited the use of maternity capital for up to 3 years. However, in 2008-2009, the country faced a difficult economic situation. Therefore, the state decided to make a one-time payment to citizens in the amount of twelve thousand rubles. Upon request, each family could apply for this payment.
Also, from this time on, Russian families have the opportunity to pay contributions on housing mortgages from the benefits even if the child has not reached the age of three.
In 2015, in connection with the economic crisis, a decision was made to conduct a one-time payment of a certificate of capital in the amount of 20,000 rubles to the owners. The family can spend this money on any of their needs. Families who have received a certificate before the end of 2015 have the right to it.To receive this payment, certificate holders must contact the Pension Fund of their area before the end of March. To receive money, you need to provide a passport, an account number in a Russian bank to which you can transfer money, a statement written according to the model. A sample application can be requested from the employees of the Pension Fund, in a multifunctional center, or found on the Internet on the public services website. Within two months, the PF will transfer money to the account.
Capital Restrictions
Before using maternity capital, you need to know about all legal restrictions. The state strictly controls the targeted use of these funds. When planning to spend money, family members must remember that they can not be spent on any personal needs. You can use the maternal certificate in parts. This opportunity is relevant when it is necessary to pay for a child’s education. At the same time, we must not forget that only the remaining amount will be indexed.
This money is not given out. Having decided to use them, the certificate holder must provide documents confirming the intended use and the bank account number where the money will be transferred.
It is forbidden to use money to carry out repairs in an apartment or in a house, to pay debts for an apartment, pay loans, purchase building materials for a country house, or purchase a car.
You can apply only after the child is two and a half years old. And use - after the child is three years old. An exception is the payment of a mortgage and lump sum payments to help the family as provided by the state.
Using money to improve family living conditions
The use of money for the purchase of housing is regulated by law. Of course, the funds provided by the state alone will not be enough to buy an apartment or a house. While 453,026 rubles is maternity capital, 1.5 million rubles. - The average price of an apartment or house in our country. The amount of the certificate is clearly not enough. But this money can be an additional help if the family has its own money. Another option is to use a certificate and a part of your funds for the down payment. So you can buy an apartment on a mortgage. If the family decided to purchase an apartment in this way, she does not have to wait for the baby to be three years old.
In addition, maternity capital is indexed periodically, and its amount increases with the rise in prices in the country.
You can also invest in the construction and reconstruction of housing for the family. However, it is worth remembering that with this money you can not purchase land for construction. The family will have to purchase the plot with their own money. Also, you can not use a certificate to pay for repairs
Housing that a family buys must be livable. It must be an apartment or a house. It is forbidden to buy part of the apartment or part of the house for capital. Within six months after buying a home, parents must register each child with his share of the property in the house.
When a person buys housing with maternity capital, he must first enter into a purchase agreement and transfer the existing part of the money to the seller. Only after this, the state will transfer to the seller the remainder of the family capital.
When buying housing for capital from the state, parents must provide the PF with identification documents, an agreement on the purchase of an apartment or house, a certificate of ownership of new housing, an extract from the state register that there are no burdens on housing, as well as the certificate itself and its copy. After that, maternity capital is paid. Money is transferred to the seller in a bank account.
Since 2009, a family can repay a mortgage loan using capital at any time after issuing the certificate, without waiting for the youngest child to be three years old.Such a right significantly eased the situation of Russian families in times of crisis.
Education for children through family capital
With the help of capital, you can help your child get education in paid schools: in circles, private schools, universities, etc. This money can help you pay for a child's kindergarten. In addition, from this money it is possible to pay for the accommodation of a child in a dormitory while studying. Studying in private educational institutions is paid only if they have a state license to provide educational services. An educational institution must be located in Russia.
You can spend money on the education of any child in the family. The main thing is that his age does not exceed 25 years.
If the child is temporarily unable to attend an educational institution, you can suspend payment for the educational process from the means of the certificate. When the child resumes education, the PF continues to pay for education.
If parents decide to spend a certificate on children's education, they must contact the PF six months before they need to transfer money to an educational institution. If a person provides all the necessary documents, within six months the PF will transfer the required amount to the bank account of the educational institution.
Pension with certificate
The law provides for the opportunity to spend capital on the future pension of the certificate holder. It can be used to form the funded part of the pension.
You can direct maternity capital to a second child not only in the state pension fund, but also in private pension funds.
If the certificate holder wrote a statement on the transfer of money to the PF, and then changed the decision, that is, the opportunity to return the money back and subsequently use it for other purposes permitted by law.
Capital efficiency from the state
The issue of the effectiveness of this state measure is very relevant. The certificate has been given to families for many years, some people managed to use this money for their needs. A few years after the start of the practical implementation of the law, one can judge the degree of its effectiveness.
It is worth noting that many families really decided to give birth to another baby, learning about the possibility of receiving support from the state. That is why such a measure as maternity capital was extended until 2018. However, this program also has flaws. Evidence of this is the numerous attempts by citizens to cash out a certificate. There are even people and organizations that offer people to get real money for a fee. Such actions are illegal, regarded as fraud and prosecuted under Russian law. In addition, cashing a certificate for money is absolutely unprofitable for families from a material point of view.
People trying to cash out their certificate can also be understood. Each family has its own needs: some dream of their own housing, others need a car, someone does not have enough money to treat a child. Among the poor there are people who do not have enough money for food. Therefore, some are looking for workarounds for obtaining money from maternity capital.
The facts described above indicate that the program is not effective enough. Legislators did not provide for all the possible needs of Russian families for which a certificate could be spent. If the program were more thoughtful, individually oriented, there would not be so many attempts to illegally cash out maternity capital.