One-Time Payment to Families with Children (COVID-19 Presidential Payments)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's Pension Fund (Пенсионный фонд России, now merged into the Social Fund of Russia) administered a series of universal, non-means-tested cash payments to virtually every family with children under two presidential decrees. Decree No. 317 (May 11, 2020) provided a one-time payment of 10,000 rubles per child aged 3-16, disbursed from June 1, 2020; Decree No. 412 (June 23, 2020) added a further one-time 10,000 rubles per child from birth to age 16, disbursed from July 2020, regardless of household income or employment status. Together these one-time payments reached roughly 27-28 million Russian children and were funded entirely by the federal government. Applications were free and processed through the Gosuslugi public-services portal or the Pension Fund, with no documentation beyond confirming the child's Russian citizenship required.
COVID-19, Universal Child Benefit, Presidential Decree, Non-Means-Tested, Russia, Pandemic Relief
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Pension Fund of the Russian Federation
- City
- Moscow
- State / Province
- Moscow
- Country
- Russia
Contact
- Website
- https://sfr.gov.ru/
- Phone
- 8 800 100 00 01
- pressa@sfr.gov.ru
- Social media links
- t.me
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 27,000,000
- Funding type
- Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Total Amount
- 20,000
- Avg. Per Month
- 10,000
- Payment frequency
- Lump Sum
- How long the program lasts
- 2 months
- Distribution Type
- Direct bank deposit
- Benefit details
Two separate one-time (lump-sum) payments of 10,000 rubles per child were paid in 2020: the first, under Decree No. 317, went to children aged 3-16 starting June 1, 2020 (covering an estimated ~22 million children, roughly 200 billion rubles in federal spending); the second, under Decree No. 412, went to all children from birth to age 16 starting July 2020. A child aged 3-16 could therefore receive up to 20,000 rubles total across the two rounds, while a child under 3 received 10,000 rubles from the July round only. These one-time payments were paid on top of (and separate from) an existing COVID-era monthly benefit of 5,000 rubles per child under age 3 for April-June 2020 established under the original Decree No. 249 (April 7, 2020). Families who had already applied for the earlier payments received the July top-up automatically without reapplying.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Available to parents, adoptive parents, guardians, or custodians (including foster parents) of children holding Russian citizenship who resided within the Russian Federation; there was no income, employment, or asset test of any kind - the payment was explicitly universal for all qualifying families regardless of financial circumstances. For the June 2020 round, the child had to be aged 3-16 (and not yet turn 16 before July 1, 2020); the July 2020 round extended eligibility to children of any age from birth through 16. Russian citizens permanently residing abroad were not eligible.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 0
- Maximum age
- 16
Family
- Family Status
- Parent, Foster Parent
- Number of dependents (minimum)
- 1
Citizenship
- Citizenship / immigration status
- Citizen
Geography
- Countries covered
- Russia
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Application Process
- How to apply
Parents or guardians applied online through their personal account on the Gosuslugi public-services portal (gosuslugi.ru) or the Pension Fund's own portal (es.pfrf.ru), or in person at a Pension Fund client service office, specifying bank account details for direct deposit. No supporting documents were required beyond the application itself; the Pension Fund verified the child's Russian citizenship and age directly. Applications were accepted through October 1, 2020, and families who had already applied for the April-June benefits received the additional July payment automatically without submitting a new application.
- Selection process
There was no selection or means test - every child meeting the citizenship, age, and residency criteria was automatically approved once a parent or guardian's application was verified against Pension Fund and civil registry records.
