Federal subsidies for multiple-child families: where else to spend money, if not for an apartment

Alexander Dybin

About a fifth of the parent certificates are «dead weight». About 20% of families do not spend these funds, obviously waiting for the children to grow up and it will be possible to direct the money to study or add to the funded part of the mother's pension. In money, this is more than half a trillion rubles. At the same time, this is not just «frozen» money, they constantly require budget financing, since every year the amount of payment has to be indexed.

The government would like this money to work. Currently, two initiatives are being considered that expand the list of what you can spend your mother capital on. So in February, a bill was introduced that allows spending state support on the purchase of a car. Today it became known that the Ministry of Industry and Trade approves this idea. This was stated by the head of the department Denis Manturov in an interview with Radio Sputnik.

According to Anton Shaparin, vice-president of the National Automobile Union, public figures proposed a similar measure that could support the car market seven years ago.

«A significant part of the maternity capital certificates are not used, we believe that such funds should be directed to the car market, » the expert says, «of course developers will be against it. It's a painful story for them. They want all the maternity capital funds to get into their market. At the same time, a car is a great help for parents, a car will save them time to communicate with a child and will significantly expand their horizons, take them on excursions, travel. There are infinitely many options for how the car will help the family. So we are in favor with both hands and we believe that everyone who opposes just wants to save this money for developers. I am not sure that the Russian Federation needs to follow the path of endless construction by human workers. Our cities are growing disproportionately fast and in conditions of human settlements, just people do not reproduce. They don't need children in small apartments. So I am convinced that in this case the money from the construction market should be taken away».

At the same time, the idea of allowing matkapital to enter the car market requires deep study. In the field of real estate, the presence of certificates from clients has given rise to the phenomenon of cashing out state subsidies. The phenomenon has such a scale that a separate article «fraud with matkapital» was even highlighted in the criminal code. At the same time, cashing out through fictitious transactions for the purchase of housing is only half the trouble. Often, through these schemes, people are simply deceived, they commit a crime, while losing their money. In this regard, the auto business is even more mobile than the real estate market. How to protect young parents from scammers?

«The rules of the game should be immediately described so that it was impossible to cash out, as it happened and is happening now with real estate, » says Anton Shaparin, «all the mechanisms are there. We also have a child who can be the owner of such a vehicle, and consent can be given by special control and supervisory authorities to purchase a car, and so on».

At the same time, if we take as a basis the size of the maternity capital of 770 thousand rubles, then parents of new cars can count only on Lada Granta. The following models in the price range are twice as expensive as the size of the mother capital.

Maternity capital — at interest

Another initiative is related to the opportunity to put the received matkapital in the bank and receive an annual percentage. The author of the initiative is a deputy of the State Duma Yana Lantratova, who assures that, on the one hand, it will enable parents to receive live money in the form of annual interest, on the other hand, it will save the state from having to index unclaimed certificates, because the money is in the bank, and he is responsible for profitability. It is assumed that these will be long-term deposits for 5 years in a certain list of banks approved by the authorities.

What else can I spend my federal subsidies for multiple-child families on

Initially, the law assumed three goals: education, housing and a mother's pension. But over time, the number of goals has increased.

Matkapital can pay for the education of any child in the family in educational institutions of any level: from kindergarten to university. In addition, the certificate can cover the costs of a hostel or pay for the educational services of individual entrepreneurs.

Matkapital can be used to improve housing conditions, according to these, it is supposed to buy housing directly or with a mortgage. Immediately after receiving the certificate, you can use it to repay the principal debt or down payment on the mortgage. In addition, the certificate can compensate for the costs of construction or reconstruction of a residential building, while the repair of an apartment is not considered an improvement in living conditions.

A woman can include the funds of the maternity capital in the funded part of the pension. And you can withdraw all or part of the money, if necessary.

In addition, this money can be used for the adaptation of disabled children, the purchase of certain goods and services for special children.

Separately, you can make a monthly payment from the funds of the mother capital. It is available to low-income families. An allowance in the amount of the subsistence minimum for a child is paid up to 3 years.

How much is the federal subsidies for multiple-child families

The maternity capital in 2023 is 587 thousand rubles for the first child and 775.6 thousand rubles for the second.