MPs propose to revise the amount of childbirth assistance

Ukraine has been facing a demographic crisis for many years. And the trend towards its intensification is only gaining momentum every year. The situation is only getting worse because families cannot afford additional expenses for a child due to the economic crisis, and the fighting in the country is killing a large number of children.

This is stated in the explanatory note to the draft law No. 12184 "On Amendments to Article 12 of the Law of Ukraine "On State Assistance to Families with Children".

The authors of the draft law remind that the amount of childbirth assistance is only UAH 41280, regardless of the number of children in the family, and is catastrophically insufficient for the full maintenance and care of a child after birth.

This amount of childbirth assistance was fixed in the legislation in 2014, when the minimum wage was UAH 1218. Since then, the amount of the childbirth allowance has never changed.

At the same time, as of the beginning of 2024, the minimum wage in Ukraine is set at UAH 8,000, which is almost 6.5 times higher than the minimum wage in 2014. Also, between 2014 and 2024, there was a significant increase in prices for consumer goods and food. Therefore, the financial assistance at the birth of a child requires an urgent and mandatory review and upward adjustment.

In view of the above, the draft law proposes to restate Article 12 of the Law of Ukraine "On State Assistance to Families with Children" in a new wording, which provides that the assistance at the birth of the first and each subsequent child is granted in the amount of a multiple of 105 times the subsistence minimum per child and the assistance is paid in a lump sum in the amount of a multiple of 25 times the subsistence minimum per child, the remaining amount of assistance is paid over the next 36 months in equal installments.

Thus, taking into account the current subsistence minimum, the childbirth allowance will amount to UAH 269,115 (UAH 2,563 x 105). Of this amount, UAH 64,075 will be paid as a lump sum, and the remaining amount will be paid in equal installments over the next 36 months, i.e. UAH 5,695.55 per month.