Business FM continues to receive complaints from large families who have either lost their status or encountered difficulties in obtaining the corresponding benefits. Common comments indicate that “the benefit seems to exist, but it`s unavailable in practice.” Officials describe how the system should function, while large families share their real-world problems.
Following a story about one listener`s difficulties aired on Business FM, the radio station`s Telegram channel received numerous messages from people facing similar issues. A key problem families encounter is losing their multi-child status if one family member registers residency in a different region. According to lawyers, this situation is difficult to rectify.
Tatyana Butskaya, First Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, explained that benefits for large families include both federal and regional types. She clarified that federal support measures, unlike regional ones, do not depend on the family`s place of residence.
Tatyana Butskaya, First Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection:
“Having a multi-child family certificate, both paper and electronic, provides a clear guarantee that this family will receive federal support measures. What currently falls under federal support measures? Visiting cultural centers (museums, exhibitions), discounts in large retail chains (`Auchan`, `Atak`, `Lenta`). In addition, there is early retirement for mothers with many children, and specific provisions for education are also listed separately. This means these benefits stay with the parent permanently, regardless of their region of residence.”
Marina, a Business FM listener from Chuvashia, shared her experience regarding how the system works in practice:
— The certificate itself is issued upon the birth of the third child, establishing the status. But the certificate includes an expiry date. After this date, the certificate is considered invalid. Accordingly, we had to submit an application for renewal. As of today, I have an expired certificate in my possession – meaning it`s no longer valid. And I currently have a rejection letter. We were denied inclusion in the multi-child families register. So, I am not a multi-child family.
— So, the physical certificate exists as issued under federal rules after the birth of the third child, but it is invalid because the renewal was rejected. Is that correct?
— Yes.
Earlier, Marina told Business FM that she primarily used the certificate for visiting cultural institutions in various cities and received no regional support at all. Meanwhile, it is precisely at the regional level that significant benefits for large families can be provided, such as free land plots, free school meals or their compensation, free public transport, parking, medications, discounts on utility payments, tax deductions, and more.
Although the presidential decree mandates that regional support measures should be provided without considering financial need, Tatyana Butskaya notes that this principle is observed in only 42 Russian regions. In the remaining regions, benefits for large families are granted only if the family is officially recognized as low-income.
Nikolay, a civil servant and father of many children from the Moscow region, discussed the methodology used for calculating family income:
Nikolay:
“When I applied to confirm my status for additional benefits, my income was calculated *before* tax deductions, as if the entire sum was received net. According to their calculations, my salary was deemed sufficient for a family of five. To my question about why funds I don`t actually receive are included in the calculation, the response was `that`s the practice.` Thus, according to him, benefits formally exist but cannot be utilized.”
In the Moscow region, a family is considered low-income if its average per capita income does not exceed the regional living wage, which is 18,296 rubles. If the income per family member is below this amount, the family can be recognized as low-income. In Nikolay`s family of five, only he is employed. The calculation method applied results in his salary exceeding the established barrier, causing the family to lose several regional benefits intended for large families.
Rupert Blackwood 
Clement Ashworth