Assistance plan: social contracts to help in a difficult situation proved ineffective

Social contracts to overcome a difficult life situation in Russia turned out to be insufficiently effective, the Accounting Chamber notes (Izvestia has its report). Such payments are intended for people who have been left without income and without the opportunity to find a job quickly, for example, after losing a breadwinner or becoming disabled. However, in 70% of cases they do not lead to an improvement in the situation. Last year, almost 2 billion rubles were spent on this assistance, but only a third of the recipients were able to reach the poverty line. The auditors suggested that the Ministry of Labor reduce the costs of these contracts and allocate funds to support its veterans. How the poverty rate in the country is changing and what other measures are available to those in need — in the Izvestia article.

What are social contracts for?

One of the measures to support the poor in Russia is the social contract. This is an agreement between social protection authorities and citizens with incomes below the subsistence level in the region. According to it, the state allocates money and helps to draw up an adaptation program to improve well-being. In response, the person must fulfill the specified conditions. The contract can be concluded in different directions: finding a job, starting a business, developing a subsidiary farm, or helping in a difficult life situation. The latter option turned out to be the least effective in terms of getting out of poverty, the Accounting Chamber (JV) notes in a July report on the results of the support measure.

— Social contracts for overcoming a difficult life situation are concluded exclusively in crisis situations, when a citizen for various reasons does not have the opportunity to start an active job search, start his own business, and financial support is required, — explained Andrey Galkin, Director of the Department of Demographic and Family Policy of the Ministry of Labor, commenting on the report of the Accounting Chamber.

Such agreements are drawn up, for example, in case of sudden disability, loss of a breadwinner, housing or source of income, as well as if it is necessary to take care of seriously ill relatives. In this case, a person can receive a one—time or monthly payment - for a maximum of six months. The amount of assistance is set by the regional authorities, but as a rule it is not less than the subsistence minimum in the region.

According to the auditors, such assistance amounts to the payment of benefits to solve current problems and does not require a person to take active actions to improve their situation. Whereas initially the purpose of the social contract is to help get out of poverty.

Last year, almost 2 billion rubles were allocated for payments in this area, according to the joint venture report. However, less than a third of the recipients managed to overcome the poverty line after the completion of the contract.

— The priority for social protection authorities is to provide a long—term basis for the financial well-being of the family. That is why the main emphasis in the provision of a social contract is on areas related to finding a job or starting a business," said Andrei Galkin from the Ministry of Labor.

At the same time, every fifth Russian who received such assistance later asked for support again. According to the auditors, repeated social contracts indicate that the regional authorities are not doing enough to bring people out of the crisis.

As a result, the Accounting Chamber proposed to the Ministry of Labor to reduce the number of agreements to overcome a difficult situation and redistribute these funds to more effective areas, in particular, to support veterans of their military.

The Ministry of Labor recalled that it is planned to introduce a separate social contract for the military to open a business with a one-time payment of up to 350 thousand rubles without an assessment of need. Veterans and their spouses will be able to receive it if the defender has a disability of group I or II. The bill is currently being finalized in the government office.

What kind of government support is available to the poor in the Russian Federation

In general, auditors consider the mechanism of social contracts to be effective. The most effective areas are related to work and business, according to the Joint Venture report. So, last year, incomes increased for 75% of recipients, almost half came out of poverty. In total, 553 thousand poor people provided assistance in 2024.

According to the national Family project, 323,000 people in Russia received payments in the first half of 2025, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global. This is less than 3% of the total number of people in need — according to Rosstat estimates, about 12 million people are below the poverty line in the country.

— In this context, it turns out that millions of Russians are coping with poverty on their own and only a few rely on government assistance. Social contracts themselves are rather social investments, the result of which manifests itself over time. Over the past 10-12 years, the share of the poor population in Russia has decreased from 14% to 8%, and state support has played a big role, the expert estimated.

Adopt meters: preferential mortgages for CBR participants may be launched in the summer

How will the program work and will it be able to support the housing market

In order for the mechanism of social contracts to be more effective, several conditions are important: timeliness, an adequate amount of payments taking into account inflation, ease of registration and achievable goals, said Yulia Dolzhenkova, professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. Now, according to her, the mechanism needs to be improved. For example, up to 350 thousand rubles are provided for starting a business and up to 30 thousand for training — these amounts are often not enough today. The business needs to be not only launched, but also retained, and the term of the agreement — a maximum of one year — may be too short. Besides, signing a contract is a long and complicated process. In most cases, this is a one-time measure, whereas the fight against poverty requires a systematic approach, the expert believes.

— At the same time, redirecting funds to support veterans is a justified measure. These citizens need time to adapt to a peaceful life, learn a new profession or enter the civilian labor market," Yulia Kovalenko, Associate Professor at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, is convinced.

As Natalia Milchakova reminded, now, in addition to social contracts, other support measures are available to the poor — federal and regional benefits (for example, in case of loss of a breadwinner), personal income tax and housing and communal services benefits, and child benefits. All this also helps in the fight against poverty.