Conscription age has changed
On January 1, the law expanding the limits of the compulsory military service age came into force. While previously Russians aged 18-27 were called up for military service, now the upper limit has been increased to 30 years.
The lower limit of 18 years remained unchanged.
The bill was submitted to the State Duma last March; Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu proposed the idea of changing the age limits for conscription. According to him, this is necessary for “strengthening the country’s security in connection with the creation of NATO’s military potential” near the borders of the Russian Federation.
The bill initially envisaged changing the age range gradually and increasing the lower limit to 21. However, this version of the bill was rejected.
Once they reach their 27th birthday, Russians in the reserves will not be subject to compulsory military service. The rest of the men will become “undraftable” only after 30 years.
All deferrals continue and the deferral period for IT professionals will increase to 30 years.
Pensions will increase slightly
Starting from the beginning of the new year, the pensions of retirees who do not work in Russia will be indexed. The increase in payments will be 7.5 percent, so the average size of the insurance pension will increase by 1,572 rubles to 22 thousand 605 rubles.
The old-age pension will increase by 1,631 rubles and reach 23 thousand 449 rubles.
The increase in pensions in Russia will affect 32 million retirees. In addition, starting from October 1, 2024, the pensions of military personnel and their equivalents (security and law enforcement employees) will be increased by 4.5%. This is 2.7 million people.
Next year, women born in 1966 and men born in 1961 (58 and 63 years old, respectively) will be able to retire according to their age.
New year – new minimum wage
Starting from January 1, the minimum wage in Russia is increasing, now it will be equal to 19 thousand 242 rubles for full-time workers. The increase is about 3 thousand rubles. The amount of benefits for temporary disability, maternity leave, sick leave and other compulsory social insurance payments depends on the minimum wage.
A new law regulating the amount of unemployment benefits will come into force in 2024. The maximum benefit amount is 12,792 rubles in the first three months and 5,000 rubles thereafter.
Learn to cook borscht
As of September 1, 2024, it will be mandatory to teach the “Labour” subject to primary and secondary school students in schools. The relevant law was developed by State Duma deputies and signed by the president in December last year.
“Learn to make borscht because you need to take good care of your future husband. Learn to hold a hammer or let some new technologies because they will be useful in life. We must think about our other half, our spouses. “What kind of man is there if he has no working skills and will not support a woman in her future life?” — this is how the speaker of the lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, explained the need to return to the workers’ training school.
Kids, kids and more kids
The maximum amounts of two types of tax deductions will increase after the new year. The first – for treatment, training and purchase of medicines – increases from 120 thousand to 150 thousand rubles. The deduction for the child’s education will also increase from 50 thousand to 110 thousand rubles.
In addition, taxpayers will no longer be required to submit evidence of employment or treatment expenses to the Federal Tax Service (FTS) if the organization providing the services does so.
Also coming into force on January 1 is a law that allows parents to return to work early from maternity leave without losing their child care benefits.
After the New Year, payments for children will continue to be credited without distinction, regardless of the type of work of the parents (full-time or part-time, remote or office). Mothers who lose their jobs during maternity leave due to business closure will also retain their right to payment.
The average amount of child care allowance for children under 1.5 years of age in 2024 is approximately 17.8 thousand rubles.
The changes will also affect parents raising disabled children. As of January 1, they will be able to work in parallel and receive support from the state budget. According to Minister of Labor Anton Kotyakov, benefits will also be protected by working parents under civil law contracts (GPC) and author’s orders. Payment will also be received by individual entrepreneurs and self-employed people raising disabled children.
The amount of this payment is approximately 10 thousand rubles.
After the New Year, maximum maternity benefits will increase, as will sick leave payments. Pregnant women will be able to receive up to 565 thousand rubles, although previously the limit was 383 thousand. The maximum monthly payment for child care up to 1.5 years old will be 49 thousand rubles instead of the “old” 33.2 thousand. The maximum amount of monthly sick pay is now 122 thousand rubles.