Tyumen Residents Clash Over Child Benefits

The topic of social benefits, especially child benefits, remains one of the most debated among Tyumen residents. Previously, various opinions of city residents on the amount of pensions and family support were published.

Some commenters advocate for the complete abolition of child benefits. In their view, benefits foster a dependency mentality and reduce motivation to work.

“Remove all these benefits. They’ve gotten used to relying on the state at someone else’s expense,” one user stated, and others in the discussion supported him.

“You gave birth, so support your child yourself. Why should anyone owe you or your child anything?!” wrote another Tyumen resident.

The opposite view is that benefits are vital assistance, especially for mothers with children under three.

“It would be better to pay good benefits to all women for children under 3 years old,” a reader said.

This opinion sparked a debate about maternity payments often being insufficient to support a mother and child, which is especially acute in single-parent families.

“I believe that benefits should be paid to all mothers (or fathers if they have custody) of children under 3 years old, at 100% of their salary before going on maternity leave. Only that! And if they didn’t work, they should have thought before conceiving,” a resident reasoned.

A father of many children said that his family of three children receives no state support, although it would be a substantial help. “My wife and I both work officially, but we have never received any benefits for our three children, and we don’t now. Our combined salary exceeds all minimums, of course, and we wouldn’t refuse such help for the kids either. To earn a decent salary, I have to live in the tundra for 30 days,” he explained.

Specific amounts often come up in the debates. Some participants believe that 19,000 rubles a month (approximately $200 at current rates) is not enough to support a child.

“How can you say 19,000 isn’t needed and is too little as benefits? You must be very well-off,” a local resident wondered.

“The state doesn’t give that money so you can raise your child on it, it’s just help and nothing more,” another commenter noted.

A representative of a working family with two children said she receives benefits and uses them for her children’s education. “I’m for these benefits, but some individual families should be monitored and checked more,” she added.

Another Tyumen resident whose income is too high to qualify for benefits considers this approach unfair. In her words, these funds could be spent on a child’s development or a family vacation. “I received peanuts for up to 1.5 years at the time, and after that, I went back to work, I have a white salary, and we fall just short of qualifying for benefits from 7 to 15. It’s unfair. The benefits could be used to take the child to extra classes, save up and send them to a good summer camp, for example, add to the savings for a trip to the sea with the child,” she shared.

A mother who cannot work for health reasons receives child benefits for her son and a survivor’s pension. “We don’t have enough of this money, considering I spend it on food and clothes for my son,” she concluded.

Starting in 2026, specialists from Russia’s Social Fund automatically recalculated child benefit amounts in Tyumen Oblast. The changes affected the unified benefit for families with children and monthly payments from maternity capital. Earlier, an increase in these payments was reported.