Mishustin: raising the minimum wage saved the income of 17 million people

Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin noted the achievements of the government in the development of the social sphere. The head of the Cabinet spoke about the measures taken and implemented decisions in the report on the work of the government for 2022 for the State Duma.

The first priority of the Russian authorities in the face of sanctions and an inflationary surge, according to Mr. Mishustin, was to improve the quality of life and well-being – in particular, by supporting people’s incomes. Thus, the authorities raised the subsistence level twice (since June 1 last year and since the beginning of January this year). As a result, the indicator increased by more than 13.5%. The minimum wage (SMIC) at the same time increased by 17.5%. This saved the income of 17 million people.

In addition, targeted support was received by families with children who found themselves in a difficult financial situation, the prime minister said. The authorities expanded the monthly payment to all needy parents with children aged eight to seventeen (more than 3.5 million families received support within this framework).

At the same time, the authorities maintained and expanded the maternity capital program, Mr. Mishustin noted. According to the government, last year 1.3 million families disposed of the corresponding payments – most often citizens used the funds to improve their living conditions. The indexation of mother’s capital, the prime minister added, is now carried out according to the actual inflation rate, and not according to the forecast.

“In general, we are doing making the provision of all state support for people simpler and more convenient on the principles of “social treasury”. To date, thirty-one federal measures of social protection have been transferred to this format, ”said the head of the Cabinet.

According to him, about 35 million citizens now receive targeted payments automatically, or on the basis of a single application.

Finally, older citizens received support, the prime minister emphasized. During the year, the authorities indexed the insurance pensions of non-working pensioners twice (by more than 8% since the beginning of January, by another 10% since June). The average pension thus increased by about 3,000 rubles in 2022. and exceeded 20 thousand rubles, said Mr. Mishustin.

Grigory Leiba