Ukraine will change the procedure for childbirth payments: how much will be paid now
6 December 20:40
ANALYSIS FROM 
Ukraine is going to change the mechanism for paying childbirth assistance. Starting in 2025, financial compensation for the “Baby Package” will become a regular payment, and the pilot project that operated from 2020 to 2024 will be replaced by a new procedure.
According to the new rules, compensation will be transferred to a special account of parents opened in PrivatBank or another bank that will participate in the monetization project. The list of authorized banks that have signed agreements with the State Service for Children will be published on its official website.
New mechanism of the “Baby Package” monetization system
Economist Oleh Pendzin has explained exclusively for Komersant ukrainskyi how the monetization system of the “Baby Package” will work, in particular, with regard to the use of funds accrued to parents after the birth of a child. According to the expert, if the mechanism remains the same as in the pilot projects, the funds can be spent only on goods directly related to the baby.
“It will be impossible to use this money for household needs, such as groceries or other household goods,” Pendzin said.
He clarified that there is a clearly defined list of goods, which includes not only clothes and food for the child, but also medicines.
“This list is quite long, but it is registered with the bank, and the mechanism for controlling the use of funds is similar to the National Cashback program or Zelensky’s Thousand. This means that money can only be spent on specifically defined categories,” the economist explained.
Will parents be paid more after the birth of a child
The funds accrued through the monetization system will not be able to be cashed out, because, according to the expert, it is a virtual card, and it does not allow cash transactions.
“As with cashback, the funds can only be used for non-cash payments or via IBAN,” Pendzin added.
Regarding a possible increase in benefits for parents, the economist noted that there are currently no prerequisites for raising payments.
“In 2025, social standards are frozen, and the state budget allocates UAH 50 billion less for the social block than this year,” Pendzin explained.
He added that this year’s social payments budget amounts to 470 billion hryvnias, and in 2025 this amount will decrease to 420 billion. According to the economist, it’s good that at least the pilot project is being implemented into a normal working system.
How much can payments to parents be increased?
As a reminder, discussions are ongoing in Ukraine to increase the amount of childbirth assistance. The amount of assistance has not changed since 2014, despite the rising cost of living. The new draft law plans to increase the amount of the benefit, which will be an important support for young families and may stimulate an increase in the birth rate.
on November 6, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada registered draft law No. 12184, which proposes to change the procedure for paying benefits, taking into account the subsistence level for children under six years of age on the child’s birthday. According to this draft law, it is planned that the childbirth allowance will be paid as a one-time payment equal to 25 subsistence minimums for children (UAH 64,075), and the remaining amount will be paid in equal installments over 36 months (UAH 5,695 per month). For each subsequent child, the payment will be made in a multiple of 105 subsistence minimums.
Currently, the one-time allowance is UAH 41,280 and monthly payments are UAH 860. If the new law is passed, it will come into force on January 1 of the next year after its publication, which will significantly increase payments to young families.
Thus, the new monetization system of the Baby Package provides for a clear definition of goods and services for which the money accrued to parents after the birth of a child can be spent. It will be impossible to use this money for household needs of the family. Such a system helps to avoid abuse and directs financial support to meet the child’s basic needs. However, as Oleh Pendzyn noted, there is no plan to increase the amount of payments today, as a significant reduction in the country’s social budget is planned for 2025.
Author – Daryna Glushchenko
