Families in categories A and B in Kazakhstan will no longer receive a one-time birth allowance from the national budget. Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Asqarbek Yertaev announced this at a briefing at the Central Communications Service, explaining the procedure for assigning maternity payments and allowances by categories A through E, reports infohub.kz.
The head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection outlined two main scenarios — when the mother worked before the child's birth and when she was not employed.
If a woman worked, for example, for two years, then after going on maternity leave she receives an allowance and payments from the State Social Insurance Fund. These payments, as before, continue until the child reaches one and a half years old. The family category is not taken into account here.
However, the one-time allowance for newborns is not assigned to families in categories A and B. Families in categories C, D, and E are assigned and paid this allowance from both the national budget and the State Social Insurance Fund.
Thus, if the mother worked, the payment from the State Social Insurance Fund for childcare up to one and a half years is assigned, as before, regardless of category. But the one-time birth allowance from the national budget is assigned to categories C, D, and E and is not assigned to categories A and B.
If the woman did not work before the child's birth, families in categories A and B do not receive payments from the national budget. If the unemployed mother belongs to categories C, D, or E, she is paid the allowance from the national budget.
Moreover, if the mother decides to return to work during maternity leave, her payments are preserved — she will continue to receive them until the child reaches one and a half years old. Early return to work does not terminate the payment itself.
The minister separately addressed maternity payments for men. Under the already adopted law, only mothers receive maternity payments. The allowance is now called "for motherhood" and is aimed at the mother and child — for health recovery, support for the mother, and so on. A man can go on maternity leave and care for his child, but he will not receive the allowance, added the head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.