Kazakhstan is seeing a broad public debate over upcoming changes to its social benefit system: from January 1, 2027, the procedure for awarding 14 types of benefits is set to change, with payments to be provided based on a family's level of well-being, reports infohub.kz.
This includes payments for the birth of a child and for caring for a child up to 1.5 years old. The changes will affect families classified in categories "A" (high level of well-being) and "B" (affluent level of well-being). The list includes 14 types of benefits and social payments, including childbirth benefits, monthly payments for caring for a child up to 1.5 years old, disability benefits, payments to mothers with many children, and others.
The "Digital Family Map" system calculates scores based on income (for example, if income per family member exceeds four subsistence minimums), ownership of real estate, vehicles, a business, credit history, and personal subsidiary farming. Families with a high score (middle class with a mortgage, cars, and a stable official salary) risk being placed in the affluent category and losing state support.
The news sparked discussion on social media. Many women write that after reviewing the new approach, they asked themselves: "What is the point of giving birth at all?" In their view, a working family with a stable income may accumulate enough points to stop receiving some payments.
Many Kazakhstanis note that against the backdrop of an already difficult demographic situation and high prices (especially in large cities such as Almaty and Astana), depriving the middle class of benefits will become a powerful disincentive to having children. People online joke that having a mortgage or loans is now regarded by the system as a sign of prosperity.
The well-being assessment system raises many questions. Commenters separately noted that the assessment of well-being takes into account housing, cars, registration, land plots, income, and other data. It is precisely the points-scoring system that has become one of the reasons for the discussion.
"Well, unmarried women of the '90s, congratulations to us. We didn't give birth at 20, and apparently we won't at 30-40 either. Even though we worked and paid taxes diligently."
"Can we legally exempt children from categories A and B families from military service? Otherwise there are no perks, but there is still a debt to the motherland."
"They've gotten to this too. Women work, they have the right to. It doesn't matter what her status is, whether she's rich or not. It's terrible, where is our country heading?"
"If they're canceling it, then let them return to all women the payments that were deducted from their salaries! We accrued them, not the state. Let them return them and choke on their cancellations! Women need to stop giving birth," users write.
At the same time, the Ministry of Labor explains the reform as a transition to targeted social assistance. The state wants to direct support primarily to families that truly need it.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that average incomes of Kazakhstanis in the second quarter amounted to 410,000 tenge, with 24.2% of that provided by social payments. In regions such as Abai Region and North Kazakhstan Region, benefits and pensions already account for almost a third of residents' incomes.