Kazakhstan will keep the existing procedure for granting 22 of 36 types of social assistance — the changes will not affect a number of payments to people with disabilities, victims of nuclear testing and political repression. Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Asqarbek Yertaev said this at a briefing, the website infohub.kz reports.

"The reform does not apply to all benefits. This should be taken into account; many questions are being raised about this on social media," the minister said.

The reform will not affect the following benefits and compensations:

for participants in the Great Patriotic War;

for people with disabilities resulting from wounds, shell shock, injury or illness during the Great Patriotic War;

for citizens equated with participants in the Great Patriotic War;

for citizens equated with persons with disabilities resulting from the Great Patriotic War;

for widows of soldiers of the Great Patriotic War who were killed, died or went missing;

for spouses of deceased persons with disabilities resulting from the Great Patriotic War;

for Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of Socialist Labor, and full holders of the Orders of Glory and Labor Glory;

for home front workers;

under List No. 1 — for especially harmful and especially difficult working conditions;

under List No. 2 — for harmful and difficult working conditions;

special professional state benefit;

compensation for harm to life and health imposed by a court on the state upon liquidation of a legal entity;

for liquidators of the Chernobyl disaster and those evacuated from exclusion and resettlement zones;

for veterans of combat operations in other states, including Afghanistan;

compensation for victims of the Semipalatinsk test site — pensioners and benefit recipients;

compensation for victims of the Semipalatinsk test site — residents of high-risk zones for 1949–1990;

compensation for victims of mass political repression;

state special benefit for repressed pensioners and persons with disabilities;

for persons with disabilities of Group I;

for persons with disabilities of Group II;

for persons with disabilities of Group III;

for children with disabilities under seven years of age in Baikonur.

All 22 payments are financed from the republican budget.

"Not a single Kazakhstani in need will be left without support; this is the main principle of social policy," Yertaev stressed.

How need will be determined

Earlier, Kursiv wrote that from January 1, 2027, family need will be assessed under a new methodology taking into account income, property and household composition. A well-being calculator is planned to be launched on eGov and eGov Mobile for a preliminary check of one's category.

Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Labor briefing, journalists suggested checking the category of the minister's own family. After entering data on his income, family and property, the system classified Yertaev as category B.