Starting October 1, 2025, Kazakhstan will change the procedure for granting social benefits for job loss under a pilot project: the maximum benefit period will be cut from 6 to 3 months, and the maximum amount will be capped at 45% of 7 minimum wages, which in 2026 will equal 267,750 tenge, according to infohub.kz.

As explained by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the benefit period will still depend on how long citizens have participated in the mandatory social insurance system. With 6 to 12 months of service, the benefit is granted for 1 month; with 12 to 24 months, for 2 months; and with more than 24 months, for 3 months.

The ministry emphasized that the reduction of the maximum benefit period is not related to cuts in the national budget, since social benefits are financed from the State Social Insurance Fund.

The amount of benefits will also be determined as before: the citizen's average monthly income from which social contributions were made over the last 24 months and the length of participation in the social insurance system are taken into account. At the same time, from October 1, a maximum amount of the social benefit for job loss is set at 45% of 7 minimum wages.

To qualify for the social benefit, a person must first register as a job seeker. This can be done at a career center at the place of residence, through the e-government portal eGov.kz, or through the Electronic Labor Exchange.

After registration, the career center will offer suitable vacancies based on profession, experience, qualifications, health status, schedule, and transport accessibility. If no suitable job is available, the citizen will be registered as unemployed. If eligible, the social benefit may be assigned proactively from the date of registration as unemployed.

However, unemployed status and the benefit along with it can be lost if a person refuses three offered suitable jobs without a valid reason.

It is worth noting that the social benefit can be granted to anyone regardless of the reason for job loss.

Recall that earlier Kazakhstan also limited the maximum income for determining maternity benefits to 7 minimum wages regardless of the number of employers. This was due to the fact that some Kazakh women artificially inflated their incomes and received more than they were entitled to.