Why it matters. Recovery from certain payments is already prohibited, including pensions, child benefits and maternity capital. The full list is in Article 101 of Federal Law No. 229-FZ of 2 October 2007. But not all payments fall under these rules, and banks and bailiffs often debit them.
Closing a gap. The adopted law proposes prohibiting creditors from debiting one-off and all other types of social payments introduced by acts of the President and government (Bill No. 1248303-7). The list is also to include benefits for pregnant women and low-income people, including payments under social contracts. The prohibition will take effect on 1 January 2022.
The citizen decides how to spend the money. Under the law, benefit payments credited to a bank account may not be automatically debited without the citizen’s consent. If the person agrees to repay part of a loan using these funds, they may issue written instructions to the bank. Separate consent is required for each one-off payment. This provision enters into force on 1 May 2022.
If a citizen changes their mind about using a benefit to repay debt. Within 14 days, a person may reclaim these funds. The bank must return the money within three working days, and the borrower's outstanding debt will increase by the amount returned. The loan obligations do not disappear. The borrower must repay the debt within seven days of the bank returning the funds. During this period the debt will not be treated as overdue and no late-payment penalties will accrue.
Retroactive effect. Most importantly, the proposal would return one-off payments previously debited by banks to repay loans. This applies to all one-off monetary payments received from 1 January 2021. Once this legal provision takes effect—the law states 1 May 2022—banks must return amounts already debited within seven days of receiving a citizen’s application.
Preserving the subsistence minimum. A debtor may apply to the bank to retain salary and other monthly income equal to the nationwide subsistence minimum for working-age people, or the regional minimum if it is higher. The amount will be retained in one of the debtor’s accounts. This provision enters into force on 1 July 2022.