Article 117 of the RF IC. Indexation of alimony (current version)

What is indexing

Indexation means the recalculation of payments upward, taking into account the level of inflation. Indexation is necessary to ensure that the amount of payments meets the needs of the child until he reaches adulthood.

The Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation constantly monitors changes in prices for food, non-food goods and services (the consumer basket). At the same time, an analysis of the income level of the population is carried out. The data obtained is regularly compared.

Based on the results of the comparison, the Government of the Russian Federation updates the following indicators:

• living wage;
• Minimum wage (minimum wage).

Legislative bodies determine how the updated indicators will be used. The authorities of each region set their own cost of living. It is regional indicators that are used in recalculation.

Alimony payments increase in proportion to the increase in the cost of living.

When is it necessary to conduct

The basis for indexation may be a significant change in the financial situation of the alimony recipient and the actual impossibility of providing for his basic needs with the same amount of alimony payments.

In fact, indexation of alimony is necessary in order to protect the rights of the recipient, since such a person is classified as financially vulnerable.

Indexation of payments, if alimony is set as a share of earnings, is not carried out, since the amount of pay for the payer changes. The recipient can only apply to the court to change the procedure for calculating alimony.

Can an ex-wife file for alimony? The answer is presented in the article “How alimony is paid to a former spouse.” You can find out about the new child support law in 2021 here.

In what cases is alimony indexed?

The legislation provides for several options for collecting funds:

1. As a percentage of salary.
2. In a fixed amount of money.
3. In mixed form.

The third method involves the assignment of alimony in both shared and fixed form. This option is used if the payer, in addition to official earnings, has additional irregular income.

Methods and procedure for paying child support

The indexation procedure is regulated by the provisions of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

Alimony, which is collected as a percentage, increases simultaneously with the increase in the parent’s salary. No additional recalculation is required.

Mandatory conditions for indexing are as follows:

• money for child support is transferred in the form of a fixed amount;
• alimony was assigned by a court decision or by agreement on payment;
• payments increase in proportion to the increase in the established minimum residence requirement in the region.

The cost of living is reviewed every three months. For the calculation, statistical data on the cost of food and essential items, and other mandatory expenses are used.

Indexation of alimony in 2021

You can track the current cost of living in Moscow on the website of the Department of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the City of Moscow.

Currently in Moscow it is set for the first quarter of 2020 for children in the amount of 14,812 rubles.

When collecting maintenance for a spouse until the child reaches the age of three, as in the previously presented court decision, the subsistence minimum for the working population will be used; in the current quarter it is set at 19,544 rubles.

Who carries out indexing and when?

The list of officials obliged to index the amount of alimony is determined by Article 117 of the RF IC.

The amount of payments can be recalculated:

1. A bailiff who conducts a case regarding the collection of funds.
2. Accountant of the organization in which the debtor works or studies.

The recalculation is carried out immediately after the cost of living increases in the region where the recipient lives.

The Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings” (Article 102) requires the head of the organization to issue an appropriate order or instruction at each indexation. In such a situation, the bailiff makes a decision.

If funds are collected under an agreement to pay alimony, indexation occurs in the manner specified in the document. If there is no recalculation clause in the agreement, the amounts are indexed according to the rules established for the collection of payments by court decision.

The legislation does not regulate the exact timing and frequency of indexation. Alimony payments are recalculated when the regional subsistence level is updated.

When the cost of living decreases, the amount of alimony remains at the same level. Reducing child support payments is prohibited by law.

What types of alimony are indexed?

Any alimony payments approved in a fixed monetary equivalent are subject to indexation (Article 117 of the RF IC). It follows that it is impossible to index alimony payments assigned as a percentage of income received.

What types of alimony are there?

• for children until they reach adulthood;

• parents;

• one of the spouses after a divorce;

• disabled people;

• close relatives.

It is worth pointing out that indexation is applicable not only to alimony established in court, but also to those specified in a peace agreement (for example, between spouses during divorce proceedings) (Article 105 of the RF IC).

How to calculate indexation

You can calculate the amount by which the payment will increase yourself.

Before making the calculation, you need to clarify:

• the initial amount of alimony (AP);
• current subsistence level (LMd);
• previous value of the subsistence minimum (PLS).

The calculation procedure depends on whether alimony is assigned in a fixed form or whether its size directly depends on the cost of living.

Let's consider indexing options.

in a fixed amount of money

To index alimony awarded in the form of a fixed sum of money, the following formula is used:

PMd / PMp * AP = AD (where AD is the amount of payments after recalculation).

For example, from February 2021, 8,000 rubles are transferred for child support. The subsistence minimum for minor children on the date of establishment of payments was 10,280 rubles. In September 2021, this figure was 11,030 rubles.

Indexation is calculated using the formula: 11,030 / 10,280 * 8,000 = 8,583.

The monthly payment will increase by 583 rubles.

alimony for ex-wife

Funds for the maintenance of the ex-wife are assigned only in hard cash. When determining the amount of payments, the regional cost of living is taken into account. If the minimum residence requirement increases, alimony payments to your ex-spouse also increase.

Recalculation is carried out using a similar formula:

PMd / PMp * AP = AD (where AD is the amount of payments after indexation).

For example, the ex-spouse's benefit is 5,000 per month. The region's cost of living per adult in March 2021 was 11,870 rubles. In August 2021, the minimum value increased to 12,720 rubles.

Indexation is calculated as follows: 12,720 / 11,870 * 5,000 = 5,358.

After recalculation, the amount of alimony will increase by 358 rubles per month.

according to the minimum wage

The value of the minimum wage (minimum wage) is used to assign alimony if it is impossible to determine the official income of the payer. From 2021, the minimum wage is equal to the subsistence level.

The following formula is used for calculation:

AP * PMd = AD (the initial amount of alimony is multiplied by the coefficient established by the court).

For example, by a court decision, funds in the amount of 1.3 of the subsistence minimum were collected for child support. The subsistence minimum for minors on the date of appointment was 10,280 rubles. The monthly alimony payment amounted to 13,364 rubles (10,280 * 1.3).

In July 2021, the established minimum increased to 11,030 rubles. After indexation, payments increased to 14,339 rubles (11,030 * 1.3).

Child support indexation calculator

Use the calculator to calculate the indexation of alimony.

Calculator from Dogovor-Yurist.Ru

What is the concept

Alimony in a fixed amount is payments from the payer to the recipient, set in a fixed amount. Such alimony is determined in an amount that is a multiple of the subsistence minimum in the recipient’s region of residence, and if such a minimum is not established in a given area, then the one established in the country as a whole is used.

Indexation of alimony is a change in its size depending on the official level of inflation and other factors that may affect the provision of the recipient’s rights within the amount of payments.

What to do if indexing is not carried out

The recalculation of alimony is carried out by the employer or the bailiff.

If the indexation deadlines are violated, the claimant must apply for recalculation:

• at the payer’s place of work or study;
• to the bailiff service department conducting enforcement proceedings.

If the employer does not respond to the claimant’s demand, the writ of execution can be transferred to the FSSP unit at the debtor’s place of residence. The bailiff will index payments forcibly.

How to make an application

A petition for indexation of alimony to the bailiff service is drawn up in any form. The circumstances of the case are presented briefly, without unnecessary details and emotional descriptions.

The statement states:

• name of the FSSP department;
• recipient's details (last name, first name, patronymic, residential address);
• payer data (last name, first name, patronymic, residential address, place of work);
• date and details of the document on the basis of which alimony was assigned (payment agreement, court decision, court order);
• number and date of opening of proceedings for collection of funds;
• details of the bailiff (last name, first name, patronymic):
• the amount of alimony in hard cash;
• reference to legislative norms (Article 117 of the RF IC);
• information about the increase in the cost of living in the region (if available);
• request for recalculation for a specific period.

The document must contain the date and personal signature of the claimant. The application should not contain corrections or inaccuracies that could become a reason for refusal to accept it.

If a bailiff does not fulfill the duties assigned to him by law, he should file a complaint with the court about the official’s inaction.

Latest changes in the law

In December 2021, Resolution No. 56 of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation came into force, according to which a number of changes were made in relation to alimony:

• the obligation to index is assigned to the persons who accrue funds: bailiffs, accountants, etc.;
• the amount of alimony in a fixed amount cannot be less than 50% of the monthly minimum, with the exception of the poor financial situation of the payer;
• the claimant must refuse child support if the child begins to live with the payer.

It was also planned to increase the amount of alimony payments to 15,000 rubles. per child, but at the moment the specifics of establishing the amount of alimony remain the same.

How to index alimony debt

The legislation provides for the recovery of funds for the maintenance of a child for the past time (IC RF, art. 117). Alimony payments for the past period can also be indexed.

Recalculation takes place for each payment separately. This takes into account the cost of living for a specific billing period.

Indexation of payments for past periods is not carried out in the following cases:

• the established minimum has not been increased during the period for which the debt is collected;
• the recipient’s refusal to recalculate is enshrined in the alimony agreement.

Since alimony debt is collected on the basis of a court decision, the issue of debt indexation is also resolved in court. You can submit a request for indexation immediately after the court makes a decision to collect the debt.

If the payer violates the payment procedure after recalculation, the court will oblige him to pay a penalty in the amount of 0.1% (one tenth of one percent) of the total amount of the debt (RF IC, Article 115).

Judicial practice on changing child benefits

An increase in current payments through the court is a rare occurrence, since most often the bailiff or employer correctly and promptly determines payments in accordance with changes in the children's minimum living expenses. Basically, all proceedings concern the calculation of debt and how to index alimony over a long period of time.

Many administrative cases are initiated if the bailiff incorrectly indexed the debt and determined the amount of current payments. Both payers and claimants initiate proceedings.

According to legal norms, you can appeal the actions of the bailiff by contacting the head of the FSSP or filing a statement of claim in court.

There are quite a lot of cases in judicial practice about incorrect indexing. Most often, settlements were handled by bailiffs . They also control the regularity of monetary allowances from the parent. Parents who disagreed with the FSSP calculations went to court and received positive decisions.

There are also processes related to complaints that the calculation was not carried out. Courts almost always rule in favor of the applicant to change the amount of payments taking into account changes in the cost of living.

Examples

The following situation can be given as an example.

The amount of alimony was determined in the agreement at 5,000 rubles, which was half the subsistence level. Subsequently, the cost of living was increased to ten thousand rubles. The new amount of alimony will be equal to:

Amount of alimony = 10,000 rubles: 0.5 shares. Accordingly, the size will now increase by a thousand rubles, to 5000.

It is worth remembering that the amount of alimony is not always determined by an even multiple of the subsistence minimum.

It could be 0.9 shares, 0.75 and so on. Therefore, the calculation may be more complex.

Do I need to pay child support while on sick leave? The answer is presented in the article “How alimony is withheld from sick leave.” You can find out how to collect alimony from an individual entrepreneur (IP) here.

Who makes the payment adjustments?

Based on current legislative principles, alimony indexation in 2021 is carried out by the following government agencies:

1. Bailiff. If there are demands from the father or mother, he is authorized to initiate the payment recalculation process. However, this requires an application.
2. Accounting department at the enterprise where the payer is employed.

Read also: Time sheet for 2021

After receiving the relevant information about the level of PM, the accountant submits a request for clarification regarding which citizens need to recalculate payments. If such a clause is specified in the agreement, then financial assistance to minors will be deducted according to the updated indicators.

The accounting department independently increases contributions if the amount of deduction from wages does not exceed 25,000 rubles. If the amount significantly exceeds the threshold, then they contact the FSSP for indexation of alimony and calculation.

An increase in benefits from a parent for minors is made when the PM changes, both in the subject and in Russia as a whole. Even if in some region the old indicators are still in effect, and in the country it has undergone significant changes, then upon application from the recipient of payments, a recalculation is made. Therefore, when the accounting department is faced with such a situation, employees carefully monitor all legislative changes in this area.

Indexation of debts for alimony obligations

Collectors of financial support for a minor citizen should know that

Not only the payments deducted every month are subject to change, but also the debt. Due to the fact that persistent defaulters can evade their obligations for a long time, the amount, after a certain time, may become insignificant.

To avoid such a situation, experts recommend periodically sending an application to the FSSP to initiate the recalculation of payments. If this is not done, then as a result of legal proceedings, the parent may receive an insignificant amount. Bailiffs are required to deal with such a process as part of enforcement proceedings, since the evading person is unemployed or listed as wanted. In all other cases, payment adjustments are made automatically by the accounting department at the payer’s place of employment.

Application for adjustment of child support payments

Enforcement proceedings clearly define the norms and initiatives regarding the recalculation of contributions for minor citizens by parents. In Article No. 105 of the Russian Investigative Committee, the procedure for carrying out the procedure is covered in full.

The legal provisions indicate that there are no grounds for drawing up and submitting an application for indexation of alimony. This is due to an increase in payment amounts automatically by the relevant authorities - the bailiff or the accounting department where the payer is employed. If the accounting department carries out such activities independently, subject to the conditions for deducting up to 25,000 rubles, then the bailiffs need an application for indexation of alimony (sample).

Application for indexation of alimony

Please note: in a situation where the payer is a malicious debtor and is hiding from the obligation by not providing assistance to his children, the recipient must send a corresponding application to the FSSP.

Innovations for 2021

On November 27, 2021, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted a law amending Art. 117 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. Until this time, indexation of alimony payments was carried out after the claimant or bailiff sent the original writ of execution to the enterprise. After the changes come into force, indexation should also be carried out after the organization receives a copy of such a document from the bailiff when he terminated the case.

After completion of the proceedings, the debt accumulated up to this point will be collected in the process of another enforcement proceeding, which must be initiated along with the termination of the previous one.

It is worth noting that the changes in 2021 do not change the algorithm of interaction between the FSSP service and enterprise management, but only complement it, giving bailiffs the responsibility to control not only the calculation of alimony amounts, but also their indexation.