New rules for calculating sick pay have come into effect in the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

      January 13, 2026, 10:44 — Society

      Since the beginning of 2026, updated rules for calculating sick-leave payments have come into force in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The changes affect both formally employed citizens and the self-employed who have taken out voluntary social insurance, the Social Insurance Fund of Russia reported.

      Now residents of the region who are self-employed can voluntarily join the insurance system for temporary disability. To do this, they must regularly pay insurance contributions. Two insurance coverage options are available — 35,000 or 50,000 rubles per month — with the contribution amounting to 3.84% of the chosen sum.

      The right of the self-employed to receive sick-leave payments arises only after six months of continuous contribution payments. If the insurance period is from six months to one year, the benefit will be paid at 70% of the insured amount. With participation in the system for more than a year, the payment will be 100%. This regime will be in effect until December 31, 2028.

      The changes also affected employed workers. From January 2026, the minimum amount of the temporary disability benefit has increased due to a rise in the regional minimum wage, which now stands at 27,093 rubles.

      Maximum sick-leave payments will be available only to those employees whose official income is sufficiently high. Thus, the average monthly earnings must exceed 185,000 rubles in 2024 and 230,000 rubles in 2025. With lower incomes, the amount of the benefit will be reduced proportionally.

      According to experts, the new rules are aimed at improving the social protection of the working population and encouraging the legalization of income.

      Earlier it was reported that a 7.6% indexation of insurance pensions was approved in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

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