Not only employed women, but also non-working mothers are entitled to maternity benefits. The law establishes a separate procedure for them, certain features of which are simply unknown to many. For example, there is no need to write an application to receive the allowance, but there is a strict deadline, and missing it means losing the entire amount.
First, it is necessary to understand whom the law considers non-working. A non-working person is considered to be someone who, on the first day of acquiring the right to maternity leave, is not an employee or an individual entrepreneur. However, there is an important nuance here, as individuals engaged in micro-enterprise, persons receiving income through a civil contract, and volunteers are also considered non-working. In fact, many people who consider themselves working legally have the right to precisely this allowance.
The amount is assigned without an application, since state authorities automatically receive information about pregnancy and childbirth from the electronic healthcare system within a one-month period. After assigning the allowance and transferring the money to the bank, the authorized body notifies the citizen within five working days. The allowance is granted if the information was received within 140 days of the leave, and the woman is registered in Armenia, whereas in the case of foreign citizens, at least three years of continuous registration is required.
The amount of the money is calculated by a clear formula based on the minimum wage. Fifty percent of the minimum wage, which today is AMD 37,500, is divided by the average number of days in a month and multiplied by 140, resulting in AMD 172,698. In case of premature birth, the allowance is granted for 70 days and amounts to approximately AMD 86,349.
In this process, there is a very important deadline that beneficiaries are often unaware of. If a person does not claim their money within 12 months from the month the data was transferred to the bank, it is returned to the state budget. After this deadline expires, the right to receive the maternity allowance terminates altogether, and it is no longer possible to recover the money.
This automated system significantly simplifies the lives of young mothers by relieving them of paperwork hassles. The interconnection of databases of various state departments allows the allowance to be assigned seamlessly, which is especially important in the last months of pregnancy or immediately after childbirth.
However, a serious problem arises here due to a lack of awareness. Since people do not write applications, many do not even know that money has been deposited in the bank in their name. Although the authorized body is obliged to notify the beneficiary, in practice, these notifications may not reach the addressee due to a change of phone number or address.
As a result, the twelve months can pass very quickly, and especially the socially vulnerable strata will be deprived of the financial support due to them. To avoid such cases, citizens should regularly check their data in the state register and actively monitor their bank accounts.
