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Sick Pay in Russian Personal Bankruptcy: Treatment of the Benefit

In briefOrdinary Russian temporary-disability pay is not automatically fully protected. Personal-bankruptcy income generally enters the bankruptcy estate, while statutory protected amounts, including the subsistence minimum, remain outside it. The result depends on the precise benefit, its recipient and documentary purpose.

Identify the payment

Ordinary sick pay differs from an occupational-injury benefit or a child-related payment.

Protected amounts remain

The subsistence minimum and proven essential expenses are considered separately.

Documents decide

SFR records and a bank statement establish the source and period.

Payment categories

PaymentGeneral approachEvidence
Ordinary temporary-disability benefitIncome without complete automatic immunityElectronic certificate, SFR statement, bank record
Occupational-injury paymentMay fall within a specially protected categoryAccident documents and payment purpose
Benefit for caring for a sick childMust not be mechanically treated as the debtor’s personal incomeRecipient, child and stated purpose
Compensation for health damageSubject to a separate statutory protectionAward or appointment decision

Why access may be delayed

During asset realization the financial administrator controls the estate. A bank credit does not itself answer whether the money is available to the debtor. Supreme Court Plenum Resolution No. 48 includes salary and other income in the estate but excludes protected amounts and payments intended to maintain another person.

Do not rely only on the transaction label. The source, legal purpose, recipient and documents determine treatment.

Practical steps

  1. Obtain an SFR statement identifying the benefit and covered period.
  2. Download the full bank transaction record.
  3. Classify the payment accurately.
  4. Send the documents and a written request to the financial administrator.
  5. Identify the subsistence minimum and documented medical needs separately.
  6. If disagreement remains, apply to the bankruptcy court rather than conceal or reroute the payment.

Related guides: payments outside the estate, money retained by a debtor and bankruptcy articles.

Frequently asked questions

Is all sick pay taken?

No automatic answer applies; the payment type and protected amounts must be established.

Must the administrator be informed?

Yes. Disclose the credit and prove its purpose.

Does direct SFR payment make it protected?

The source matters but does not make every SFR payment immune.

What about medication costs?

Keep prescriptions and receipts; additional exclusion may be requested in exceptional circumstances.

May it be paid to another person’s card?

That may look like concealed income and does not determine the legal treatment.

Official sources

Is the payment blocked?

We can classify the payment and prepare the document route without promising a predetermined outcome.

Initial consultation