What is the minimum old-age pension in Russia?

Legal advice > Social security > Pension > What is the minimum old-age pension in Russia?

The very concept of “minimum old-age pension” remains quite vague: the legislation does not establish a single basic amount, its size will depend on a number of factors. By the beginning of 2021, the retirement age for women in Russia is 55 years and 60 years for men; upon reaching this age, citizens receive the right to payments from the pension fund.

However, their size depends on the official length of service, and if its size is less than 7 years, the regular insurance pension will not be paid. What awaits an elderly person when he reaches retirement age?

Minimum old age pension

For the minimum old-age pension you need to score 6 points

The smallest possible amount of an old-age pension is determined by the cost of living in a particular region. Even if the total income of a citizen entitled to an insurance pension turns out to be less, the state will pay the difference from the federal budget, since the total amount of payments cannot be lower than the subsistence level.

To obtain it by the beginning of 2021, you must have at least 7 years of experience and 6 points of the pension coefficient, but in the future it is planned to gradually increase these indicators. By 2024, the minimum length of service required to receive an insurance pension should be at least 24 years, and the number of coefficient points should increase to 30.

If a citizen’s length of service does not meet these conditions, he can only count on a social pension from the state: its size will be very small, and it begins to be paid 5 years later than the insurance pension. In 2015, the size of the social pension is 8,311 rubles, and a pensioner will receive it only while he is not working. The amount of the labor pension consists of two main values:

The insurance part of the pension, which is provided by the state. In 2016, after indexation, this value amounted to 4,558.93 rubles, to which the cost of pension points accumulated by the pensioner must be added. The cost of one point today is 74 rubles.
Accumulation part. This is the money that was paid to the pension fund by the employer during the continuation of the citizen’s working activity. This money is stored in state or non-state funds; their use in financial activities helps ultimately increase the final amount of the pension.

A calculator posted on the official website of the pension fund helps you calculate what the payments will ultimately be. It determines the amount of available savings in a personal account and shows what the pension would be if a citizen applied for it right now. This allows you to visualize the accumulated value.

Other cash bonuses and benefits

Analyzing the data on minimum payment amounts, you can see that not everywhere these figures reach the declared 8,703 rubles. In this case, the citizen is entitled to an additional payment from the state (this applies only to non-working pensioners). In addition, he must permanently reside on the territory of the Russian Federation. Federal benefits also include travel on public transport at special rates. In addition to allowances, older people are offered security provided by the government of the subject. This could be additional cash payments, provision of medicines and food, or sanatorium-resort treatment.

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How can the old age pension be increased?

Unfortunately, the minimum old-age pension will not ensure a happy and comfortable life...

The labor pension may increase over time. This depends both on the financial condition of the pensioner himself and on the financial stability of the state. There are several cases in which the minimum payment amount may increase:

A pensioner reaches the age of 80. It is clear that at this age, spending on medicines and medical care increases; the state provides financial support to citizens.
A pensioner has dependents. These could be minor grandchildren placed under guardianship, close relatives with disabilities, etc. For social support, the state provides an increase to the pension.
The pensioner continues to work. If he reaches the required age limit, but does not apply for pension payments, they continue to accumulate in a personal account, and this increases their final amount. Accordingly, the later a citizen comes to collect his pension, the higher it will be.
The state indexes the minimum pension amount. For example, in 2021 it is expected that the insurance pension will be increased by 4%, but this will only affect unemployed citizens.
Typically, indexation is carried out several times a year, it depends on the economic situation in the state. By the beginning of 2021, the average Russian pension was 13,132 rubles - this is significantly more than the subsistence level in most regions.
The social pension in the Russian Federation is also expected to increase by 4%, and from February 2021 it will be 8,562 rubles. It is also planned to increase monthly payments by 6.4%, as well as increase the cost of the social package available to pensioners.

The social pension is paid not only to people who have reached retirement age, but also to other preferential categories of citizens. These include disabled children, disabled people of groups 1, 2, 3, as well as those who have lost their breadwinner and need social support.

Disabled children of the first group can count on the maximum social pension - in 2021 it will be 11,445.68 rubles. Financial assistance for disability can be issued monthly indefinitely or within the period specified in medical documents. If the disease progresses and the condition worsens, you can register for the next disability group and get an increase in payments. To do this, you will have to undergo a medical examination again.

Average pension size by profession

The amount of the benefit may vary depending on what the pensioner worked for, what professional skills and abilities he acquired, and what functions he performed. So, there are industry-specific types of financial support, the so-called. social guarantees for citizens with a certain profession. For example, military personnel.

The amount also depends on the citizen’s place of residence. Residents of the Far North receive increased payments by default, which is due to difficult living conditions. They are paid an additional payment according to the coefficients established in the region. Capital pensioners also receive increased pensions, since, in addition to federal ones, there are also local financial support programs.

The legislator paid special attention to length of service. Representatives of some professions may be granted a pension not upon reaching a certain age, but upon accumulated experience. Typically, this applies to those people who have worked for a long time in difficult working conditions:

Military personnel and law enforcement officers.
Persons working in “harmful” production.
Public sector workers – medicine, education, culture, etc.
People working in emergency services.
Citizens working in civil aviation, as well as astronauts.
Workers of the river and sea fleet involved in the fishing industry.

For the listed categories, the possibility of not only early retirement is provided, but also various additional payments, compensations and benefits. They are developed and approved for each profession at both the federal and regional levels.

There are currently no separate measures to increase payments to public sector employees. Former public sector employees can only count on the January stage of increasing their insurance and social pensions, provided that the citizen has accumulated the necessary insurance experience and a minimum number of pension points. Otherwise, indexation will have to wait until April.

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How is the insurance period calculated?

The amount of pension is affected by the insurance period

One of the key concepts influencing the formation of a pension is the insurance period: this is the period of official employment during which the employer transferred the required contributions to the pension account. To confirm the amount of work experience, you will need an extract from your personal account at the Pension Fund branch, as well as entries in the work book indicating the terms of employment.

If no entries were made in the work book at all, or if errors were made in them, you will need to contact the organization where the pensioner worked and obtain certificates and extracts from the archive. Problems arise if the company has already been liquidated, in which case it is much more difficult to prove the existence of experience.

It is necessary to ensure that the work book is filled out correctly and start collecting certificates in advance so as not to delay the process of applying for an old-age pension. In addition to periods of official employment, some other time periods may be included in the length of service:

Period of military or alternative civilian service. It can also equate customs service; it is also included in the total length of service.
Time to care for children under 1.5 years of age. In total, this period cannot exceed 6 years, even if there were more than 4 children in the family.
The period of care for a disabled child, as well as for any close disabled relative or relative who has reached 80 years of age.

However, these periods will be included in the total insurance period only if before them the person was officially employed or engaged in other activities during which contributions to the pension fund were made. All additional periods included in the length of service will require documentary evidence, so a citizen will need a lot of time to collect all the edits.

What factors influence the pension calculation system in Russia

The question of what the average pension in Russia is now is of interest to many citizens of pre-retirement age - this year the average pension has been increased compared to last year, while in different regions the premium coefficient varies significantly.

A fixed pension can be divided into several “parts”, each of which is formed depending on the indexation procedure and additional payments. When considering the question of what the current average old-age pension is, additional accrued coefficients should be taken into account. At the moment, there is a predetermined portion of pension contributions, the total amount of which is formed at the state level and cannot be changed throughout the year.

There is also a funded part of the pension, which is officially called “insurance”. It provides for taking into account the total insurance period before the citizen immediately retires. Thus, based on standard statistical indicators, the average pension size in Russia is formed, which depends on the existing base “rate” and additional charges.

Every year at the state level there is a change in the amount of general pension provision - all this directly depends on changes in the economic component of the country’s financial situation and additional provisions of the law. During the established period, the average pension and its amounts are reviewed by the government - an additional Federal Law is issued. When adopting a regulation at the legislative level, the following factors are taken into account:

the state of the country's budget for the established period of formation of pension contributions;
general current inflation rate - indicators can be taken for the current year, economic forecasts for the next few years can also be taken into account;
The average pension in 2021 may be affected by changes in the current cost of social goods classified as “essential” products.

Recently, there has been a significant shortage of budget funds to create a sufficient level of pension provision - that is why there are prerequisites for the formation of a targeted system of state assistance.

When considering the question of what the average pension size is in Russia now, it is important to take into account the factor in what financial situation the pensioner is. For example, a disability pension provides for increased benefits, since the pensioner cannot receive additional income. “Working” pensioners receive benefits without additional payments, since they are a financially protected category of the population.

Also see “Additional payment to the pension for a dependent dependent”.

The average pension in Russia in 2021, according to existing statistics, increased by 3.7%. According to the country’s financial indicators, a significant increase in the overall pension provision of citizens is planned for the coming years (until 2021). All this will depend on the general economic situation of the country for the presented time period. It is worth taking into account the fact that even if the pension increases, purchasing power may decrease significantly due to the difficult financial situation in the country.

The average pension in 2021 will be formed depending on the main component of the pension provision, to the amount of which 4% of current financial allowances will be added. In 2020, it is planned to increase the total part of the pension by 4% - the average amount of pension payments throughout the country will be approximately 15,000 rubles.