A number of changes await Russian citizens from the beginning of the second spring month of 2021. Some of the innovations will please Russians: for example, some categories of federal beneficiaries will have their pensions increased through planned indexation . Some changes are likely to be disappointing: as of April 1, a number of temporary benefits introduced to support citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic .
In addition, the issue of indexing pensions for working pensioners . Elena Drapeko told in her opinion column what conflicts legislators encountered when considering this law .
Also, an initiative has appeared in the Federation Council, which, having become law, will provide increased pensions to some older socially active citizens who have not recently been affected by indexation. Read more in the FAN .
What will change from April 1
FAN previously reported about the main changes that await Russians from April 1, 2021. Most of all, citizens are concerned about the issue of indexation of pensions. Indeed, from April 1, a planned indexation of payments by 3.4% awaits recipients of social pensions - both older citizens who, for various reasons, do not receive an insurance pension, and those who belong to certain categories of federal beneficiaries. These are, in particular, non-working disabled people; orphans; minors who have lost their breadwinner; full-time orphan students of universities up to 23 years old, etc.
After indexation, the average social pension in Russia will reach almost 10.3 thousand rubles per month.
Increase in social pension in 2021 – from April 1 by 3.4%
Social pensions and pensions for some preferential categories in Russia are indexed in April of each year. And the basis for the increase is not the rise in prices in the country as such, but the change in the cost of living of a pensioner. Intuitively, the cost of living should grow at approximately the same rate as the prices of basic goods. However, in reality this is almost always not the case.
In 2021, social pensions in Russia increased by 6.1%, and this was higher than official inflation. At the end of 2021, consumer prices increased, according to Rosstat, by 3%.
This time the situation is reversed - prices for 2021, even according to official estimates, increased by 4.9%. But the indexation of social pensions does not compensate for it - the draft government resolution provides for the indexation of social pensions in the country from April 1, 2021 by only 3.4%.
The thing is that the cost of living of a pensioner has increased exactly this much - from 9,002 rubles in 2021 to 9,308 rubles in 2020.
The average social pension in the country from April this year will be 10,183 rubles. It is called by the Ministry of Labor, which has developed a draft resolution on the indexation of such payments. The same department reminds that if the social pension assigned to a specific recipient is lower than the subsistence level of a pensioner in his region, he will receive a social supplement up to this level.
See also:
Minimum pension in Russia in 2021 - full table by region
Image: duma.gov.ru
Cancellation of coronavirus benefits
A number of benefits introduced in Russia in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic are valid only until the end of March. The most important innovation is that pensioners over 65 years of age who continue to work will no longer be able to issue paid sick leave not for illness, but only to comply with the self-isolation regime. Currently, the self-isolation regime for citizens over 65 years of age is advisory.
Also, only until March 31 can you apply for the New Year’s payment for children under eight years old, introduced in Russia by presidential decree. Naturally, the majority of citizens entitled to such a payment have long ago received this money without a declaration. Those who, for some reason, have not yet received payment should hurry up - after April 1, they will no longer be able to claim this money.
Read about other coronavirus benefits that will end in April in FAN's material.
To whom, by how much, pensions were increased from April 1, 2021
According to Law No. 166-FZ “On State Pension Provision in the Russian Federation,” pensions were indexed from April 1, and it primarily affected recipients of social pensions.
“This includes, first of all, social pensions (for old age, disability and loss of a breadwinner), which are assigned when a person does not have the length of service to receive an insurance pension,” the lawyers said.
Also, social pensions are received by disabled people of all three groups, including disabled people since childhood and disabled children. This also includes payments to children who have lost their parents or who are unknown.
In addition, the increase also affected recipients of state pensions. These are WWII participants, Chernobyl survivors, as well as conscripted military personnel, flight test personnel and members of their families.
On March 17, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin approved a government resolution on the indexation of social pensions from April 1, 2021. The document was adopted on March 13, and on March 17 it was published on the official legal information portal. The indexation coefficient will be 1.061, so pensions will increase by more than six percent.
Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Labor Anton Kotyakov reported that indexation would affect almost four million Russians. Expenses will amount to 2.41 billion rubles per month, or 21.7 billion by the end of the year, the minister added.
The increase in pensions significantly exceeds the figures of previous years - two percent in 2019, and 2.9% in 2018.
According to the approved government resolution, from April 1, 2020, payments have been increased by 6.1%.
Indexation of pensions for working pensioners
The return of indexation of pensions for working pensioners , abolished in 2015, is a very important topic. Politicians have repeatedly spoken about the need for this measure, which is also spelled out in the updated constitution. The President of the Russian Federation instructed the relevant ministries to develop options for such indexation. The proposals (and there are at least three of them) are already being considered by the presidential administration.
State Duma deputy Elena Drapeko, in her column for FAN, described in detail what indexing options can be considered today. In her opinion, the most realistic option, which can be adopted as early as this year, is to begin indexing the pensions of working citizens, starting with the lowest paid, gradually expanding the line. Read more in Elena Drapeko’s column.
By what percentage will the pension increase from April 1, 2021?
The first change in charges occurred at the beginning of this year. The coefficient will be 7.5%. Officials set this percentage because of the desire to receive 1000 rubles. premiums on average.
In February, not pensions, but other payments from the Pension Fund (EDV, NSU, funeral allowance, etc.) are indexed. The coefficient is 3.1%.
The social pension will increase from April 1, 2021. State and social services are indexed. compensation. Thus, the waiting percentage is 0.4%.
Increasing labor pensions for working pensioners
For a long time there were rumors that elderly people who continue to work would have their old-age salaries abolished altogether. But this did not happen. Tatyana Golikova on the TV program “Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” assured that this fact will not happen and people both received deductions and salaries and will continue to receive payments in the future.
There is no change in the amount of payments for this type of population. The law on the abolition of indexation of payments to working persons was approved in January 2021. Dmitry Medvedev emphasized that this issue will be discussed annually. It was also noted that these measures had to be resorted to due to the unstable economic situation in the country.
How much will non-working pensioners receive an increase?
Since the beginning of this year, there has been an increase in old-age income. If you are interested in the question of whose pensions will be increased from April, it is worth answering that the increase is intended exclusively for non-working persons. They are entitled to a 7.05% increase. Thus, there will be an increase of approximately 1000 rubles.
The accrual is easy to notice by checking the funds on the plastic card. To calculate the cost, you need to take the current cost and multiply by 0.0705 (the amount of interest added).
Increasing pensions for disabled people
In addition to the insurance subsidy, in the Russian Federation there is a disability salary. Receive social Maintenance can be provided to the male and female population who have reached 60 and 65 years of age, respectively, disabled children and “incapacitated” persons. If social benefits are transferred to a person. fees, then from April 1, 2021, an increase to monthly payments is planned. It does not depend on whether a disabled person works or not. For a disabled child, the 7.05% charge does not apply.
The coefficient was announced by PF. Benefits are increased by an amount equal to the subsistence level for the previous period, namely by 2.4% for disabled children. In 2021, the amount of income will be 9215 rubles.
Thus, the increase will occur by 104.2%. It is worth noting that the amount of social security depends on the city of residence. If, taking into account the increases, the transfers do not amount to the minimum allowable amount, then the person is charged an appropriate additional payment.
Increasing social benefits in old age
Social benefits for old age will be transferred exclusively to elderly people who do not currently have a job. The coefficient of change will be 7.05%. There is no increase provided for working people.
It is worth noting that from the beginning of 2021, the Russian state plans to gradually raise the age of transition to social security. security. According to the bill, old-age benefits will be available at 65 for women and at 70 for men. Such requirements will come into force in 2023. Today the retirement age is: 60 years (women) and 65 (men). Every year the standard is planned to be increased by 1 year until the desired level is reached.
By loss of a breadwinner
This year, the fee will be indexed twice: in February and April. Different sources provide different information regarding the amount of indexation: 200-500 rubles. The exact amount will depend on the current market situation and the depreciation of money (the latest news on this topic is published here).
In 2021, for example, social. payments were indexed 2 times. Minimum amount: 2500 rub. The specific benefit amount depends on where you live. Dependents of Moscow will receive the most. Here the amount is 5240 rubles. If there is a loss of both parents, the payments are multiplied by 2. A child who is being raised by a single mother can also receive this amount.
What does the Federation Council offer?
Another interesting initiative, which will expand the number of those who can count on indexation, was born in the Federation Council. They suggested considering a proposal to exempt the heads of councils of apartment buildings from paying insurance premiums.
The idea belongs to the deputy chairman of the chamber of young legislators under the Federation Council Ilya Nozhechkin . He proposed making appropriate amendments to the tax code, which would allow the heads of councils of apartment buildings, who are most often citizens of retirement age, to receive an indexed pension. The fact is that if a pensioner pays insurance premiums, he automatically falls into the category of workers, which means that, according to the current rules, he is not entitled to indexation. It turns out that a pensioner who “loses” an average of a thousand rubles in money every month has no incentive to spend his time and energy on social work.
According to the legislator, introducing appropriate changes to the tax code will help avoid gray schemes for rewarding such social activists and will make payments to them legal and transparent, reports Parlamentskaya Gazeta.
It should be noted that from January 1, 2021, insurance pensions of non-working pensioners were indexed in Russia, which increased by 6.3%. How Russians' pension payments grew is presented in the FAN infographic.
Increase in pensions from April 1, 2021
As for old-age pensioners who receive their accruals due to reaching the working age limit, they will in any case receive an increase from April 1, 2018.
The main thing that citizens want to find out is what is the size of this supplement? There is information on the Pension Fund website that social old-age pensions will be raised by 4.1%.
But the authorities inform that the upcoming increase in pension payments from April 1, 2021 will be 2.9%.
This is, in particular, stated in the draft Government Resolution aimed at the annual indexation of social payments.
This figure was taken from the calculation of price growth over the past year, and as you know, last year’s inflation turned out to be extremely low and for the first time in many years of observations, Rosstat recorded it at 2.5%.
As is known, recipients of social pensions are from a variety of population groups:
- Old age pensioners;
- Family members of the deceased breadwinner;
- Disabled people.
From April 1, 2021, the Russian Pension Fund will make the expected annual indexation of pension payments to all these population groups.
After the increase from April 1, 2021, the average pension in Russia will be equal to:
- Disability insurance pension - 8,481 rubles;
- Old age insurance pension - 13,716 rubles;
- Insurance pension for the loss of a breadwinner - 8,613 rubles;
- Social pension RUB 8,791;
- Social pension for disabled children - 13,026 rubles.
We remind you that insurance pensions were indexed by 3.7% from January 1, 2021, and the value of the pension point in 2021 is 81.49 rubles.
Having heard about the possibility of increasing pensions, many senior citizens became interested in the question of who is entitled to this increase. It applies to pensioners who meet the following requirements:
- lack of work (we remind you that people who have retired and continued to work do not receive increases or additional payments, and they are indexed separately from everyone else in August, and the increase is made according to its own scheme and it depends, among other things, on the size of insurance premiums);
- We are talking about social pensions, plus the size of their pension is usually lower than the regional subsistence level for this category of citizens (if the figure is higher, then there will be no additional payment, but only indexation).
It is also possible that a person’s pension was indexed at the beginning of the year, but it still does not reach the minimum subsistence level established in the region. What will happen then? In general, such a situation is unlikely. However, these citizens will be able to receive an additional payment up to the subsistence level. But insurance pensions are not subject to indexation in April, since the increase applies to social pensions.
Let us remind you that now the additional payment will be paid to pensioners separately so that the assistance from the state is noticeable. Although previously it was included in the total amount.
By the way, to carry out indexation, pensioners themselves do not need to do anything - the Pension Fund will make all the calculations independently and assign the required accruals to everyone.
A one-time payment in 2021 is not due to all pensioners, but only to those who were born in a certain period of time:
- —men born between 1953 and 1966;
- -women born between 1957 and 1966.
One-time payment to pensioners of 16,500 rubles from April: clarification
On social networks, the subject of discussion was the information that in the near future pensioners will be paid a one-time payment in the amount of 16,500 rubles. Sources note that Russian pensioners will be able to receive it, and this will be possible in a few weeks.
You can receive funds from April 1, 2021, and the payment amount will be 16,500 rubles. However, the Pension Fund department reported that in the near future pensioners will not be entitled to any additional payments.
But the payment amount itself fully corresponds to the funds that pensioners will be able to receive if they participate in the funded pension program of a guaranteed pension product.
This system will begin only in two years, and will allow citizens to independently manage their own pension finances through private funds. Contributions from salary will be of a recommendatory nature.
Which pensioners will receive the bonus?
From April 1, 2021, only social benefits intended for a wide range of people will be increased. Insurance and government payments were already indexed on January 1 of this year, so you should not expect a second increase.
Thus, next month the following categories of citizens will receive an increased pension:
- people who retired due to age and stopped working;
- disabled;
- children with disabilities;
- families who have lost their breadwinners;
- military;
- veterans;
- victims of man-made and radiation disasters;
- residents of besieged Leningrad.
It is worth clarifying that the old-age social pension is received by all citizens who have reached retirement age (65 years for women and 70 for men) and do not have sufficient work experience. This is minimal assistance, the amount of which is usually equal to the subsistence level in the region.
Increase in pension from April 1 (latest news)
At first glance, 2% is not that much. But if we estimate the monthly budget expenses for increasing 4 million payments, we get 779 million rubles. That is, by the end of the year, about 7 billion rubles will be allocated from the budget to increase social payments.
This year, the average payment will be increased to 9,266 rubles, that is, each social pension will increase by approximately 182 rubles. You can calculate exactly how much your specific social pension will increase by yourself. You should find 2% of it and add it to the amount received before April 1.
Example 1
If a pensioner received a monthly supplement for group III disability in the amount of 2667.10 rubles, this amount must be multiplied by 0.02. It will turn out to be 53.34 rubles. Then the resulting number should be added to the previous payment. This is 2717.44 rubles. This will be the amount of additional payment for disability group III from April.
Example 2
The social pension of a group I disabled person is 10,668.38 rubles. 2% of this amount is 213.36 rubles. Thus, the final payment to a non-working pensioner with the first disability group from April will be 10,881 rubles 75 kopecks.
According to the government decree, the average increase in social payments will be:
- 286 rubles for disabled children (average payment - 13674)
- 270 for disabled people since childhood (group I) (average payment amount -13812)
- 251 for military personnel who became disabled as a result of conscription in the army (average payment amount - 12899) 214 for families of military personnel who died during military service (average payment amount - 109642)
- 279 rubles for WWII veterans
This means that since the average increase is 182 rubles, some categories of social pensioners will receive less, since the larger the social pension, the larger the increase.
