Which card is better to transfer your pension to: review of conditions from leading banks

Pros and cons of charging a pension to a card

Let me remind you that all citizens who receive funds from the budget (pensions, scholarships, salaries, social benefits, etc.) from July 1, 2017 must do so on a MIR card. State employees were transferred a little earlier, until July 1, 2018. And pensioners will be transferred gradually. When the card expires, you will be given a MIR when you register for a new one.

This does not mean that pensioners are required to receive money only on the card. The Pension Fund clearly spoke on this matter on its official website. Anyone can choose the organization and method of pension delivery:

1. Via Russian Post, with delivery to your home or branch. You are given a specific day of receipt.
2. Through the bank. You can open an account or get a bank card. As soon as the Pension Fund transfers the money, it immediately goes into your account.
3. Through special organizations. For example, these could be social protection authorities.

Thus, the pensioner himself chooses how he will receive his pension. At the beginning I said that pension plastic cards are convenient and profitable. Let's take a closer look at these points:

1. You are not tied to a specific day of delivery of your pension to the Russian Post office or to the social security authorities. There is no need to sit at home and wait for the money to come.
2. There is no need to stand in lines at the Russian Post to receive your pension.
3. You don't keep cash at home. Today, the arrival of all sorts of dubious personalities to the elderly for the purpose of stealing is not uncommon.
4. Convenient to pay in stores. There is no need to carry a wallet with you and look for the smaller money the cashier needs.
5. If you master Internet banking, you will be able to pay utility bills, cellular communications, etc. without wasting time.
6. And finally, banks offer special conditions for pension cards. For example, accrual of income on the account balance up to 6% per annum.

Not without its drawbacks:

1. The MIR card, which is issued to public sector employees, cannot be used to pay abroad. And some pensioners live there with Russian citizenship.
2. Unfortunately, recently cases of fraud with bank cards have become more frequent. Pensioners are often victims. Therefore, it is so important to teach them to resist the tricks of criminals.
3. Low computer literacy among older people who cannot take full advantage of a plastic wallet.
4. Psychological moment. For some people, and not just retirees, it is important to keep cash in hand. But every year there are fewer and fewer of them.

Criterias of choice

In addition to the pros and cons, we will consider the criteria by which you should choose which bank is better to issue a pension card:

• proximity of branches to home and number of ATMs in the area of ​​residence;
• terms of service, for example, interest on the balance, cashback on purchases, limits and fees for withdrawing money from ATMs;
• For many pensioners, friendly service at the branch plays an important role.

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To transfer your pension to a pension card, you need to write an application to the Pension Fund. Many banks undertake its delivery to the Pension Fund. If there is no such service, then you can use one of the proposed methods:

• personally take it to the regional branch of the Pension Fund of Russia,
• submit through the MFC,
• fill out an electronic application in your personal account on the Pension Fund website or through the State Services portal.

Important! Pensions will be transferred only to banks with which the Russian Pension Fund cooperates. He concludes bilateral agreements with them. A complete list of participants can be found in your territorial PFR office.

Analysis of pensioner reviews on card choice

There are no mass discussions of pension insurance on the Internet. The few reviews about each of the products we describe describe a positive user experience.

Single negative responses are associated with delays in transferring payments from one bank to another. Sovcombank clients complain about the imposition of the Halva card, the servicing of which sometimes causes unexpected costs.

It can be assumed that there are two main reasons for the small number of reviews:

• low activity of Internet use among people of retirement age;
• high attractiveness of pension offers compared to other products from most large issuers.

Review of conditions for pension programs in banks

Let's review pension programs in the most popular banks. And let's start, of course, with Sberbank of Russia, which does not change its traditions and offers the most unfavorable conditions, but at the same time has the largest number of pensioner clients.

Please note that all MIR cards issued for receiving pensions are debit cards.

Sberbank

Allows you to issue a card online without leaving your home. To do this, you need to fill out a form and after 3 days (as the bank claims) pick up the completed one. To receive it you will need a passport and SNILS.

Tariffs and conditions:

• free service,
• 3.5% on account balance,
• SMS notifications are free for the first 2 months.

Important information on cash withdrawal fees.

The bonus program offers an accrual of 0.5% of the purchase amount in the form of Thanks from Sberbank. These are virtual bonuses that can be spent on paying for goods and services in stores and partner organizations of the bank.

Mobile banking is easy to use. To pay for utilities and taxes, just hold the bill with a barcode to your phone. Payment will take 1 – 2 minutes.

Sberbank's traditional advantage is its developed network of branches and ATMs throughout Russia.

Post Bank

Offers to leave an application on the website without visiting the Pension Fund. Post Bank has developed a special program for pensioners:

• Up to 6% per annum on the balance, the interest rate depends on the minimum amount in the account during the month. Interest is compounded monthly and capitalized, increasing income.

• Free service.
• Attractive bonus program. You will receive a 3% return to your account if you pay with a card in pharmacies, gas stations, in city and suburban transport, and taxis.
• Free and 24-hour service for pensioners to provide legal, psychological and medical advice.
• Free registration of a Pyaterochka card for online purchases and return up to 25% of the amount to your account.

You won’t have to pay for cash withdrawals only at Post Bank and VTB ATMs.

Bank opening

Otkritie Bank offers:

• up to 4% per annum on the account balance, income accrued monthly;
• 3% money back when paying in pharmacies;
• free service;
• free SMS information.

The bank does not have a well-developed ATM network in Russia, but it has found a way out of the situation and makes it possible to withdraw cash from an ATM of any bank without commission.

The opening itself will inform the Pension Fund about the transfer of your pension to the bank card. All you need to do is fill out an application at the branch.

Binbank

B&N Bank accrues 4% on the account balance on a pension card. You don't have to pay anything for the service. Cash can be withdrawn from any ATM in Russia without commission.

For pensioners, there is a special program “Care” - this is a remote service of round-the-clock consultations on medical, psychological, legal and social issues. But the service is not free. Cost from 2 to 5 thousand rubles per month.

Sovcombank

When transferring a pension to Sovcombank, a “My Income” account is opened and a MIR bank card is issued with free servicing and accrual of 5.3% per annum on the balance.

You can withdraw cash from an ATM of any bank without commission. SMS notifications are also free for all completed transactions.

Rosselkhozbank

Rosselkhozbank offers holders of the MIR pension card the following conditions:

• up to 6% on account balance,
• free service,
• free withdrawal of money from ATMs of the bank and several other partners.

The disadvantages include:

• the need to independently submit an application for pension transfer to the Pension Fund,
• SMS notifications are free only about pension enrollment.

Promsvyazbank

Tariffs and conditions:

• free service,
• 5% on balance,
• 3% cashback when paying in pharmacies and gas stations,
• SMS notification – 69 rub.,
• commission for withdrawing money from ATMs of the bank and partners – 0%,
• commission for withdrawing money from ATMs of other banks up to 50 thousand rubles per month – 0%.

You will have to submit the application to the Pension Fund yourself.

Which card should I choose?

Banks' offers are tailored to different needs, habits, and interests of clients. No one can determine more accurately than the pensioner himself which card is the most profitable for him. We will tell you which parameters should be compared when choosing.

Reliability and rating of the bank

The most reliable are financial organizations that are able to consistently fulfill their obligations to clients.

These include those that:

• have the largest assets;
• established by the state;
• are highly rated by international rating agencies.

Clients are often faced with the contradiction that attractive conditions for financial products are offered by banks that are not included in the 10-20-30 most reliable. We will describe the main risks that should be assessed.

1. If a credit institution's license is revoked, the funds of all its clients will be frozen for 2 weeks. Next, you will need to send the documents received upon concluding the service agreement to the Deposit Insurance Agency. No later than 3 days after submission, the money will be paid.
2. The amount within which state insurance is valid is 1.4 million rubles. You will have to independently demand money from the bank above this amount. Usually this means courts, a long wait until funds are found. As a result, they may not be available.
3. Within the limits of 1.4 million, the money that was already in the accounts is paid. Insurance does not cover liabilities.

Interest that the bank undertakes to pay, but the deadline for crediting to the account has not yet arrived, will not be covered by the DIA. Reliability is especially important for deposits with infrequent interest payments, for example, once a year.

Let us pay special attention to the importance of carefully reading documents, regardless of the organization’s rating. Any bank, including the most reliable one, is interested in increasing profits and turnover. The package of documents that you are offered to sign, even at a state bank, may include consent to expensive insurance, an application to purchase seedlings for the taiga, or to write off monthly donations for feeding the Amur tiger.

Availability of offers for pensioners

You can order a MIR card from most Russian banks. Some regional organizations, as well as some of those founded by foreigners, do not issue.

When pensioners apply, they offer to open an account without connection to plastic. After receiving the money, you can transfer it to international plastic through your personal account.

Interest on balance

Banks encourage not only keeping money in deposits, but also in regular accounts. Interest is charged on the pension card balance. For most issuers it is preferential, higher than for other plastics. Calculation rules vary. Often the amount in the account is taken into account daily, and accruals are paid monthly.

Cashback

Banks pay bonuses for non-cash payments. There are various reward programs: a small percentage can be returned in cash or points, which can be accumulated and spent profitably.

Why are credit institutions interested in this? There are several reasons, including:

1. Spending on cashback is more effective than spending on advertising. Every ruble of the bank's funds spent reaches those who have already shown interest in it.
2. Retaining an existing client is no less important than attracting a new one.
3. The average cashback amount is covered by the commission that the bank receives from retail outlets for non-cash payments.

ATM availability

The ability to receive cash always makes using the card comfortable. When evaluating offers, be sure to take an interest in partner terminals. Many banks enter into cooperation agreements, and customers can withdraw money from various ATMs for free.

Speed ​​of service, availability of branches

If it is important for you to receive personal advice, and waiting in a live queue is not critical, it is preferable to choose a bank with an office that is easy to reach.

Connoisseurs of high-speed service via the Internet and home delivery of documents should consider high-tech banks. They may not have offices in most cities, but all issues are resolved without leaving the couch or leaving the country house, without additional payments for the service.

Cost of non-cash transfers

It is convenient when relatives and friends can send money to each other using SMS or a simple command at an ATM or on a computer. Within banks, such transfers are free. When sending to an account or card with a third-party credit institution, there may be a fee or a limit on free transfers.

Availability of other privileges

A pension card allows you to count on special conditions for the products of the bank that issued it, for example:

• loans;
• deposits;
• additional card products.

Comparison of bank conditions

Let's summarize the most popular selection criteria into a single table.

Based on this table, you can understand which banks are more profitable to open a pension card through.

Pension cards with interest on balance

In addition to the best pension cards presented above, there are plastic cards that offer the highest percentage. They are suitable for those who prefer to save:

1. Classic from SvyazBank: 5% for amounts up to RUB 300,000. There is no cashback.
2. Pension card from Binbank with interest on the balance: 4% regardless of the amount.
3. Plastic from Sovcombank: up to 5.3% on the account amount, cashback 5%.
4. Eastern: 7% per annum.
5. Rosgosstrakh: 5.5% on the average monthly amount.

These interest-bearing bank cards for pensioners can also be ordered online.