In Russia, pension reforms have been carried out for several years. In 2015, the main innovation was the introduction of insurance pensions and length of service, which gave citizens the opportunity to count on minimum payments when they reach retirement age. In turn, in order to receive their deserved pension, citizens have to work for a certain period of time, which is set by the state.
In addition, in 2015, pension points were introduced, which citizens were to accumulate in the process of their work. The number of these points directly depends on the amount of accruals to the pension fund by the employer. In order to receive the accumulation of insurance points in 2015, it became possible only with the official employment, the higher the official salary, the more points a citizen will receive for each calendar year. Opponents of these innovations among experts pointed to the following shortcomings:
- Gradual increase of the mandatory insurance period - if before 2015 it was at least 5 years, then by 2024 it should have been at least 15 years;
- systematic increase in the number of pension points that guarantee the assignment of pensions in the future - in 2015, this figure was within 6.6, but by 2025 it should be 30 points.
At the end of 2016 - beginning of 2017, initiatives were repeatedly put forward to raise the retirement age for Russian citizens, some of which were adopted by the Federal Law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts" of 23.05.2016 № 143-FZ. The first to feel these changes were civil servants whose retirement age was raised in 2017.
In addition, the contributions to the pension fund for the self-employed increased, which means that citizens conducting entrepreneurial activity should receive timely information about the amount of the mandatory contribution calculated from their official income. Starting from 2017, the administration of insurance premiums was transferred to the Federal Tax Service, but the obligation to administer premiums made before 2017, as well as voluntary contributions to the insurance-funded pension remained with the pension fund.
Due to the increase in fixed payments due to indexation on February 1 (5.4%) and April 1 (0.38%), the minimum pension was increased. This guaranteed increase was assigned automatically, without the corresponding application of citizens. Pensions on state pension provision also increased by 2.6%.
In 2017, it was decided to raise the age requirement for civil servants to be eligible for a well-deserved rest. It rose to 63 years for women and 65 years for men. In 2018, a reform was adopted to change the conditions of retirement also for citizens not employed in the civil service. The initial proposal was to retain the 63.65 years of age, but this figure was subsequently reduced for women.
In addition, the 2018 reform touched on the following points:
- Cancellation of the funded part of the calculation of pension benefits, replacement by individual capital;
- Absence of points;
- Participation of employers in the formation of security for future retired employees.
On the basis of this, starting from January 1, 2019, the Government of the Russian Federation began to implement measures to stabilize the system by increasing deductions up to 40% of wages. In connection with the ongoing pension reforms, the number of able-bodied population is increasing, and the number of people of retirement age is decreasing.