Has a law been adopted to raise the retirement age in Russia? Who is subject to raising the retirement age and who will not be affected? Scenarios for raising the retirement age in Russia.

September 27, 2018 The State Duma adopted a law on increasing retirement age in the third (final) reading, taking into account the proposed amendments. Already on October 3, the document was considered in the Federation Council and signed by President V. Putin. Passed law on pension reform will come into force on January 1, 2019- from this date, a gradual increase in the retirement age will begin in Russia, giving Russians the right to receive an old-age insurance (labor) pension. Total after completion transition period exit age labor pension for men and women will be upgraded for 5 years and in the general case will be accordingly 65 and 60 years(see table below):

Mitigation of pension reform by V. Putin

August 29, 2018 Vladimir Putin made a televised address, in which he first formulated in detail his position on pension reform. The President announced his version of mitigation pension changes, which has already been worked out by the Government and presented as amendments to the second reading of the bill in the State Duma(they were unanimously adopted by deputies on September 26, 2018)

The main proposals of Vladimir Putin include the following:

• relaxation of the retirement age for women (proposed by the Government);
• preferential retirement during the first two years of reform(six months ahead of schedule, i.e. in 2019 - at 55.5 and 60.5; in 2020 - at 56.5 and 61.5);
• reducing the requirements for the length of service required for ( 37 years for women and 42 for men, instead of 40 and 45 respectively);
• possibility (if there are 3 children - 3 years earlier, if there are 4 - 4 years earlier).

It is noteworthy that during the first months of public discussion on this issue, the President of Russia didn't take part. Only on July 20, 2018, the day after the first consideration of the law in the State Duma, at a meeting in Kaliningrad with volunteers of the 2018 World Cup, Vladimir Putin proposed the Government.

Putin on raising the retirement age in 2018 - latest news

According to the President, who on July 20, 2018 in Kaliningrad for the first time publicly commented on the pension reform, answering questions from FIFA World Cup volunteers, to make a final decision on the parameters, it is necessary to rely not on emotions, but on objective facts - economic assessments of development and the state of the social sphere countries taking into account the long term:

“Let’s say it again, let’s see how the discussion unfolds, listen to everyone, weigh all these positions and points of view.<…>But we will take this most seriously. First of all, in order to ensure the interests of our citizens both today and in the long term - so that we have a stable, reliable situation in the economy, in the social sphere, including in the pension system.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, June 20, 2018

The President noted that there is many factors, which are pushing for a decision to raise the retirement age, of which they cited the following:

1. When in the USSR a decision was made on the generally established retirement age of 60 years for men and 55 years for women, working citizens were 3.7 times more quantity pensioners. And now there are only 2 working people per pensioner, and in the future, if nothing is done, these numbers will also decrease.
2. Now the priority task assigned to the Government is increasing the income of Russian citizens, and without adjusting the retirement age, the income of such a large social group as pensioners, will steadily decline due to a reduction in the number of working citizens.
3. In the minutes of the meeting from 1956, during which it was initially decided to establish the current boundaries of the “period of working capacity” at 60 and 55 years old in 2018, it was stated that as life expectancy increases The retirement age will also need to be raised. The following are some indicative figures:
   • At the time the old standards were adopted (i.e. in 1956), the average life expectancy of Russians was at the level 67 years old.
   • In 2018, the average life expectancy is already 73.5 years, and in 2019 it is projected to be 74.3 years.
   • By the time the transitional provisions provided for in the Government bill are completed, these values ​​will be even higher - over 75 years for men and 85 years for women.
4. On August 7, 1995, Government Resolution No. 790 was adopted, which noted the need to adjust the retirement age “taking into account demographic development in Russian Federation» in the second decade of the 21st century.

As a result, Vladimir Putin emphasized that he personally I don’t like any option for pension reform(and few people in the Government like this), however, in the long term, the pension system will “burst” if nothing is further done in this direction. Of course, you can do nothing for the next 5-10 years, but then it will be even more difficult to do it.

Will pension reform be adopted?

Many Russians were waiting for the President's reaction to the Government's proposal in the hope that the reform would still be postponed. But, in essence, the essence of the reform introduced by the President did not change, so in the future it will proceed according to the original plan without significant adjustments. Experts regularly noted that the Government does not intend to accept the “soft” version of the reform for the following reasons:

• If a significant adjustment to the reform is made, the Cabinet of Ministers will not be able to implement the annual increase promised from 2019, since such an increase in pensions was calculated subject to the strict adjustments to the pension system outlined in the original version of the bill.
• In order to implement the so-called “May decrees” of the President, which set long-term development goals for Russia for 2018-2024, the growth pension provision in Russia there should be above the inflation rate, on the basis of which the size of the increase was set at 1000 rubles. (in 2019 this corresponds to an increase rate of “twice as much as inflation”).

Therefore, the retirement age in Russia from 2019 will be increased one way or another, since the authorities consider the goal of this reform to be to increase the incomes of Russians. Using the funds released from such a decision, the average pension for current pensioners is planned to increase from the current 14 thousand to 20 thousand rubles. by 2024.

Let us recall that the initial one was submitted by the Government for consideration to the State Duma on June 16 and already on September 27 was adopted in the final third reading. On October 3, it was approved by the Federation Council and signed by Vladimir Putin. Such an unpopular proposal expectedly caused widespread public outcry. This proposal was also controversially accepted by many Russian officials and deputies of the State Duma.

As noted by various research institutes (including the state-owned company VTsIOM), pension reform provoked a fall in the ratings of leading Russian politicians, including Prime Minister D. Medvedev, President V. Putin, as well as the United Russia party as a whole.

Referendum against raising the retirement age

They are trying to organize an all-Russian referendum on pension reform representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, but their first attempt was unsuccessful. As a result of the meeting of the Central Election Commission on July 27, the wording of the question, which was proposed by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation for public discussion, was recognized as incorrect, and the referendum was refused.

However, on August 1, representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation prepared the optimal formulation of the question for the referendum, taking into account the recommendations of the Central Election Commission: “Do you agree that the age established by the legislation of the Russian Federation on pension provision as of July 1, 2018, the achievement of which gives the right to an old-age insurance pension (for men - 60 years, for women - 55 years), will not be increased must?". A meeting of initiative groups is now expected to approve this issue.

In addition to the initiative of the communists, the Central Election Commission received an application from Ilya Sviridov, a candidate for mayor of Moscow from the A Just Russia party, who is also trying to organize a referendum. On August 3, 2018, he already held a meeting of initiative groups, which unanimously voted for the issue proposed for the referendum.

According to the law, after the working groups approve the issue proposed for the referendum, it will be necessary to go through the following stages:

1. Collection of citizens' signatures. Within 3 months, at least 2 million signatures must be collected, with the condition that there will be no more than 50 thousand signatures in one region.
2. Verification of signatures at the CEC. Within 30 days, 40% of randomly selected signatures are verified. If the marriage rate does not exceed 5%, a decision will be made to call a referendum.
3. Determining the legality of an initiative. The CEC forwards the documents to the President, who in turn forwards them to the Constitutional Court to assess the legality of the initiative.
4. Appointment of the voting date by the President.

Many experts already agree that the implementation of all stages will take too long - especially has already been adopted in its final form.

The number of elderly people in Russia is gradually increasing. Experts take into account trends occurring in other countries. The aging of the population has led to a budget deficit of the Russian Pension Fund. When will happen? The upcoming changes will not affect older people who are already receiving a pension.

Latest news about raising the retirement age

The government led by Dmitry Medvedev has officially announced that the retirement age will be raised. The bill was approved and submitted to the State Duma for approval.

When will the retirement age be raised?

How much will the retirement age be increased?

For men - up to 65 years. (5 year increase). For women - up to 63 years. (8 year increase)

How will the promotion take place?

Medvedev said that the retirement age will be raised gradually, starting in 2019. The increase process will last until 2028 for men and until 2034 for women.

Who will be affected by the reform and who will be subject to an increase in the retirement age?

The reform will affect men born in 1959. and women born in 1964 Men born in 1960 and women born in 1965 will be able to take a break from work in 2022 at the age of 62 and 57, and so on.

How much will the retirement age for workers in the Far North be increased?

For men, the retirement age will be set at 60 years, for women - 58 years (that is, it will increase by five and eight years, respectively).

Table of increasing the retirement age in Russia by year of birth:(retirement schedule from 2019)

Men		Women		Year of retirement after raising the retirement age
Year of birth		Year of birth	New retirement age, years
1959	61	1964	56	2020
1960	62	1965	57	2022
1961	63	1966	58	2024
1962	64	1967	59	2026
1963	65	1968	60	2028
		1969	61	2030
		1970	62	2032
		1971	63	2034

At what age will older people be able to apply for a pension in 2019?

Alexey Kudrin, who is the head of the Center for Social Development, believes that such a measure will help achieve constant growth Russian economy. Raising the retirement age in Russia should not affect those who have already made payments. While everyone is waiting for the results of the upcoming presidential elections.

When solving the age problem, economists take into account several options for the development of the situation:

1. If you raise the retirement age for men to 65, you can save 1 trillion rubles.
2. In accordance with calculations of the Ministry of Economic Development optimal age The retirement age is 63 years. Moreover, experts are against sudden changes to the current legislation. The retirement age should be raised gradually. This option was supported by representatives of the Center for Social Development.

Important! The Pension Fund is not yet considering changes to the budget for the period from 2019 to 2020. To reduce costs, management may reduce employees by 10%.

How will the age requirements for applicants change in 2019?

Men

Males will be able to receive payments at the age of 65. The recommendations made by the Center for Social Development were not accepted by the government. Already in 2019, people will live to be 72 years old. This will lead to an increase in the Russian Pension Fund deficit. To balance the financial situation, it is proposed to increase the requirements for payment recipients.

Women

Experts predict an increase in the retirement age for women to 63 years.

Reasons for raising the retirement age

Economists believe that sustainable growth of the Russian economy is impossible with the existing payment system. Alexander Kudrin shares the same opinion. The reform will affect those citizens who are just planning to retire. In this way, the Ministry of Finance wants to achieve budget stabilization.

Raising the retirement age in Russia will happen in stages. The changes will not affect the social obligations of the state. Thanks to pension reform, it will be possible to reduce the budget deficit. Under current law, women can get out at age 55.

Men become eligible for payments at age 60. In Russia, there is a gradual increase in average life expectancy. In 2019, this figure reached 72 years. In 2025, people will live on average 76 years. Experts predict that in 2023 the number of pensioners will reach 30% of the total population of Russia.

Now their number is 25% of the working population. The situation is influenced by economic factors. According to experts’ calculations, the budget deficit in the Russian Pension Fund in 2019 will amount to 105 billion rubles.

Scenarios for raising the retirement age in Russia

Experts have suggested what a change in the retirement age in Russia might look like in the future.

At what age do men and women retire in 2019?

Women will have access to government payments at the age of 55 years. When calculating benefits, specialists are guided by Federal Law No. 400. Men get the opportunity to receive payments if they live to be 60 years old.

Advantages and disadvantages of the reform

Experts believe that increase in retirement age will produce the following results:

1. The state will be able to save budget funds.
2. By increasing the retirement age, it will be possible to retain qualified personnel.

Disadvantages of this solution:

1. Older people find it difficult to perform certain activities.
2. They have difficulty mastering new technologies.
3. In adulthood, the number of diseases increases.
4. It is difficult for older people to find work with decent income.
5. Most people will not live to reach retirement age. The reason is due to the fact that Russia lags behind developed countries in terms of life expectancy.

Under such conditions, people will have no incentive to form future pension. Older people are unlikely to give up positions to younger colleagues. This will complicate the promotion of promising specialists.

At what age can civil servants qualify for payments?

To begin with, experts decided to study the influence of the age factor on officials. Now women employed in government agencies can receive payments at the age of 55.5 years. For male officials, the right to benefits begins at the age of 60.5 years.

The government plans to raise the retirement age in stages. In 2032, the final figure for women will be 63 years. Male officials will be able to receive payments at the age of 65. Such requirements will be in effect as early as 2026. Moreover, the increase will affect all categories of civil servants.

Beneficiaries entitled to early retirement, will not be an exception to the rule.

Important! The retirement age of officials was raised in accordance with Federal Law No. 143. The current legislation provides for the gradual achievement of the required indicators.

Year	At what age can an official apply for a pension?
	Men who hold positions in government institutions	Women working in government agencies
2018	61 years old	56 years old
2019	61.5 years	56.5 years
2020	62 years old	57 years old
2021	62.5 years	57.5 years
2022	63 years old	58 years old
2023	63.5 years	58.5 years
2024	64 years old	59 years old
2025	64.5 years	59.5 years
2026	65 years old	60 years
2027	65 years old	60,5
2028	65 years old	61 years old
2029	65 years old	61.5 years
2030	65 years old	62 years old
2031	65 years old	62.5 years
2032	65 years old	63 years old

The reforms will affect minimum length of service for pension. Moreover, the increase will occur gradually. In 2017, officials will have to work for at least 15.5 years. In the future, the indicators will increase annually by 6 months. Maximum Duration Requirement Value insurance period achieved in 2026. Officials applying for a pension will have to work in government agencies for at least 20 years.

Retirement age in Russia from 2019 latest news table

Requirements for recipients of payments in different countries

The average retirement age is 65 years. For example, in Russia, men can receive payments at the age of 60. When assigning pensions, regional characteristics must be taken into account. Among Russians, there is a category of beneficiaries who have the right to early payments.

The highest requirements for applicants in Japan. Women in this country have no advantages. Both sexes retire at age 70. The next position is occupied by Denmark, where pensions begin to be paid at the age of 67 years. In Austria old man can receive payments if he lives to age 65. Quite high requirements for pensioners in Germany.

The Germans do not make concessions for women. Seniors will be able to receive government benefits at age 67. In some countries, officials are planning to raise the retirement age. Such changes will affect residents of the UK and Poland. The age at which a person will have access to payments will be increased to 67 years. Native French people will be able to receive a pension at the age of 62.

In which country does the elderly person live?	Age at which an elderly person can claim benefits
	Man	Woman
Japan	70 years old	70 years old
Denmark	67 years old	67 years old
Norway	67 years old	67 years old
Austria	65 years old	65 years old
Belgium	65 years old	62 years old
Great Britain	65 years old	60 years
Germany	67 years old	67 years old
Greece	65 years old	60 years
Spain	65 years old	65 years old
Italy	65 years old	60 years
Canada	65 years old	65 years old
Poland	65 years old	60 years
USA	65 years old	60 years
Kazakhstan	63 years old	58 years old
Lithuania	62.5 years	58.5 years
Moldova	62 years old	57 years old
Ukraine	60	55
Belarus	60	55

Why is the retirement age being raised in Russia?

In his speeches on this issue, Vladimir Putin noted that there are many influencing factors due to which the decision on the retirement age still need to be accepted- inaction in such a situation is “irresponsible and dishonest towards both the country and our children.” The President identified the following main reasons for the need to make such a decision:

1. Increased life expectancy. In the minutes of the 1956 meeting, during which a decision was made on the generally established retirement age in the USSR (60 and 55 years), it was stated that as the life expectancy of Russians increases, the value of the retirement age also will need to be adjusted. The President noted that:
   • in 1956, the average life expectancy was 67 years;
   • in 2018 this value increased to 73.5;
   • by 2019 it is predicted to increase to 74.3;
   • by the end of the transitional provisions of the Government bill, this indicator for women will be set at 85 years, and for men - 75 years.
2. Change in the ratio of the number of working citizens and pensioners. In 1970, there were 3.7 working citizens per pensioner. Already in 2018, this value decreased to 2, and in the future it will be even less, to the point that there will be one pensioner per worker (if no measures are taken now).
3. Increasing life expectancy after retirement. By 2030, this figure for women will be 24 years, and for men - 15 years.
4. Low incomes of pensioners. The pension system is not balanced, so in the current situation the income of pensioners is kept at a low level. If nothing is done in this direction, the number of poor people in Russia will constantly increase at the expense of pensioners, for whom it will be impossible to increase their pensions even at today’s pace.

The President, in his speech on July 20, 2018, noted that he neither now nor previously liked none of the options presented pension reform. But if you do not take any action, then The pension system may “burst”, and the budget or reserve funds from which this entire system is financed will not be enough.

In conclusion, Vladimir Putin noted that nothing can be done on this issue for another 7-10 years, but after this time you will have to take even more drastic and painful measures.

Will the law on raising the retirement age be adopted or not?

Many Russian citizens They expected with hope that as a result of Vladimir Putin’s intervention, the pension reform would be canceled or at least greatly adjusted (especially since he “doesn’t like” any of the proposed options). In this regard, experts regularly noted that the law on raising the retirement age will definitely be adopted as proposed, but no fundamental changes can be expected in general the reform will take place according to the government plan. There are several reasons for this:

• The President himself, in the “May Decree” dated 05/07/2018 No. 204, set the task of increasing pensions at a rate higher than the rate of inflation, in connection with which the Government decided to increase the amount of pensions annually from 2019 (which corresponds to the decree of Vladimir Putin).
• If serious relaxations are implemented, the Government will not be able to implement the increase in pensions by 1,000 rubles per month announced from 2019, since such an increase was calculated based on of the initially proposed retirement age adjustments- with an increase of 5 years for men and 8 years for women.

Therefore, the law on increasing the retirement age from 2019 was still accepted(It was already signed by the President on October 3). Due to this, the Government plans annually increase pensioners' incomes- all released cash from the implementation of the pension reform is planned to be used to by 2024, the average pension exceeded 20 thousand rubles.(remember, in 2018 average pension in Russia is 14,414 rubles).

Easing pension reform

On August 29, 2018, in his television address to Russian citizens, Vladimir Putin formulated 6 main directions for changing pension reform, which will allow “to mitigate the decisions made as much as possible”, taking into account the principles of justice and the interests of citizens:

1. Ensure an equal increase in the retirement age for women and men - by 5 years(up to 60 and 65 years old, respectively). At the same time, provide for the possibility of raising 3 and 4 children (currently benefits are provided only for women who gave birth and raised 5 or more children - in this case they can retire from the age of 50).
2. Opportunity to retire six months earlier, if under the old law there are less than 2 years left until retirement age (accordingly, this measure applies to women and men who, under the old law, would have had to retire in 2019 and 2020).
3. in the job market. At the same time, the President proposed to consider the age “5 years before the retirement date” as pre-retirement. Among the main measures are administrative and criminal liability for employers for dismissal or refusal to hire due to age, measures to stimulate business, a special program for advanced training for pre-retirees, increasing the maximum amount of unemployment benefits from 4,900 to 11,280 rubles from January 1, 2019 , provision of two days a year for medical examination while maintaining salary, etc.
4. Maintaining the current retirement age for certain categories of workers- workers in harmful and dangerous working conditions, Chernobyl survivors, indigenous peoples of the North, etc. In order to support workers in rural areas, starting from 2019, an increase of +25% will also be provided (if they have at least 30 years of work experience in agriculture).
5. Opportunity it was proposed to make it more accessible. Initially, in the Government bill, such length of service was set at 40 years for women and 45 years for men, and the President ordered to reduce these terms by 3 years - to 37 and 42 years, respectively. Such citizens will be able to retire early - 2 years before reaching retirement age (but not earlier than reaching the ages of 55 and 60 years).
6. Continued federal benefits at ages 55 and 60. Now such benefits (primarily referring to the payment of property and land taxes) are provided specifically for such a social group as pensioners. In connection with the increase in the retirement age, it is proposed to tie these benefits not to the status of a pensioner, but to the ages of 55 and 60 years. Regarding the preservation of regional benefits upon reaching this age, the constituent entities of the Russian Federation must decide independently.

More information about the President's instructions on easing the pension reform can be found at. Amendments developed on the basis of these proposals were adopted in the second reading on September 26 and were taken into account in the final content signed by the President. The government must also find funds to support these orders on its own.

It is also worth noting that opposition parties in the State Duma didn't support the bill proposed by the Government during its first reading (all three factions representing the parliamentary opposition voted “against”). In this regard, they also proposed many amendments to the second reading of the bill, but they were not adopted. One of the popular suggestions is moratorium on raising the retirement age: The Communist Party faction has already submitted such a separate bill to the State Duma for consideration, and A Just Russia was preparing a corresponding amendment for the second reading, but it was rejected.

There is no point in hoping that the bill will be somehow radically adjusted - the Government has repeatedly noted that only the adoption of the law in its original concept will ensure the sustainability of the pension system and ensure high incomes for pensioners (that is, after retirement).

Referendum against raising the retirement age

In addition to the moratorium on raising the retirement age, representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation initially proposed holding a referendum on pension reform, the likelihood of which quite doubtful. The fact is that, according to data as of August 10, the Central Election Commission Already approved 5 applications to hold an all-Russian referendum on pension reform:

• On August 8, 3 applications were approved (initiative groups from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, candidate for mayor of Moscow from A Just Russia I. Sviridov and the All-Russian Union of Public Organizations for Work with large families from the Moscow region);
• On August 10, 2 more applications were agreed upon (from the Vologda and Nizhny Novgorod regions).

However, these figures may not be final - the chairman of the Central Election Commission of Russia, Ella Pamfilova, noted at a meeting of the Central Election Commission on August 10, 2018 that the regional election commissions 20 applications for holding a referendum have already been received. Due to such a number of requests, the likelihood that such a referendum can take place is increasingly being questioned.

The head of the CEC emphasized that the more applications are approved, the less likely it is that any of the groups will be able to organize a referendum, since after agreement with the Central Election Commission the issue for the referendum must be met the following conditions:

1. Initiative groups must be created and registered in at least 43 regions of the country(taking into account that there are 85 subjects in total in the Russian Federation).
2. Each group should have at least 100 people who live in each specific region.
3. In one subject of the Russian Federation Multiple groups cannot be registered with similar thematic questions for the referendum.

Thus, it will be possible to initiate an all-Russian referendum against raising the retirement age only one initiative group- the one that will be the first to register its regional subgroups in half of the country’s regions, based on the above rules. This means that, by competing with each other, the initiators of applications will create obstacles for each other, which will ultimately lead to the fact that the referendum will not be able to be organized none of the groups at all.

When will there be a referendum on pension reform?

In addition to this reason, there is another feature due to which the referendum on pension reform may not take place. Preparing for a referendum on all legislative norms takes quite a long time. As representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation noted, the whole process may take approximately 3-3.5 months.

According to Law No. 5-FKZ of June 28, 2004, which regulates the rules for holding a referendum in the Russian Federation, after registration of regional groups, the following stages of preparation:

1. Must be collected within 45 days 2 million signatures, provided that in one region they can be collected in quantity no more than 50 thousand
2. Within another 30 days, the CEC checks signatures for marriage: out of 40% of randomly selected signatures, no more than 5% should be rejected.
3. The Central Election Commission makes a decision on calling a referendum and transmits the documents to the President. No later than 10 days later, documents from the President are forwarded to the Constitutional Court, which assesses the legality of the proposed initiative.
4. After all the above stages, the President sets the date for the vote, which must be held within a period of 60 to 100 days from the date of official publication of the decision on the referendum.

Based on this, even if we assume that one of the initiative groups will still be able to organize a referendum on all legislative norms, its preparation and conduct will take quite a long time. Moreover, all these actions are already meaningless due to the fact that The law has already been adopted in its final form.