The social bloc of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers still hopes to index pensions by 12% in the next year. The government has decided to index pensions in two stages. The money for the first stage is already provided, and we can start to talk about the second stage after the economic situation becomes clearer, particularly how we will be able to implement plans on import substitution. "The assessment will be summarized following the first half of the year, and we will understand whether we can index it a second time or not. There are expectations that we will cope with the situation, but everything will be revealed by the results of the first six months," Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets said.
Speaking about ways of solving issues of increasing pensions, the Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, Valery Ryazansky, stated that there is not only indexation. "The second way is the modernizing of those pensions, which, so to speak, were not modernized during the transition process which took place in the 90s. The so-called valorization."
In the Pension Fund, valorization is a one-time increase in monetary evaluation of the pension rights of citizens, who have working experience before 2002. The valorization mechanism applies to all insurance (up to 01.01.2015 from labor) pensions, regardless of their type. For all citizens who have work experience before 2002, automatically, when the pension is calculated, the pension capital formed before 2002 is increased by 10%. And for those who have work experience before 1991, the estimated pension capital is further increased by 1% for each full year of employment, worked out before 1991.
Valorization takes into account the total employment history, which is taken into account during the assessment of pension rights. At the same time, no restrictions are set, that is, the entire existing pre-1991 experience is taken into account, including the maximum exponents (45 years for men and 40 years for women).
"We did valorization, but we did it on the basis of those features which the economy allowed. At the time, the economy allowed about 700 billion rubles to be poured into the system. We have invested them, recalculated every pension history, and these funds were given to every pensioner. If there were more opportunities, we could have done much more," Ryazansky stated.
The third option of increasing pensions, according to him, is the help of the federal budget to the pension system: "It is the sacred duty of the state budget. First of all, for the performance of public functions, if a person performs them, serves in the army or is involved in the execution of certain public functions. It is a help to young mothers, who are on a break for childcare, it should also be paid by the state. And all those preferential tax regimes, which are provided by law. They also must be replenished from the federal budget."
He explained that when there is tension over filling a pension fund from the the federal budget, "sparks fly between the financial and economic bloc of the government and the social bloc of the government. In this case, we should be arbiters. We approach the formation of the budget quite professionally. It is necessary to ensure a stable implementation of all commitments in the social sphere, it is necessary to retain the support of the most important spheres of our life activity, which we all know. First of all, there is agriculture, fulfillment of social obligations, support of the country's defense."
Ryazansky urged not to forget about the fact that regional budgets also need support: "Because the basis for the well-being of regional systems of life, of course, depends on the balance of the regional budgets. Discussion of project numbers at different levels, on different platforms, including the party platform, has been going on for too long. So the arguments can be populist, or the arguments can be verified and professional. We are for the account of real opportunities and reality. The state has a certain safety margin. And this safety margin allows us, so to speak, to execute these three complicated conditions, which I mentioned. Balance, support for regional economies, ensure the fulfillment of social obligations, and in addition provide the stability of the entire economic mechanism. Including the banking system."
