The economic crisis associated with the imposition of sanctions by Western states on the Russian Federation affected almost every citizen. Moreover, its consequences are still felt. And one of the most painful is the freezing of pension savings until 2020. This applies to the funded pension share of each of the able-bodied citizens born in 1967 and younger. According to preliminary data, the low frequencies (cumulative part) should have been thawed back in 2015. But freezing is relevant in 2018, it will be extended until 2020. What is it, what are its negative consequences, we will understand the material.
What is it?
Freezing pension savings is, in essence, freezing LF - the funded part of citizens' pensions. That is, it is precisely those 6% of the wages of the worker that each employer (under conditions of official employment) transfers to the Pension Fund - the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.
So what is it? Freezing pension savings means that the funds already transferred are not stored in the accounts of insured persons. The state manages these amounts at its sole discretion. And this is very favorable for him. For example, it is thanks to the freezing of pension savings (which you already imagine) that the Russian budget has replenished by 400 billion rubles.
Of course, the authorities of the Russian Federation did not take the people honestly earned money from the population. They are promised to be returned in the form of points when a person retires. And this is causing many excitement: suddenly the points will depreciate? Suddenly, the pension system will change, and the accumulated funds will turn out to be simply “donated” to the government? We will deal with these disturbing thoughts.
As it was before...
From the time of the USSR to 2002, the pension of citizens of the Soviet Union (and later of the Russian Federation) was indivisible. The employee himself could not dispose of it.
In 2002, the Russian Government decided to divide the pension into two parts - insurance and funded. The Federal Law “On Compulsory Insurance of Pensions in the Russian Federation” No. 167 entered into force. Three age groups of the population were introduced thereon. At the same time, two of them were supposed to form the funded part of the pension. Men born in 1952 (and older), women born in 1956 (and older) belonged to the one whose pension was calculated without taking into account the funded part. After all, these citizens simply would not have time to form it before entering retirement age.
In 2004, the reform went through yet another modification. As a result, two groups of the population have already formed - those who formed the funded part of the pension, and those who did not form the LF. The latter included persons born in 1966 and older.
The size of deductions from wages to the insurance part of the pension has repeatedly changed. This trend continues to this day. But the deductions for the funded part of the standards - 6% of the salary.
Each of the parts has its own meaning:
- Insurance. Covers state funding for retirement benefits for true retirees.
- Cumulative. Forms a pension for the most insured person. By default, the funded part was transferred to the state fund of Vnesheconombank. Those citizens who wanted to increase the size of future pension savings transferred their NPs to the management of already private pension funds - NPFs.
About the funded part
Freezing pension savings. What is it? Withdrawal by the state from the accounts of insured persons of their funded part of the pension, the use of these amounts in their interests. But why did this happen?
The innovation on the independent formation of the funded part of the pension by citizens entered into force in 2002. As a result of this reform, the employer pledged to deduct 6% of the salaries of each of his employees to form his future retirement benefits. This concerned workers born in 1967 and younger.
In addition, each of the citizens had a choice of where to keep their future pension: in the state pension fund, which attracted reliability, or in private pension funds, attracting high returns.
But the reform has not paid off. The financial balance of the Pension Fund of Russia began to go into the red. Therefore, in 2014, the Government decides to freeze the low-income pension of citizens.
How much it?
Deductions for LF - this is 6% of each of your salaries. Let's calculate how much this is on average. Take the most common numbers. For example, s / n the size of 30 thousand rubles. Using simple calculations, we find out that for three years (the freezing lasts so long) 64,800 rubles were received from the citizen's salary in the FIU. If we take into account the 3% rate, which was guaranteed by VEB, then this is already 67 917 rubles. In fact, a citizen lost just such an amount in three years as a result of a low frequency freeze.
In fact, this money no longer exists. Therefore, they cannot be obtained back. Only in the form of points upon retirement age, not earlier.
Essence of the solution
What does freezing of pension savings mean, we figured it out. Let's now see why the state decided to take this step:
- Low-income pension of citizens is a source for replenishing the budget, which was necessary to solve the difficult economic situation in 2014.
- Financing of the new Russian republic - Crimea.
- Coverage of increased spending on the country's defense industry in response to the negative attitude of the world's powerful states to the Russian Federation.
- Securing current payments to today's retirees.
However, the Government has not yet published all of the state’s expenses that were covered precisely as a result of the freezing of low frequencies.
What did the money go for?
Although there are no supporting documents, it is clear that the amount spent on maintaining ordinary life. First of all, to pay for the work of state employees - doctors and teachers, officials, employees of the Ministry of Emergencies and military personnel. At the same time, many federal government programs and the reforms carried out over the years were financed.
Will the bass come back?
What is freezing pension savings? This is a state loan from the population of the funded part of the future pension, which was stored in the accounts of insured persons. Many future retirees are worried: when will the Government return the amounts to the owners' accounts?
Citizens are afraid of the statement that this will not happen. However, this does not mean that the money was simply donated to the state. The Russian Federation undertakes to return them, but only upon the retirement of a citizen. In this case, LF will be presented not in rubles, but in equivalent - pension points.
Moreover, the Russian state in the future seeks to ensure that its citizens independently form their own pension. The final bill regulating this process is being prepared for release next year, 2019. According to it, the funded part will become the basis of pension payments for each of the citizens of the Russian Federation.
Reflection at NPF
What does freezing pension savings mean? This is also a big shock for private pension funds. After the decision to freeze came into force, some of them ceased to exist. At that time, rather stringent conditions were introduced for NPFs:
- Funds must go through the process of corporatization.
- An NPF must also undergo a guarantee procedure - entry into the state system.
- Funds start working only after a full check by the Bank of Russia.
Only 20% of all available NPFs could confirm these conditions. And it is these funds that currently accumulate about 85% of citizens' pension savings. These reliable NPFs can rightfully include:
- "Promagrofond".
- Lukoil-Garant.
- Kitfinance.
- Sberbank
Extension of freezing
Speaking about the freezing of pension savings, the Government initially planned to suspend it in 2015. But this did not happen due to the same difficult economic situation in the country.
And already in 2016, a bill was submitted to the State Duma for consideration, according to which the freezing of the funded part of the pension was extended until 2019. This project was approved by the State Duma at the end of October of the same year.
Therefore, to date, employees of the FIU deposit only contributions from employers on the formation of the insurance part of pension payments to citizens' accounts.
The fact that the country's authorities extended the freezing of pension savings brought a positive effect on the economy. It was possible to save significant amounts:
- 2017 - 400 billion rubles.
- 2018 - 455 billion rubles.
- Expectations for 2019 are 500 billion rubles.
How will this affect the size of the pension?
What does freezing of pension savings mean for pensioners? Citizens who are already retired today, it does not concern. This decision of the Government affects persons under the age of 1967. In fact, they lost the LF, which accumulated over several years. Of course, the loss of such investment income will negatively affect the size of their future pension.
But the Government gives guarantees that the lost LF will return to its owners in the form of pension points. But not all analysts agree that this fully compensates for the losses. After all, do not forget about annual inflation, which gradually eats up accumulations without compensation.
Future pension reform is also causing many worries. After all, it actually cancels the previous bass. According to the new project, which is expected to be adopted in 2019, each citizen will form his own pension. Do not forget that it is planned to change the retirement age of Russians. From this it becomes clear that already today young people should think about forming an additional source of passive income, which will provide them with a decent old age.
To summarize. The freezing of the funded part of the pension is an extreme measure that the Russian Government had to take in the conditions of a difficult economic situation. Low-income pensions for citizens were aimed at paying pensions and salaries to state employees, financing the defense industry and implementing federal programs. However, the state did not take these savings for free - it is promised that they will be returned to the owners in the form of points. How equivalent this can be judged only after the adoption of the new pension reform in 2019.