| Russians have a chance to save themselves from the failure of pension reform Vague and weekly changing statements from the government regarding the future of the funded pension system do not increase the number of supporters for this system. First, the government excluded people over 37 years of age from the compulsory savings system (who by that time had already been saving money for old age for two years), then promised to include them back, but have not yet kept their promises. Finally, during consultations between government representatives and the State Duma Budget Committee, it became clear that the reduction of the unified social tax will create such a deficit in the Pension Fund budget that in a couple of years the state may be forced to stop spending on funded pensions altogether. In such conditions, you will inevitably think about how to provide for your old age yourself.
In the West, the market for non-state pension services has long been developed. In Russia, not everyone even knows about this possibility yet. Private pension funds and insurance companies operate in this market. With them, unlike the state, a citizen enters into an agreement, which can only be changed with the consent of both parties.
Today in Russia, more than 5 million people have already entered into agreements with non-state pension funds, including about 392 thousand people who receive an additional non-state pension. Pension funds, unlike banks, are interested in investing their assets in long-term projects. There is a certain risk, since the NPF places the collected money on the stock market. However, in any case, the funds guarantee payment to clients of the invested amounts. And the amount of voluntary pension savings will be much greater than the state pension.
You can buy a pension not only for yourself, but also for your loved ones. Some NPFs offer a “Pension for Parents” program. Under this program, the client buys immediately or gradually accumulates a pension for his elderly parents. For example, if you want your parents to receive a pension increase of 1 thousand rubles for life. per month, for a woman of retirement age you have to pay 4 thousand dollars, and for a man - 3800 (because men retire in Russia five years later). Moreover, if you pay the redemption amount immediately, within two weeks the parents will begin to receive an additional pension from the fund. During the accumulation stage, the investor can terminate the pension agreement at any time and receive a redemption amount, including the investment income received. If savings are not withdrawn before retirement age, the fund will begin to pay a non-state pension (for life or for an agreed period). Once lifetime payments have been assigned, it is impossible to receive the redemption amount. With an average pension in our country of just over 2 thousand rubles. An additional thousand will obviously not be too much for a pensioner. If you wish, you can receive an additional pension just like a regular one - from Sberbank.
However, competition in this market may intensify significantly in the near future. The government is currently discussing the possibility of introducing a new supplementary pension insurance scheme. Its essence is to encourage citizens to save their pensions on their own. Voluntary contributions in the amount of 4% of salary are promised to be exempt from income tax, and for each such contribution the state will pay an additional 2 thousand rubles. per year. The subsidies will be financed by the federal budget, and the amounts are planned to be accounted for in a separate part of each citizen’s pension account.
Pavel TEPLUKHIN, President of Troika Dialog Management Company:
-- The non-state pension fund market is already quite developed. About 280 organizations have licenses. These are mainly funds that are created under the largest corporations. However, non-state pension provision in Russia is one-sided and is mainly based on contributions from corporations, while in other countries the main clients are individual citizens. There are several reasons for this. This includes insufficient literacy of the population and insufficient responsibility for their future; many still rely on the state.
Vladimir VYUNITSKY, Advisor to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation:
- For us, the idea of additional pension provision is an attempt to return to those who want to have a funded part the opportunity to form it. This is purely voluntary. As for the fairness of the proposal, I would like to remind you: wherever funded pension systems exist, the employee, at best, is a participant in the formation of his pension capital. The employer acts as his accomplice. People raise their own investment capital. The problem is different - the average legal salary in Russia is about 6 thousand rubles. With such a salary, it is not entirely natural to make such offers to a citizen. Natalia BARMINA |
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