The Pension Fund of the Russian Federation is developing mutually advantageous cooperation with German Pension Insurance Mining-Railways-Seafaring.
A PFR delegation led by PFR Board Deputy Chairman L.I. Chizhik visited German Pension Insurance Mining-Railways-Seafaring in Bochum, Germany, on May 17-19, 2011, and the sides signed a cooperation memorandum.
This document will promote the exchange of practices in the improvement of social security systems, including technicalities of pensions assigned to miners and governance of pension insurance.
The sides exchanged information on the following issues:
- o Russian and German pension laws, with a focus on pensions assigned to miners;
- o The procedure of paying pension benefits to persons who have left the Russian Federation and have taken permanent residence in the Federative Republic of Germany;
- o The collection of social security contributions in the Federative Republic of Germany;
- o The electronic document flow project.
German Pension Insurance Mining-Railways-Seafaring is the second largest pension insurance fund in Germany after Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund (DRB). It was established over 700 years ago. This is also a major medical benefits fund of the country. The agency owns hospitals and rehabilitation centers.
In all, the agency services about 5.2 million insured persons, pays pensions to 1.7 million citizens, and annually processes 134,000 pension claims.
The sides expressed their satisfaction with the results of the meetings and the mutual interest in broadening bilateral contacts.
The PFR delegation visited the Russian Consulate General in Bonn to discuss the provision of pensions to compatriots living in Germany.
A meeting with Consulate employees overseeing the provision of pension benefits was held during the visit. The issue of pensions is very important to the Consulate General, as over 30,000 Russian pensioners live within the consular district. The PFR representatives informed them about the provision of pensions to individuals residing abroad in accordance with current Russian laws, the latest innovations (valorization of pension capital, supplements paid to miners, etc) and answered their questions. Methodical materials, presentations and brochures dedicated to pension issues, including those electronic, were presented to Consulate General employees for being used in their activity.