As of October 1, the Russian Pension Fund had reaffirmed the right of over 1.1 million pre-retirees to social support and benefits prescribed by the new legislature. The information was directed to employers, the authorities and benefit-providing agencies or pre-retirees themselves in client services of the Pension Fund, their personal accounts or multifunctional centers.
The vast majority of confirmations were sent to employers this year. Employers provide pre-retirees with two days off per year for medical checkup purposes and bear responsibility for dismissing workers or refusing employment for age reasons.
For the purpose of providing those guarantees, the PFR supplied employers with information about 315,000 persons. The information exchange was carried out on the basis of agreements between the Pension Fund and employers. Such agreements have been concluded with 1.2 million enterprises as of yet.
Nearly 300,000 enquiries were received from employment centers offering retraining and professional development services to pre-retirees. Employment centers also pay increased benefits during periods of pre-retirees’ retraining or search for a job.
A total of 141,000 persons confirmed their right to pre-retirement benefits via the Unified Social Security Information System (USSIS). The PFR sent information to social security services providing local support on the basis of laws of Russian constituent territories. Such benefits could apply to medications, transportation, or payment of housing and public utility charges.
Pre-retirees seeking independent confirmation of their benefit entitlements receive such information from client services and branches of the Pension Fund or via their
accounts on the PFR website. At least 370,000 persons received the information in this manner since the beginning of the year.
Benefits for pre-retirees were endorsed in 2019; they were available only to retirees in the earlier period. Most benefits are federal; the entitlements emerge five years before a person reaches the new retirement age or within the earlier retirement age period: 55 years for women and 60 years for men.
The entitlement to pre-retirement benefits is determined individually on the basis of various factors, including the region of residence, a particular type of labor record, the type of labor, and the type of benefit. For instance, the pre-retirement age of people entitled to early retirement differs from the pre-retirement age of people who retire on general terms. Equally, pre-retirement ages differ depending on labor and tax benefits.
Although the retirement age did not change for many Russians in 2019, they were still entitled to pre-retirement benefits. The rule primarily applies to people who qualify for early retirement, such as mothers of at least five children.