Labor and age: pensions of working Russians have grown faster than inflation
Theaverage pension of working Russians increased by 10% over the year - as of October it amounted to 19.2 thousand, according to the statistics of the Social Fund. The growth of payments to workers was faster than that of unemployed citizens (7.3%), and it also outpaced inflation. The fact is that the longer a person works, the more pension points he accumulates, and therefore, the higher the payment - there are more and more such people. In addition, many people use schemes with dismissal and repeated reinstatement. Already from 2025, payments to the employed will start to be indexed in the same way as to those on vacation. How this will affect the income of senior citizens - in the material "Izvestia".
How pensions are growing in Russia
At the end of nine months of 2024, the average old-age pension of working citizens amounted to 19.2 thousand rubles. Over the year it increased by 10% - at the beginning of October 2023, the payment was at the level of 17.4 thousand. Such data are given in the statistics of the Social Fund ("Izvestia" studied it). We are talking about accrued funds: all receipts are summarized and divided by the number of recipients. In fact, the money that comes to a particular citizen may differ from this figure: it depends on the length of service, accumulated pension points, and the region.
At the same time, the average pension of unemployed Russians for the same period increased only by 7.3% - from 21.8 thousand to 23.4 thousand, follows from the statistics of the SFD. The editorial board sent an inquiry to the Social Fund and the Ministry of Labor.
Thus, the difference between the payments of the employed and the unemployed is Br4.2 thousand. Due to the fact that the growth rate of pensions to workers overtake the dynamics of receipts of vacationers, the gap is gradually narrowing. According to the results of the third quarter of 2023, it was higher by 5% - 4.4 thousand. And in July 2022 (no data for October), the figure was 6 thousand. This value was minimal only in October 2021, when such statistics began to be published - only 3 thousand.
The growth of the average pension of non-working pensioners (by 7.3%) approximately corresponds to the level of their indexation this year - in January they were raised by 7.5%.
Employed pensioners now receive an insurance payment and a fixed amount to it without taking into account the planned indexation. Recalculation occurs every year in August and depends on the level of earnings of the citizen for the past 12 months. In 2024, the marginal increase amounted to 400 rubles.
At the same time, the growth of the average payment to the employed was higher than the forecasted inflation (by the amount of which indexed pensions to the unemployed) - 10% against 7.5%. Also, according to Rosstat, in October 2024, the increase in prices in Russia amounted to 8.5% (annualized over the last 12 months).
Why pensions of the employed grow faster than payments to the unemployed and inflation
Payments to working citizens grow faster than payments to the unemployed for several reasons. Firstly, each year of work of a pensioner adds points, which subsequently leads to an increase in the amount of support, said Alexander Safonov, a professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.
Every year, more and more older people reach retirement age (in 2018, the threshold was moved to 65 for men and 60 for women). This affects the average rate.
Due to the fact that the value of points and salaries grows annually, pension payments to new retirees also increase, added Lyudmila Ivanova-Shvets, associate professor at the basic department of CCI "Human Resource Management" of the Plekhanov Russian Economic University.
- Secondly, many elderly Russians quit their jobs and wait for recalculation and then are reinstated. This tactic also leads to higher payments," Alexander Safonov added.
Indeed, many working pensioners have used their right to receive the accumulated indexation since 2016, when it was legislatively "frozen", agreed Marina Solodovnikova, an expert of the Presidential Academy. She explained: all employed citizens have such an opportunity, provided that they are dismissed and officially unemployed for at least one month. In this case, the entire underpaid amount is automatically accrued - for the period from 2016 to 2024 it amounted to more than 60%, the expert noted.
How pensions will grow in 2025
From February next year, the authorities will resume the indexation of pensions for working senior citizens, suspended in 2016. The increase in payments will be carried out on a common basis with unemployed Russians. The Social Fund will make a recalculation automatically taking into account the missed additions. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said earlier that the minimum additional accrual will amount to Br1.3 thousand.
In total, the Social Fund will allocate more than Br10.9 trillion for the payment of insurance pensions in 2025, reported in the Ministry of Labor. Of them, Br106.4 billion will go to indexation of payments to working citizens.
Earlier "Izvestia" wrote that in 2025, the average old-age insurance pension (in general for both employed and unemployed) will amount to 24.1 thousand, increasing by 7.5% compared to this year. The growth projected in the budget of the Social Fund is slightly higher than the planned indexation next year - 7.3%. This is due precisely to the resumption of the increase in payments to workers.
- The resumption of indexation of payments to workers will further reduce the gap between the payments of the two categories of pensioners- is sure Alexander Safonov from the Financial University.
According to him, this measure will improve the standard of living of senior citizens and create additional consumer demand in the economy, which will be an important factor in GDP growth.
In addition, the labor market will also benefit by attracting a part of non-working pensioners or those who after the abolition of indexation "went into the shadows". This is both additional labor force in today's conditions of labor shortage and additional tax revenues for the budget, summarized Ludmila Ivanova-Shvets from Plekhanov Russian Economic University.
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