How to understand to freeze the funded part of the pension. Pension freeze: not only funded, but also insurance pensions will be stolen

For each employee, the employer is obliged to pay insurance premiums in the amount of 22%, which should be distributed to form the solidarity, insurance and funded parts. However, in 2014 the Government decided to impose a moratorium on the formation of pension savings.

Why was the moratorium introduced? Until what year will it last? How will it affect the amount of pensions of citizens? Let's consider these questions in this article.

"Freeze" of pension savings - what does it mean

Pension savings, which were formed thanks to 6% of the employer's contributions, is the amount that in the future, upon reaching retirement age, must be added to the future insurance pension. The “freezing” of pension savings means stopping their formation, that is, since 2014, when this decision was made, 6% of contributions go to the formation of only an insurance pension.

This decision was made due to a lack of funds in the state treasury, which is associated with an unfavorable economic situation in the state. The frozen funds, including contributions paid by employers to the Pension Fund of Russia, should be used to cover budget deficits and to fulfill the country's current obligations.

The first time the "freeze" of the funded part was announced in 2013, in the fall, when planning the next year's state budget. At the same time, it was decided to suspend the flow of funds to the NPF and send all the money to replenish the insurance part of the Pension Fund. In 2015, the Government announced the extension of measures to “freeze” pension savings, while the option of completely eliminating funded pensions was also discussed. However, this initiative was not accepted.

“Freezing” of pension savings in 2017

In the period 2015-2016, the state used the funds accumulated through the conservation of pension savings to cover the costs of current liabilities. The moratorium was planned to be lifted in 2017, but this did not happen, the measures were extended due to the growing costs of the state budget.

In the summer of 2017, by decision of a tripartite commission headed by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Olga Golodets, a plan was drawn up for the Pension Fund's income for the period 2017-2019, as well as an expenditure plan. The consequence of this decision was a "freeze" of pension savings for another 3 years. By decision of this commission, all insurance premiums transferred by employers will be directed to the formation of the insurance part of pension payments.

Can the “freeze” affect the amount of future pensions?

The value of the future pension may suffer from the inability to transfer pension savings, since the profitability of existing deposits is zero. The introduction of this moratorium does not allow citizens to independently manage their pension savings by transferring them to the NPF. The latter can no longer invest them in various financial projects.

However, government officials argue that the moratorium does not mean the irretrievable withdrawal of the funded part of the funds from citizens or its liquidation. Retirement savings, which are already in the accounts of insured persons, continue to participate in investment and generate income.

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What does “freezing funded pension” mean in simple terms?

Based on the difficult economic situation in the context of the budget deficit, the Government of the Russian Federation introduced a temporary restriction on. This forced measure is intended, in the opinion of the Government, to stabilize the budget of the Pension Fund. Now part of the contributions that were previously directed to the accounts of non-state pension funds (NPFs) and management companies (MCs) involved in the formation of funded pensions, directed exclusively to the insurance pension.

As Russian government officials explain, "freezing" funded pensions in no case is not a withdrawal, as is often said in non-professional circles.

It is also assured that the abolition of funded pensions in connection with the introduction of a moratorium is not expected, and all pension savings of citizens after their "defrost"(which someday will happen) will definitely be returned to their accounts in the NPF. It was promised that the funds accumulated during the period of the moratorium would also be taken into account and indexed.

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Why do we need a moratorium on the formation of pension savings?

Extension of the moratorium for 2015 - 2020

Later, the ban on the transfer of insurance premiums for the formation of a funded pension was extended to 2015 in accordance with federal law No. 410-FZ of December 1, 2014. This year is notable for the fact that from January 1 it started working, in which the funded part was brought into an independent type of pension along with the insurance one.

For 2016, the restriction on the transfer of funds to a funded pension was extended by the adoption of Federal Law No. 373-FZ of December 14, 2015. This year, the decision to extend the moratorium on pension savings was taken by the Government against the backdrop of other measures aimed at saving budgetary funds. Among them are:

cancellation of indexation of pensions for working pensioners;
indexation of pensions not to the level of inflation set for 2015 (12.9%), but only by 4%.

In 2016, due to the stabilization of the economic situation and the return of the Government to three-year budget planning, the moratorium on the formation of pension savings was extended immediately for the three-year period 2017-2019. in accordance with the law of December 19, 2016 No. 447-FZ.

It is already known that the corresponding measure will be extended to 2020. Thus, at least until 2021, all funds credited to the personal accounts of citizens in will continue to be directed only for the formation of an insurance pension. Does this mean the end of the funded pension system?

Is there a future for funded pensions?

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation submitted to the Government on the further reform of the pension system, including those related to the formation of funded pensions. It is proposed to form pension savings for on a conditionally voluntary basis.

That is, citizens, if they wish to receive a funded pension, will independently direct part of the funds from their salary to non-state pension funds, bypassing the Pension Fund.
At the same time, the funds will be directed exclusively to the PFR budget for the formation of an insurance pension (just as it is happening now during the years of the moratorium on the formation of pension savings from mandatory insurance contributions paid by the employer to the Pension Fund).

Based on the destructive trends in the socio-economic sphere of the Russian Federation against the backdrop of sanctions pressure from outside, the absence of positive changes in the production sector and disappointing forecasts for the future, it is obvious that the funds in savings accounts with NPFs will continue to "freeze" until the Government finds other sources of replenishment of the state budget and reduction of its expenditures.

Will the moratorium affect future pensions?

The unconditionally introduced and twice extended moratorium cannot but affect the size.

Before the so-called "freeze" of funded pensions, the money of future pensioners could be placed through the NPF and the UK in financial markets, that is, could be invested in various economic projects.
The degree of profitability of investing financial resources depends on many factors, the defining of which is the professionalism of employees of non-state funds.

All this may also affect ordinary citizens in the form of loss of investment income by persons who have concluded contracts for accumulative pension insurance with NPFs in connection with the bankruptcy of some of them against the backdrop of the crisis.

Conclusion

When the frozen savings will be transferred to NPFs (and whether they will be transferred at all) is not yet known.

A further extension of the moratorium on the formation of funded pensions until 2020 inclusive undermines the confidence of the population in the Government of Russia and, in conditions of difficult access to external financial resources, creates difficulties in the domestic financial market (since management companies and NPFs are engaged in investment activities in the domestic market of the country).

After the “freezing” of accumulative pension programs, investment activity has significantly decreased, which will definitely lead to an increase in interest rates on loans for enterprises and the population. And this, in turn, can slow down the development of the industrial sector of the economy, which is already in a deep crisis, and lead to a further reduction in jobs and wages, and, consequently, revenues to the PFR budget.

Now, at the government level, the further existence of the domestic funded pension system is being decided. Let's consider what's new in pension legislation: the current and planned modernization of pension legal relations. Including the new law on pensions in the Russian Federation. what awaits candidates for pensioners in 2020.

To be or not to be savings in retirement

The benefit, according to the next pension reform, should consist of several components:

basic;
insurance;
cumulative.

The latter was to be formed from the personal savings of citizens. However, due to recent changes in the country's economy, the state financial policy has also changed.

The funded part should be formed taking into account the period of work of the future pensioner and the amount of his salary. The amount of deductions sent to a person's personalized account depends on these parameters.

It is theoretically possible to use such savings in various ways:

The first is the redirection of the money formed on the account by transferring it to the NPF. The latter can multiply the money received. Why the managing organization sets the interest offered for placement and financial management. Some NPFs offer trust management of savings by investing in mortgages, securities, and various bonds.
In addition, such benefits can be received in installments on a monthly basis or as a one-time payment if the amount of savings is insignificant.
Also, funds from the PFR can be transferred to improve housing conditions or treatment.

Attention. A woman who owns an MSC certificate still has the right to transfer maternity capital funds to the account of the future funded part of the pension.

But she will not be able to use this money until 2021. The moratorium on freezing the funded part of the pension has been extended until 2021.

What does “freeze” funded pension mean?

According to the assurances of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation - O. Golodets, transfers from the budget to the Pension Fund to finance the "funded pensions" item are not provided for in the near future. This implies that until 2021 inclusive this allowance will be frozen.

The freezing of pension savings means that the Russians will not be able to exercise their right to receive (withdraw from the PF account) their money. Not all funds, namely those that were sent by them to form the funded part of the pension.

This is not only about state allocations under the program to promote the increase in savings, when the state promised to double all replenishment of the funded part of the pension. But also about the Russians' own savings, which they independently set aside for their future pension through the Pension Fund.

Important. For at least 2 years, the Russians of the Russian Federation, who go on a well-deserved post-work rest, who have chosen the funded pension option, will not be able to use their savings.

The stages of "freezing"

In fact, the funded part of the pension ceased to be formed back in 2014, when the first decision was made to “freeze” savings. Since then, Russians have no real opportunity to manage their own savings.

In 2014, “freezing” such a pension was considered a one-time measure.
In 2015, it was decided to extend this procedure.
2016, the financial moratorium continued to exist.
Its final validity has been extended until 2021.

Important. Measures such as a pension moratorium are considered stabilization procedures for both the pension system and the budget, the financial system of Russia as a whole.

Where do the funded pension funds go?

According to representatives of the Government of the Russian Federation, the frozen money is directed to insurance payments. Thus, the funds are not completely withdrawn from the financial system of the Pension Fund and other pensioners use them.

In addition, such measures do not mean the complete withdrawal of money belonging to individuals. After the abolition of these measures, all savings will return to the accounts of their owners in the Pension Fund and will be indexed. It is assumed that after the “freeze” is lifted, people will be able to cash out their savings.

The essence of the "freeze" funded pension

In the course of financial and legal modernization, serious difficulties arose due to the fact that 6% of the volume of contributions transferred by insurers to personal accounts of citizens in the Pension Fund began to be redirected to the NPF and the Criminal Code. That is, in fact, the money left the financial turnover of the PF, which led to a real decrease in the volume of cash receipts.

It was in view of the revealed shortage of pension funds and the impossibility of patching holes in another way that a decision was made to “freeze” pension savings.

Important. The "frozen" money is sent to current pension payments, the implementation of anti-crisis procedures and the maintenance of the state's financial system.

Pension moratorium in 2016-2022

Decisions to extend the moratorium in 2016-2022 on pension savings were taken by the Government against the backdrop of other measures aimed at rational spending of budgetary funds.

These include:

cancellation of previously existing indexation for working pensioners;
indexation of post-work benefits not at the inflationary level, starting from 2015 (in the amount of 12.9%), but only by 4%. In August 2016, indexation was generally replaced by a lump sum payment in the amount of 5 thousand rubles. Pensioners received this amount already in January 2017. From January 1, 2018, the insurance pensions of non-working citizens were indexed by 3.7%. Social pensions in April 2018 were indexed by 4%. And in January 2019, the indexation of pensions for non-working pensioners again took place, its size was 7%. It is planned that by 2024 the pension will be indexed by 35% and its average amount will be 20,000 rubles;
covering the PF budget deficit from the federal budget (as a result of which unplanned expenses and a shortage in the state budget are formed).

In 2016, the restriction on the transfer of money towards pension savings was also extended for all funds credited to the personal accounts of citizens insured in the OPS. Until the end of last year, they were directed only to the formation of an insurance pension.

As for 2017, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation submitted a number of proposals to the Government on further reforming the pension system, including the formation of funded post-work benefits. It was proposed to form savings on a conditionally voluntary basis:

Russians would be able to independently send part of the money from their salary to the NPF, bypassing the PFR,
money transferred by employers in the form of pension contributions would be directed exclusively to the PFR budget. To a personal personal account in PF. It was assumed that future pensioners would be able to regulate the amount of deductions on their own.

But, judging by the latest disappointing trends, savings will continue to be “frozen” until the Government finds other methods of forming and reducing excessive state budget costs. Therefore, in 2017, this category of benefits still remained frozen.

Important. Back in 2016, the Pension Fund adopted the budget, taking into account the freezing (moratorium) of post-work benefits for 3 years, in connection with which the funded pension in 2017-2019. was not formed.

Since January 2019, a new pension reform has started in Russia, it provides for an increase in the retirement age of citizens. Against the backdrop of the reform, the pension moratorium was again extended. Moreover, it became clear that its abolition is not planned at all, since the development of an individual pension capital system has begun. Such a system will replace the funded pension. It implies the introduction of individual personal accounts, where the future pensioner will voluntarily transfer contributions.

Will the moratorium affect future pensions?

The repeated introduction and extension of the moratorium could not but affect the volume of subsequent post-work benefits.

This is expressed as follows:

before the "freeze" of this kind of benefits, the money of future pensioners could be placed through the NPF and the UK in the financial markets, that is, they could invest, invest in various projects,
the level of profitability of investing money depends on many factors, not least among which is the professionalism of the NPF personnel,
after the introduction of the moratorium and the transfer of accumulated funds to the PF budget, the return on deposits is close to zero (the official return on VEB deposits is 3%), and if we take into account the significant indicators of inflationary processes in the Russian economy, it may become negative.

Last changes

The moratorium on freezing the funded part of the pension has been extended until 2022 inclusive. The corresponding decision is indicated in the approved budget of the PFR for 2020-2022.

Citizens who have fallen under the increase in the age of pensions will be able to receive its non-state part according to the old rules - from the age of 55 for a woman and from 60 for a man.

At the same time, this applies only to those contracts that were concluded before December 31 of the last year.

An increase of 3.3 thousand rubles

According to the publication, in order to assign a personal pension to private funds, you need to make sure that the Russian does not receive payments from the country's Pension Fund. The beginning of personal and state pension payments in this case may not coincide.

“The Ministry of Labor emphasized that raising the retirement age should not apply to contracts previously concluded with NPFs,” the publication says.

Members of the NAPF asked the department to clarify the situation with clients in the framework of non-state pension provision. Private funds for the appointment of a personal pension must confirm that the citizen has grounds for this c. Now, the start age for personal and public funds may not be the same.

The Ministry of Labor said that they are studying the possibility of extending the practice to new agreements.

That is, for contracts concluded after January 1, 2019. The Ministry of Labor requested a position, and in order to assess the socio-economic consequences of such a step. The Central Bank noted that under the new pension agreements, the age of payment assignment will gradually increase.

Now in Russia, 4.6 million people form a non-state pension, the total amount of their funds at the end of 2018 was estimated at 800 billion rubles,

Of these 4.6 million citizens, 40% have individual contracts and save for retirement themselves, without co-financing from a third party, such as an employer. The rest are participants in corporate pension programs.

According to the Central Bank, at the end of the third quarter of 2018, 1.5 million citizens received non-state pensions.

The size of the non-state increase in pensions amounted to an average of 3.3 thousand rubles per month.

Freezing saved 2 trillion rubles

At present, the average pension in Russia is 14.1 thousand rubles. From January 1, 2019, the average monthly increase in the old-age insurance pension for non-working pensioners amounted to 1 thousand rubles. That is, the indexation of pensions this year will be 7%. In 2020, it is planned at the level of 6.6% and 6.3% in 2021.

By the way, the Pension Fund of Russia has money for indexation not only due to income, but also due to the freezing of pension savings of some employees. Recall that the pension provision of Russians is based on an insurance premium (22% of salary), which is divided into two parts: 16% - insurance, it goes to the FIU. And 6% of the salary is a funded part that can be transferred to non-state pension funds (NPF) for investing in securities in order to generate additional income.

Recall that in 2014 the authorities decided to temporarily freeze pension savings for a year. Since then, contributions to the funded part of the pension in the amount of 6% of the salary have been used to pay current pensioners.
Then the freeze was extended for another year. Last year, the freeze on pension savings was again extended. Until 2020 already.

As the Minister of Labor and Social Protection stated at the time, the freeze helped to save about 2 trillion rubles. On December 5, 2018, he approved a law extending the freezing of funded pensions for three years ahead. The law will affect those who were born after 1967 and voluntarily submitted an application to the FIU for the formation of a funded pension. Prior to the adoption of the law on freezing, citizens could manage the deductions on their own: send them to form their own pension savings or transfer them to the insurance part, increasing points to calculate their insurance pension.

After the freezing of pension savings, citizens began to complain that the state had deprived them of the right to manage their own pension. In response, the authorities proposed the concept of individual pension capital (IPK). At the same time, the insurance part of the pension remains unchanged, and the funded citizen (and not the employer) will accumulate himself and will manage it himself. We are talking about those citizens who, against all odds, will believe the state and start saving for old age under the supervision of the authorities.

Russians do not expect to live on pension alone when they reach the age of incapacity for work. According to a survey conducted by the SuperJob recruiting agency, a third of Russians intend to work in retirement, 19% of respondents rely on personal savings, 3% rely on children's help, and about the same number on investments in non-state pension funds (NPFs). Among other income options, respondents suggested receiving funds from the rental of real estate, the sale of household products and handicrafts.

Only 16% agree to live only on the state pension.

At the same time, the average pension that Russians would agree to is 37.3 thousand rubles a month. It is noteworthy that in 2016, during a similar survey, this figure amounted to 35.2 thousand rubles. At the same time, men have requests for three thousand rubles more than women: the representatives of the stronger sex would like to receive 38.9 thousand rubles in retirement, their second half - 35.8 thousand rubles.

For the first time in Russia, a pension accumulation system was launched as a result of the reform of the pension system since 2002, the main purpose of which was to reduce the burden on the state budget of the country. The pension of residents of the Russian Federation who were born since 1967 was divided into two parts - insurance and funded.

The insurance share of the pension provided for the provision of pension payments, and the funded share, in turn, provided for the formation of the future pension of a working citizen.

Due to the crisis of 2014, which arose due to external and internal circumstances, the Government of the Russian Federation decided to freeze the funded part of the pension, starting in 2014, and subsequently, two years later, the indexation of pensions in Russia was frozen. According to the latest information from the Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Alexei Moiseev, the freezing of pensions will last until 2020 inclusive.

Due to the difficult economic situation in the country, the Government of the Russian Federation introduced a bill on temporary freezing of the accumulated share.

These necessary measures were taken to fulfill insurance payments, that is, for current state obligations. Thus, the Pension Fund froze the funded part of the pension in order to carry out government programs, as well as reforms.

What does “pension freeze” mean?

This moratorium applies to those citizens of the Russian Federation who have decided to transfer their savings to non-state pension funds or management companies.

That is, the employer transfers 6% (out of 22%) of wages to the Pension Fund of Russia, and the impossibility of disposal is imposed on them. It follows from this that the money did not take a proper part in the financial turnover of the PFR, which led to a significant decrease in the amount of cash receipts. In view of the current shortage of funds, we decided to freeze the funds of emerital savings.

Important. The moratorium is a necessary action of the stabilization processes in the economic sphere of the Russian Federation.

Why is it needed?

Given the difficulties encountered, after the reform, it was necessary to take measures to correct the situation. So, in 2014, emerital savings were frozen and funds were directed strictly to the insurance part of the Pension Fund of Russia, which made it impossible to transfer these same 6%, at their own discretion, to illegal armed formations or the UK. Thus, this made it possible for the authorities to pay off shortcomings and patch up holes in the budget.

The main disadvantage of this freeze is the inability of citizens to accrue funds to non-state pension funds and management companies, whose money could be placed on financial markets. That is, their accumulated part, received from employed citizens in the NPF, could be invested, invested in various projects, which could develop the state in its various areas.

What is the funding of the funded part of the pension?

Basically, these funds go to the money circulation within the Pension Fund for payment to other pensioners. It is also implemented for:

payroll for civil servants;
maintaining the financial stability of the country's system;
implementation of state policy;
implementation of new government programs;
implementation of anti-crisis procedures.

Will the frozen funded part of the pension be returned?

The allocated part of the amount from the pension fee in the NPF or the Criminal Code before the moratorium and during it will be automatically credited to the insurance part of the pension and indexed properly.

Important. According to official representatives of the Government of the Russian Federation, the freezing of pension savings is not a withdrawal of funds.

Will the freeze on savings affect the size of the future pension?

For the past five years, the moratorium has continued to operate, which, of course, will affect the amount of further old-age benefits. Such a long freeze will not go unnoticed, since all these years the finances were allocated to patching holes in the budget, and not to developing the economy.

The negative consequences will be as follows:

The impossibility of future pensioners to invest and make contributions to the funded share of pensions through non-state pension funds or management companies, which does not lead to an increase in the amount of income received by citizens.
Due to the introduction of the suspension of contributions to the funded share and transfer to the budget of the Pension Fund, the income from such investments is insignificant.

Conclusion

At the moment, the situation with the end of the moratorium is rather vague, if we take into account the experience of previous years. Every year the Government announces its extension, which leads to not very positive thoughts. By directing finances to the budget of the insurance part, the authorities greatly undermine the confidence of their citizens, because now they do not have the opportunity to conduct investment activities by investing a six percent part of the pension tax to further increase the amount of the pension.

The consequence of this policy of freezing accumulative programs is the decline in investment activity, which in the future, of course, will lead to an inevitable increase in interest on loans for the population and enterprises. This very increase entails a slowdown in the industry, which will lead to a reduction in jobs and, accordingly, inflows to the FIU.

Perhaps the state, on the basis of the circumstances, will return the previously considered opportunity for citizens to independently manage their finances. That is, the Russians will be able to pay regular deductions from their wages to private currency funds, as do, for example, residents of the United States of America, as well as other developed countries.