How old is the pension in Belarus? What is the retirement age in Belarus. and they will be able to receive the full amount only upon reaching
In our country, everyone is interested in what the retirement age is in Belarus, since Alexander Lukashenko often has quite progressive ideas.
What did pension reform give in Belarus?
Pension reform in the republic is far from a new event, since it was carried out back in January 2016. It can be said that raising the retirement age within the framework of the bill adopted two years ago made this country a pioneer in the field of the above reform.
The emphasis was placed not so much on raising the retirement age in Belarus, but on organizing a new system of solidarity type. Belarusian officials have also made it possible to save independently in addition to a future pension.
In the country, those who have finished working or have reached an age when this becomes impossible have the right to receive a decent pension. In the Belarusian Pension Fund you can find two and a half million pensioners who are assigned payments for old age and social issues.
Features of pension provision in the country
Before the reform of the compulsory benefit system, Belarusians used the Soviet basis in the payment of monthly benefits, which was considered the most reliable and stable.
The state has a solidary retirement system, which indicates:
- distributive principle;
- the presence of a Social Protection Fund for the accumulation of contributions;
- the transfer of cash contributions to the Social Security Fund is carried out not by the future pensioner himself, but by his direct employer;
- employees can contribute an additional one percent of salary each month to accumulate 12% annually;
- funds are regularly transferred from the treasury of the Social Protection Fund for pensions and social payments.
The size of the cash payment for citizens in old age can be affected not only by the size of the salary from which deductions were made, but also by the deadline for paying insurance contributions to the Social Security Fund.
There is no separate funded pension system in Belarus, but men and women are allowed to independently accumulate money not in state pension funds, but in private insurance funds in order to gradually increase the amount of payments.
Retirement age
In Belarus, the retirement age has been raised since January 2017 to:
- 63 years for men;
- 58 years for women;
- The length of service for the male half of society has been increased to twenty-five years, and for the female half to twenty years.
The retirement age adopted in Belarus for women and men was previously only fifty-five and sixty years (61 years), respectively, but the length of service did not change.
The age for retirement in old age will be increased in stages, that is, by 6 months annually. While in 2018-2019, the work experience will not exceed sixteen years, but constant transfer of insurance contributions to the Social Protection Fund is mandatory. Then, like the retirement age in Belarus, the length of service will gradually increase by six months, so in 2019 it will be set at seventeen years.
When calculating the pension payment, its size will depend on the period:
- military service;
- maternity leave;
- leave to care for young children;
- studying at a higher educational institution;
- being in a state of unemployment.
The maximum earned service will reach forty and forty-five years for women and men, and the minimum old-age pension will not exceed 49.45, and the average will be 300 rubles.
Who receives pensions on a preferential basis?
As in all civilized countries of the world, in Belarus it is possible to retire not based on age, but on preferential terms. To do this you will need to fall into one of the categories:
- people with disabilities of any group;
- mothers raising three or more children;
- working in dangerous or harmful working conditions;
- working in regions with difficult climatic conditions;
- persons who are examining a relative over the age of eighty;
- guardians of a disabled child;
- who have lost one or both parents.
To assign a pension payment, you will have to work for five years and comply with a number of other conditions defined by law.
Minimum pension amount
The labor pension according to the age of the minimum plan is twenty-five percent of the highest subsistence level, and for preferential categories it is:
- for disabled people of the first and second groups – 100%;
- for disabled people of the third group – 50%;
- for heroine mothers – 100%;
- for those who have lost their breadwinner – 100%;
- for children with orphan status – 200%.
If the pension is minimal, then there will be additional payments from the state in the amount of twenty percent of the average salary in Belarus not according to age. To some categories with increased pensions and allowances for caring for individual citizens.
Additional payment at the moment for unemployed pensioners who have already reached the age of seventy-five and receive a social pension payment is also provided at the official level.
How is a social pension assigned?
The social pension is assigned to those categories that will not receive old-age pension payments or other payments from abroad under country agreements. From May 1 of this year, the size of the social plan pension increased to 364 rubles.
Men and women who have reached the age of 65 and 60 years, respectively, but who do not have disabilities, have disabled children, or have lost their sole breadwinner, have the full right to receive a social pension in the first place.
The indexation of labor pensions was carried out in May of this year by approximately 5.4 percent, and social payments are planned to be increased in a few years by forty percent.
Recipients may apply for indexation of social pensions if:
- the average salary level in the country will increase;
- the cost of living per person has been changed;
- bonuses and surcharges are increasing.
There are at least 2,354,000 people of retirement age in Belarus and this figure is increasing by about 40,000 annually, so the above reform is needed more than ever.
Retirement age is the number of years lived, after which a citizen acquires the right to a pension and well-deserved rest. Until 2016, women in Belarus became pensioners at 55 years old, men at 60 years old - these indicators were approved back in Soviet times and were among the lowest in the world.
Due to an increase in life expectancy and an increase in the number of pensioners relative to the working population, the financial burden on the Pension Fund of the Republic of Belarus has increased significantly. This led to the need to raise the retirement age, which was reflected in the presidential decree “On improving pension provision” dated April 11, 2016.
Retirement table
Current table of retirement age in Belarus:
| Date of Birth | Retirement age (years) | Retirement period | ||
| men | women | men | women | |
| 01.01-30.06.1957 | 01.01-30.06.1962 | 60,5 | 55,5 | 01.07-31.12.2017 |
| 01.07-31.12.1957 | 01.07-31.12.1962 | 61 | 56 | 01.07-31.12.2018 |
| 01.01-30.06.1958 | 01.01-30.06.1963 | 61,5 | 56,5 | 01.07-31.12.2019 |
| 01.07-31.12.1958 | 01.07-31.12.1963 | 62 | 57 | 01.07-31.12.2020 |
| 01.01-30.06.1959 | 01.01-30.06.1964 | 62,5 | 57,5 | 01.07-31.12.2021 |
| 01.07-31.12.1959 and younger | 01.07-31.12.1964 and younger | 63 | 58 | 01.07-31.12.2022 |
According to the innovations, the retirement age for Belarusian citizens from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2022 is increased by 6 months annually.
In 2018, pensioners are men with dates of birth from July 1 to December 31, 1957, and women from July 1 to December 31, 1962. Accordingly, their ages are 61 and 56 years.
At the end of the reform, the retirement age for the female population will be 58 years, for the male population – 63 years. A further increase is not currently envisaged, but this possibility is currently being analyzed by specialists from interested departments (especially in relation to women).
Every year, the reform will affect the interests of approximately 100,000 people, of which every 50,000 thousand will wait an additional six months for a pension, and the remaining 50,000 - a year.
Who will not receive a labor pension?
It should be remembered that we are talking specifically about a labor pension, to which not everyone has the right. To do this, it is necessary not only to reach retirement age, but also to develop a minimum insurance period, the duration of which is established by current legislation. Insurance experience refers to the time interval during which deductions were made from a citizen’s salary to the Pension Fund of the Republic of Belarus (or periods of activity equivalent to it in accordance with current legislation).
Until 2013 inclusive, this indicator was 5 years. On January 1, 2014, it was increased to 10 years, and a year later – to 15 years. Now this level is increasing annually by 6 months - this will happen until the minimum insurance period required to receive a labor pension is 20 years.
Citizens who have not completed the minimum insurance period will receive only an old-age social pension. It is paid to men after 65 years of age, to women after 60 years of age, and is equal to 50% of the subsistence minimum (in 2018 it is 103 rubles).
What about in other countries?
In most European countries, Japan and the USA, the retirement period varies between 60-65 years, and it is the same for the female and male population.
In Russia today, men and women aged 60 and 55, respectively, become pensioners. However, government documents have already been adopted providing for raising the retirement age during 2019-2028 to 65 and 60 years, respectively.
In Poland, the indicator was lowered from October 1, 2017: instead of 67 years for citizens of both sexes, it is 60 years for women and 65 for men.
Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are currently undergoing pension reform, which will be completed by 2026 (a year earlier in Latvia). At its end, the retirement age for men and women will be 65 years.
In all countries where reform is taking place, the main reasons for its implementation are said to be an increase in the number of aging populations relative to the number of working-age citizens. In the countries of the former USSR, this is mainly due to the consequences of the demographic crisis of the 1990s, which led to a decrease in the birth rate.
On April 11, 2016, the President of the Republic of Belarus signed a decree “On improving pension provision”, on the basis of which the minimum age required to obtain a labor pension will be increased by three years and by 2023 will reach 58 and 63 years for representatives of the weak and strong genders, respectively.
Retirement age- this is the number of years determined by law, after which a citizen receives the right to a well-deserved rest and accrual of an old-age pension. Throughout their working career, employees and their employers make contributions to the Social Protection Fund for pension insurance in the amount of 1 and 28 percent, respectively, thereby providing the state budget with funds to pay benefits to the disabled population.
In global practice, the average retirement age ranges from 60-65 years; retirement in Belarus currently occurs at 55 years for women and 60 for men. Due to the fact that in our country this figure is lower than the world average and most often does not correspond to the real loss of ability to work, and also due to the annually increasing number of pensioners, a decree was signed on a gradual increase in the retirement age. Thus, on January 1 of each year, starting in 2017 and ending in 2022, the minimum retirement age will increase by six months. Thus, from the beginning of 2022 it will be established at 58 and 63 years; Further changes to pension legislation are not yet envisaged.
To explain in detail and calculate the retirement of each individual, a table of retirement by year has been compiled based on the date of birth. This reform will directly affect approximately 100 thousand people annually, 50 thousand of whom will wait an additional six months for pensions, and the remaining one year.
RETIREMENT TABLE SINCE 2017
|
Date of Birth |
Retirement age, years |
Retirement period |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
01.01-30.06.1962 |
01.01-30.06.1957 |
01.07-31.12.2017 |
||
|
01.07-31.12.1962 |
01.07-31.12.1957 |
01.07-31.12.2018 |
||
|
01.01-30.06.1963 |
01.01-30.06.1958 |
01.07-31.12.2019 |
||
|
01.07-31.12.1963 |
01.07-31.12.1958 |
01.07-31.12.2020 |
||
|
01.01-30.06.1964 |
01.01-30.06.1959 |
01.07-31.12.2021 |
||
|
01.07-31.12.1964 |
01.07-31.12.1959 |
01.07-31.12.2022 |
||
It is worth noting separately that the age for retirement will be determined not only by the year of birth, but also by the date of application to the relevant authority for registration of a pension. So, if a man who was born in October 1957 and has the right to take a well-deserved leave in October 2018 upon reaching 61 years of age, expresses a desire to apply for a pension benefit later, for example, in March 2019, then he will be able to do this only after reaching age 61 years and 6 months, namely in April 2019, since on January 1, 2019 the retirement age will be increased by six months.
Currently, there are 2,354,000 pensioners in the Republic of Belarus, and in 2015 their number increased by almost forty thousand. This trend forces the state to annually seek additional resources to maintain the pension fund. Based on the graph of changes in the total number of pensioners, one can make a forecast about the upcoming costs of paying pensions: by 2020 they would have increased by 7 percent compared to 2015, and by 2030 by 20. However, the decision to gradually increase pensions and draw up a new exit table pensions from 2017 will make it possible to reduce budget expenditures on these items and, at least until 2023, maintain them at the current level.
Thus, the application of the retirement table in Belarus will be completed after 07/01/2022, namely, from July 1, 2022 in the Republic of Belarus, women and men, with the exception of preferential categories, will go on well-deserved leave when they reach 58 and 63 years, respectively .
Russia plans to increase the retirement age to 63 for women and 65 for men. Should we expect some changes following the example of the neighboring country? In particular, raising the women's pension level to the same level as men's, up to 63 years of age, after 2022? This issue was clarified by Deputy Minister Valery Kovalkov during an online conference on the websites of BELTA and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection: such proposals are not being considered. How likely is it that the retirement age will become the same by gender - from 65? Valery Kovalkov noted:
- 2018 is only the second year in which the retirement age is raised. At the same time, today, indeed, some experts are voicing the advisability of further raising the retirement age to 65 years for both sexes, that is, a more significant increase in the bar for women. In support of this, arguments are given about their longer life expectancy, and gender equality is also recalled. Ultimately, as in any state, much will be determined by the ratio of those employed in the economy and recipients of social benefits or, more simply put, financial capabilities.
Let us remind you that the retirement age in our country is gradually increasing from January 1, 2017 - annually by 6 months until it reaches 63 years for men and 58 years for women. For example, men born from July 1 to December 31, 1959 or younger, and women born from July 1 to December 31, 1964 or younger, will retire under the current scheme from July 1, 2022 at the ages of 63 and 58 years. respectively.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
During the online conference, citizens received many questions related to the conditions for granting pensions. For example, for a citizen who cared for a disabled person of group I and received benefits, this time is counted towards the total length of service and is taken into account in the amount of the pension. However, since no insurance premiums are paid during this period, it is not taken into account in the minimum required length of service with the payment of insurance premiums required to assign an old-age retirement pension.
- According to the media and Internet resources, the situation when people who have worked for less than 10–15 years during their lives have not earned the right to a retirement pension by the time they reach retirement age has been called the “pension trap”, “the insurance period trap”. But certain conditions for receiving a pension, including the length of work experience (official employment confirmed in the prescribed manner) with the payment of insurance contributions to the Social Security Fund, were present in the pension legislation even before decisions were made to increase the length of service requirements,- noted Valery Kovalkov.
In 2018, to qualify for a pension, you must have at least 16 years 6 months of work with payment of contributions (every year this requirement increases by 6 months to 20 years in 2025, that is, in 2019 you must already have 17 years of work, and so on). If for some reason the required length of service is not available on the date of reaching retirement age, you can continue working and complete the missing period. The law does not prohibit this. Valery Kovalkov drew attention to the fact that in order to form a full insurance period (for a year of work - a year of insurance experience), it is necessary to pay contributions to the fund for the entire period of this work from earnings not lower than the minimum wage. Information about the periods for paying contributions and the amount of wages (income) from which they were paid can be obtained from the territorial bodies of the Social Protection Fund.
A new stage of raising the retirement age may begin in 2023.
Since last year, the retirement age in Belarus has been increasing every year. This process is due to end in 2022, when women will begin to retire at 58 and men at 63. Moreover, after 2022, the retirement ages of women and men may be equalized. The state is already considering such a scenario.
Gender equality for pensioners
The Social Protection Fund, from which the population receives pensions and benefits, has been experiencing a deficit for the past five years (since 2013). In recent years, this deficit has been covered thanks to subventions from the republican budget.
This state of affairs worries the Belarusian authorities. Therefore, it is not surprising that, as the budget for 2019 was being prepared, the authorities decided to discuss what to do with the chronic deficit of the Social Protection Fund.
According to BelaPAN, the topic of the Social Security Fund deficit was brought up for consideration by a group of experts this week, which met in the Council of the Republic. Among them were senior officials of ministries and departments.
“It is planned to ensure the balance of the Social Protection Fund through a set of measures, including by transferring some of the fund’s expenses to the republican budget,”- an interlocutor in parliamentary circles familiar with the results of the meeting of the group of experts told BelaPAN.
In particular, it is proposed to ensure that the costs of paying benefits for the care of disabled people of the first group and the elderly who have reached 80 years of age are financed from the republican budget, and not from the funds of the Social Security Fund.
Another proposal that the authorities voiced at the meeting of the expert group is to reconsider approaches to paying for sick leave, which will also reduce the costs of the Social Security Fund. In particular, it is proposed not to pay sick leave to employees in connection with a general illness or injury at home for the first three calendar days, but to pay them only from the fourth day of temporary disability.
In the medium term, the state plans to take other measures that will prevent an increase in the burden on the Social Security Fund due to the aging population. In particular, the possibility of further increasing the retirement age is being considered at the official level.
“The proposal that was voiced in the Council of the Republic is to continue raising the retirement age for women. A new stage of raising the retirement age in this case may begin in 2023,”- BelaPAN’s interlocutor said in parliamentary circles.
Let us remember that in 2016, Belarus already decided to raise the retirement age for women and men by six months every year from 2017. As a result, in 2017-2022, the retirement age for women will increase from 55 to 58 years, and for men - from 60 to 63 years.
According to state estimates, increasing the retirement age for women from 58 to 63 years, which can be carried out in 2023-2032, will prevent an increase in the Social Security Fund deficit and at the same time maintain pensions at the current level (at least 40% of the average monthly salary).
An Inevitable Prospect
Belarusian economists believe that it is unlikely that it will be possible to avoid raising the retirement age for women to the level of men.
“It is unlikely that it will be possible to preserve the right of women to retire five years earlier than men. Taking into account the aging population, this will require either an increase in contributions to the Social Security Fund, which are already high, or a reduction in pension payments, which are already small. Therefore, raising the retirement age of women to the level of men will most likely happen,” noted Maria Akulova, a researcher at the Belarusian Economic Research and Educational Center (BEROC), in a commentary for BelaPAN.
Expert calculations based on demographic data confirm this conclusion.
“Our calculations that we made as part of the research show that in order to prevent the growth of the Social Security Fund deficit in the long term, the retirement age of women needs to be raised to the level of men. Therefore, most likely, the process of raising the retirement age in Belarus will not stop in 2022.”, - suggests the academic director of the Belarusian Economic Research and Educational Center (BEROC) Katerina Bornukova.
Raising the retirement age of women in the long term is a completely logical process, the economist believes.
“Given that women on average live 10 years longer than men, such changes are understandable. At the same time, another fact is upsetting. The state’s steps regarding the pension system are so far limited only to measures to raise the retirement age, although it was worth thinking long ago about stimulating the development of the funded pension system,”- says Bornukova.
By the way, at the meeting of the expert group, the question that pension payments should be linked to the size of pension contributions was raised and discussed.
“Obviously, for the funded pension system to develop, it is necessary to ensure not only macroeconomic stability, but also the ability of the population to hedge currency risks. The population will begin to keep savings not in their closet, but will make voluntary pension contributions only if they are confident that such savings will not depreciate,” - Maria Akulova emphasizes.
By the way, a May survey by the National Bank showed that the population expects a gradual decline in inflationary processes, but still prefers to keep savings in foreign currency. This is what 76.2% of respondents do; only 23.8% of respondents were in favor of saving in the national currency.
In general, Belarusians are now unlikely to be ready to make long-term ruble savings. But it’s worth preparing for a long professional career. Signals coming from the state indicate that many people will probably not see retirement soon, so in old age you should rely primarily on yourself.
