The size of the minimum old-age pension in Belarus. Minimum pension in Belarus

Many people whose age is close to retirement are interested in the question of what pension is established in Belarus today, how it is calculated and what is new in this area. Let's try to understand the problem and give a comprehensive answer to these questions.

Pension in Belarus

All issues related to pensions in Belarus are regulated by Law No. 1596-XII, adopted back in 1992, as well as some additional laws and regulations.

According to the law, two types of pension accruals are established:

• social;
• labor

To obtain each of them, a row is put forward necessary conditions. In addition, at least once a year (or more often), according to the Presidential Decree, pension benefits are recalculated. Required condition To receive payments is the payment of insurance premiums, which are withheld from each able-bodied citizen for a certain period and transferred to the state social security fund.

Labor pension payments are accrued to all citizens of the country upon reaching a certain age. It is formed based on the applicant’s work experience and the number of insurance contributions made by him during the period of labor activity. Those citizens who, for one reason or another, were unable to accumulate work experience and are disabled, are entitled to a social pension.

Increasing your pension in Belarus is also possible by insuring additional pension payments which is carried out on a voluntary basis. Such services are provided by the country's insurance companies. Not only the citizen himself, but also the organization in which he works can take care of the formation of an additional part of the pension.

Types of pensions

As in other countries, the size of the pension in Belarus directly depends on what kind of payment you are applying for, how old you are and how your relationship with the social insurance fund developed.

There are the following pension payment options:

According to the age.

By general rule Such a pension can be applied for by men and women whose age exceeds 60 and 55 years, respectively, and who have worked for the benefit of the state for at least 25 (20) years. In some cases, exceptions are possible. Ahead of schedule those whose working conditions were recognized as harmful or difficult are going on a well-deserved rest. The relaxation also applies to workers in transport, agricultural, textile and some other fields of activity.

By length of service.

This list includes some employees of the medical field, education, sports or creative activity. Also, length of service can be used when calculating pensions for citizens employed in aviation or flight test units.

Due to disability.

To assign this type of pension at the time of disability it is also necessary to have minimum experience:

• 1 year - for persons under 23 years of age;
• 2 years - for those who are over 23 but under 26 years old;
• 3 years - from 26 to 31 years and so on.

For people who have been disabled since childhood, an old-age pension is also offered. The length of service for them is set on par with healthy citizens (25 and 20 years), but the age from which one can qualify for payment is reduced by 5 years - 55 and 50 years for men and women, respectively.

For special merits.

The procedure for calculating such payments, as well as all issues related to receiving such a pension, are regulated by the Council of Ministers.

For the loss of a breadwinner.

This type of payment is available to disabled dependent citizens if they are recognized as having lost their breadwinner or the latter is missing.

Retirement age

This is a very important and controversial issue for those who are entitled to a pension in Belarus. The age for retirement today is 55 years for women and 60 for representatives of the stronger sex.
But already from next year it will rise steadily. Every year this figure will increase by 6 months and by 2022 will reach 58 years for women and 63 years for men in the country.

Of course, not many people like this reform, but it is due to good reasons. The fact is that today the growing number of pensioners has led to a high burden on the country’s budget. A fairly large part of the working-age population increasingly goes abroad to work and, accordingly, does not pay taxes within the country. All these factors lead to a decrease in GDP per capita and a decline in the country's economy.

Experience for retirement

In 2016, the age pension in Belarus will be accrued to those who, upon reaching the appropriate age, have seniority not less than 15 years and 6 months. But starting from 2017, this figure will also grow steadily by 6 months annually. By 2025, the minimum length of service to receive pension payments in Belarus will reach 20 years. If we systematize all of the above a little, it will look like this:

If it was not possible to earn the required work experience, then payments will be made if you have at least 10 years labor activity. Such a pension will be calculated taking into account the actual time worked. However, it cannot be lower than half the minimum age pension.

Calculation of pension and its size

Minimum pension in Belarus is really small. Its size is a quarter of the cost of living taken over the previous two quarters.

The minimum pension payment for disabled people of the first and second groups is 100% of the lowest old-age pension payment, and for disabled people of the third group this figure is reduced by 50%. Heroine mothers also receive 100% of the minimum wage according to age. The same applies to long-service pensioners.

The old-age pension is defined as 55% of average monthly earnings, adjusted according to Article 56. The calculation takes place in accordance with established standards, as a percentage relative to the actual wages, which was accrued before applying for pension benefits.

Those 10% that do not exceed 130% of the average state salary are taken into account in full, and each subsequent 10% is multiplied accordingly by a coefficient from 0.9 to 0.1 (taken from 90 to 10%). Salaries from 130–400% are taken into account at the rate of 10%. The amount that results from the calculations is considered earnings for calculating the pension payment.

Thus, the amount of pension benefits is influenced by the following factors:

• experience;
• amount of earnings;
• years of work beyond seniority;
• sphere of labor activity.

Changes (recalculation) of calculated indicators can be made in the following cases:

• change in the cost of living;
• an increase in average wages by 15 percent or more;
• operating time required experience for citizens who did not have it;
• changing the type of pension benefit.

A little about points

As you already understand, pensions in Belarus are calculated according to fairly complex scheme, one of the components of which is personal pension coefficient. For each fully worked year, a certain number of points are awarded. By the time you retire, you need to recruit at least three dozen. However, this scheme can only be fully implemented by 2025.

Various nuances

Who will not be affected by the increase in length of service? As always, this increase does not apply to those who apply for a disability pension, mothers of many children, disabled people since childhood and those caring for them. For all these categories, it will still be sufficient to work for at least 5 years.

How is experience calculated? Only the time when deductions to the social insurance fund were actually made from the employee’s salary are taken into account. For example, the army, study or maternity leave will not be taken into account.

If there is no experience, for such citizens a pension in Belarus can only be social. It is equal to half the subsistence level. At the same time, men will be able to receive even such a small benefit only from the age of 65, and women upon reaching the age of 60.

Foreigners will also pay. Starting this year, compulsory social insurance applies to foreigners and stateless persons living and working in the territory of the Republic of Belarus.

Differences between the pension systems of Russia and Belarus

In fact, in the pension systems of the two countries there is no large quantity differences. In both Russia and Belarus, a pension is accrued upon reaching a certain age if a person has the required number of contributions to the social insurance fund. Also in both countries, disabled people, incapacitated persons and citizens who do not have sufficient work experience are entitled to receive a small benefit.

By and large, the main differences are that pensions in Belarus depend mainly on length of service and the amount of insurance contributions. In Russia, the determining indicator is pension capital. Additionally, it can be noted that in Belarus the procedure for calculating pension payments for citizens working in difficult conditions is carried out according to a slightly different scheme.

Pensions paid to citizens of the Republic of Belarus are divided into several categories. Their size is determined various factors- the total length of work experience, the pensioner’s ability to work, etc. The legislation also provides for the so-called minimum pension- a payment that is guaranteed to be received by a person who has worked for a certain number of years.

How is the minimum pension in the Republic of Belarus calculated?

The basis is the BPM (subsistence budget) - a variable economic value that is calculated individually for different segments of the population. The minimum age pension is calculated in the amount 25% of the maximum BPM size for the last 2 quarters.

But for the disability pension in our republic, a different calculation mechanism is used.

• Disabled people of the 1st and 2nd groups receive payments in the amount of 100% of the minimum age pension.
• Disabled citizens of the third group are guaranteed to receive a pension, the amount of which is already 50% of the average age.
• A pension is separately stipulated for heroine mothers with any degree of disability. This category of citizens is paid 100% of the minimum pension assigned by age.

An important nuance: in order to receive a minimum old-age pension, you must have a minimum work experience. Currently it is 15 years. Moreover, throughout all these years, the employee must pay the required insurance contributions to the republican budget. If the minimum length of service for a pension is insufficient (i.e. less than 15 years), then the employee will receive a social pension. It is also calculated based on the BPM for different categories of pensioners.

Minimum pension in Belarus in 2016-2017

In 2016-2017, pensions in the country were indexed several times. All types of pensions increased, including minimum ones. In particular, the minimum age pension in January 2016 was 392 thousand non-denominated rubles. After several increases, in January 2017, this type of pension increased to 43.8 denominated rubles. The amount, frankly speaking, is small, but it is determined in full accordance with the current legislation of Belarus.

In 2018, the minimum pension was increased 4 times.

With information on how pensions in the Republic of Belarus have changed over the course of recent years, can be found in the table below.

Change in minimum pension from 2015 to 2019

What will be the minimum pension in 2019?

The last time pensions in Belarus were increased was on November 1, 2018. As of January 1, 2019, the average old-age pension in the country is 216.03 rubles, the minimum old-age pension is 53 rubles 55 kopecks.

How will the size of pension payments change in the future? This depends on the following factors:

• the size of the subsistence level budget, its indexation;
• inflation rates;
• the general state of the Belarusian economy.

But based on the experience of past years, we can say that pensions in the Republic of Belarus are usually increased at least 2 times a year. This usually occurs in March-April and October-November. Therefore, there is every reason to believe that in 2019 the government will look for opportunities to again index pensions, including minimum ones, according to this scenario.

Pension is monetary security paid to a person upon reaching a certain (retirement) age, as well as for length of service, in the event of loss of ability to work, the onset of disability, loss of a breadwinner (for disabled citizens) and for other reasons. Payment of pensions can be made from state funds, funds of organizations, and in certain cases, at the expense of individuals.

The system of individual accounts, using which a working person finances his future pension from his own contributions, is not widespread in Belarus. In fact, funds for pension payments are taken from workers' current contributions.

In the Republic of Belarus, the following have rights to state pension provision in cases specified by law:

• citizens of the Republic of Belarus and other persons living on its territory;
• citizens of Belarus living outside its borders, in accordance with international treaties between the Republic of Belarus and the country of residence of the pensioner.

Pension provision in Belarus

The law establishes the conditions for the provision of labor pensions for age, disability, loss of a breadwinner, long service, and special services to the republic.

The right to an old-age retirement pension on a general basis is granted to men upon reaching 60 years of age with at least 25 years of work experience, and to women upon reaching 55 years of age with at least 20 years of work experience. A prerequisite for exercising the right to a pension is having at least 5 years of work with the payment of mandatory insurance contributions.

When calculating the amount of the pension, the length of service before the pension was assigned and the earnings from which mandatory insurance contributions were paid are taken into account. Until 2000, the pension was calculated from earnings for any 5 consecutive years of the last 15 years of work. Since 2000, these periods have been increased by 1 year (in 2000, the pension was calculated from earnings for any 6 consecutive years of the last 16 years of work, in 2001 - for 7 years out of the last 17 years, etc.).

Conditions for assigning a pension

The right of citizens to pension provision, including old age, is guaranteed by Article 1 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Pension Provision”. At the same time, Article 5 of this Law states that the right to a labor pension is given to citizens from whose income during the period of their working activity deductions were made for state social insurance for at least 5 years.

Persons of retirement age who are not entitled to a labor pension are assigned a social pension under conditions specified by law. This provision is contained in Articles 5 and 72 of the Law “On Pensions”.
The source of payment of labor old-age pensions is the Fund social protection population. Social pensions are paid directly from the republican budget.

Retirement age in Belarus

According to the Law, from January 1, 2017, the generally established retirement age increases annually by 6 months until men reach the age of 63 years, women 58 years (in 2017 it is 60 years 6 months for men, 55 years 6 months for women). The age for early pensions will increase at the same pace.

A prerequisite for exercising the right to an old-age labor pension and a long service pension (Articles 11-13,15,24,47-49-2 of the Law) is the presence of work experience (other activities) with the payment of mandatory insurance contributions to the budget of the state non-budgetary Social Protection Fund of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as the insurance period). The insurance period increases annually from January 1 by 6 months until reaching 20 years. To assign a pension in 2017, it must be at least 16 years, in 2018 - 16 years 6 months, in 2019 - 17 years, etc.

Living wage

From November 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017, the average per capita BPM decreased and amounted to 174.52 rubles. However, a decrease in the BPM will not lead to a decrease in the size of pensions, benefits and other payments calculated from its size. According to Decree No. 726 of December 18, 2006 “On the calculation of social payments,” the largest BPM value for the last two quarters is used when assigning and recalculating them.

In this regard, when recalculating from November 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017, various social payments calculated from the BPM amount, the largest BPM value for the last two quarters will be used. IN in this case: in June 2016 prices (175 Belarusian rubles 50 kopecks).

Pension size in Belarus

The minimum old-age pension is 45.96 rubles. (25 percent of the budget of the subsistence level on average per capita (Article 23 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Pensions”)).

NPF in Belarus

In addition to the state one, there are non-state pension funds in the Republic of Belarus. Their essence is that a working citizen pays certain funds to the fund, which later become the basis for its addition to the state pension provision over an extended period of time.

The fund's activity consists of accumulating payments and investing the received funds in the stock market. The income generated by investments under the agreement is distributed among the fund participants according to their contributions.

Pension reform in Belarus and latest news

In Belarus, from August 1, the minimum labor and social pensions, which are tied to the size of the BPM. Let us remind you that from next month this figure will increase to 197.57 rubles.

In addition, from August 1, bonuses, increases in pensions and additional payments will increase for Belarusians 75 years of age and older who receive pensions from labor, employment and social security agencies, as well as benefits for caring for a group I disabled person or for a person who has reached the age of 80.

Minimum labor and social pensions are reviewed once a quarter; they change along with the subsistence budget.

Similar materials

The minimum pension is a payment guaranteed by the state to all citizens of the country under certain conditions. It is important to understand that this is not a separate type of benefit, but a lower limit on the amount of payment in each category. In total, there are two main categories of pension payments in the republic: labor and social.

The first ones are appointed:

1. Upon reaching certain legislation.
2. Due to disability. Those who have become disabled due to a work injury or occupational disease are entitled to them. Also, this type of payment is made if disability occurs as a result of a general serious illness that is not related to work. It does not matter whether the disability occurred before, during, or after the termination of work.
3. In case of loss of a breadwinner. Paid disabled members family of the deceased.
4. For years of service. They are received by citizens who work in conditions leading to premature loss of professional ability to work.

The state pays social benefits to those who do not receive any of the listed labor pensions. To the number social pensioners include persons with varying degrees of disability, women over 60 years of age and men over 65 without minimum social experience.

Who gets

According to the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, citizens with 15 years of working experience (in some cases 5 and 10 years) have the right to receive a minimum retirement pension. It is important that during the entire working period they stably and in full make the required insurance contributions.

Citizens who have worked less than required, in turn, have the right to a social pension. Here, all those who are not included in any of the categories of persons receiving labor pensions can count on the minimum amount of payment.

As for the minimum pension for disability, loss of a breadwinner, etc., all citizens who fall under these categories according to the list approved by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus have rights to them.

When is it calculated and how?

The minimum pension is assigned when the calculation procedure approved at the legislative level does not allow the calculation of amounts exceeding the established minimum. For labor benefits for old age, disability and loss of a breadwinner, this case is an insufficient amount of insurance payments made at the time.

For the calculation, the size of the subsistence level budget (BMS) and the lower limit of the age pension are used. The latter also directly depends on the BPM.

Calculation mechanisms and size

To understand the mechanism for calculating the minimum pension in Belarus, you must first define the concept of BPM. is a variable value that is calculated taking into account prices, inflation rates and other economic indicators of the country based on the results of the quarter.

The BPM is approved at the state level quarterly. When calculating the minimum amount of pension payments, the maximum BPM value for the two quarters preceding the accrual is taken as the starting point.

An important aspect in the calculation is the fact that citizens receiving any minimum labor pension have the right to a monthly supplement, the amount of which is 20% of the average salary in the country.

According to the legislative and regulatory acts of the Republic of Belarus, today minimum dimensions labor pensions are:

• for loss of a breadwinner - 100% of the old age pension;
• for length of service - 100% of the old age pension;
• payments to orphans - 200% of the old age pension.

The minimum social pension for persons who have reached retirement age is 50% of the BPM.

Minimum disability pension

When calculating minimum disability payments in the Republic of Belarus, a different calculation algorithm is used:

• 100% BPM – for disabled people of groups I and II;
• 50% – for disabled people with group III;
• 100% – for heroine mothers (regardless of the group).

At the same time, minimum social pension benefits have following sizes from BPM:

1. For citizens with group I disabilities (including those who have been disabled since childhood) – 110%
2. For disabled people of group II since childhood – 95%, for other persons with the same disability group – 85%.
3. For all categories of disabled people of group III – 75%.

After the launch of pension reform in Ukraine, neighboring countries began to think about the need to learn from experience. The Russian government also announced an increase in the retirement age and the size of pensions. Each country carries out reforms in its own way, and pensioners are left to consider who will have more payments.

Ukraine – European pensions

The slogan is good, but in reality the picture with payments to old people is not rosy. Ukrainians can apply for a pension based on age, in connection with disability or loss of a breadwinner; there is an additional category of pensions related to the characteristics of work or profession.

Since January of this year, new rules for issuing benefits to citizens who are on well-deserved rest or continue to work have been launched in Ukraine. Let us remind you that not only the age threshold for Ukrainians is increasing, but also the amount of work experience.

The Pension Fund of Ukraine has tariff schedules with age restrictions, features for calculating length of service, and daunting formulas that are not so easy for an ordinary working person to understand. Everything for the people.

The average pension for a Ukrainian citizen in 2018 is 2,480 hryvnia, which corresponds to $94.3 (at the official exchange rate on the day the article was written). This does not mean that all pensioners receive this amount, since the minimum pension at the beginning of the year was 1,452 hryvnia or $55.21. So it turns out that someone’s pension cannot even be called a social benefit, but deputies and judges receive a pension in the amount of 16,000 hryvnia (600 dollars, this is where Europe is felt in the wallet).

Pension payments across regions are heterogeneous; in the Kyiv region, the average pension varies between $100, and in the Rivne or Ternopil regions it barely exceeds $56.

What about the neighbor?

Russia itself is not happy with the pension reform: strikes, consideration of bills, criticism of trade unions, but where can you go when there is a catastrophic lack of money.

Starting from 2019, the retirement age is planned to be raised, and the revision of length of service is not far away. Gradually, Russia will also reach the age of 65 years for men and 63 years for women, but for now the same parameters remain: 60 and 55.

In the Russian Federation there are pensions for old age (insurance), social (for people without experience), disability, military, and professions. In addition, due to the large territory in Russia, there are also benefits by region.

According to the message Pension Fund Russian Federation in 2018, the average pension throughout the country increased to 14,100 rubles ($222.85), and the minimum, that is social benefit, does not exceed $140.

Moscow pensioners live richest of all, on 17,500 rubles ($276.59), while old people from the Ryazan, Saratov, and Bryansk regions live modestly on an allowance of 8,000 rubles ($126).

What about your little brother?

In Belarus, since 2017, the government was forced to start pension reform, the age at which citizens can retire is gradually increasing, so men must work until they are 63 years old, and women until they are 58 years old.

Pensions in Belarus are different: assigned (according to profession, early), by age, social, for disability, in case of loss of a breadwinner. Official statistics state that the average pension for citizens of all categories is 340 Belarusian rubles or $171. Dry numbers are far from reality, as the situation with pensions in Ukraine and Russia shows.

Belarusian elderly people receive old-age pensions unequally; the richest can be called the residents of Minsk, whose pension is 338 Belarusian rubles or $169.87; residents of other regions receive a little less: from 310 Belarusian rubles ($160). Social payments the country is also not uniform: from $87.75 to $109.26. As we can see, the picture of territorial differentiation of pensions in Belarus is not much different.

All three East Slavic countries are far from European tariffs, where the average pension reaches $2,800 (Denmark). But we shouldn’t lose hope, perhaps in the near future we will get out of crises, disputes, squabbles and live in retirement, traveling, but for now our pensioners should hope for a July increase in pension payments.