Indexation of pensions, expansion of benefits, increase in sick leave: social news in January

Pension innovations

The main innovation expected by millions of elderly Russians is that from January the insurance pensions of non-working pensioners will be indexed by 7.5%. The SFR will recalculate pensions without application, taking into account indexation. Which, in turn, will affect over 27 million old-age pension recipients, whose payments will be increased by an average of 1.6 thousand rubles per month. As a result, the average monthly payments to non-working pensioners will increase to 23.4 thousand rubles.

In January, newly assigned pension payments to working Russians will also be indexed. This occurs through an increase of 7.5% in the cost of the pension coefficient and fixed payment, which make up the insurance pension. The cost of the coefficient will be increased from 123.77 rubles to 133.05 rubles. The size of the fixed pension payment will increase from 7,567.33 rubles to 8,134.88 rubles.

In 2024, the old age pension age will be raised. For women it will be 58 years, for men – 63 years. The minimum requirements for receiving an insurance pension will also change: to receive an insurance pension you will need at least 15 years of service and 28.2 pension coefficient.

Mark Goikhman, analyst at the Capital Skills Financial Academy, comments:

“The planned increase in pensions corresponds to the expected average inflation for 2023, which, according to all official forecasts, should be around 7.5%. At the same time, it should be taken into account: goods and services, mainly consumed by pensioners, tend to rise in price more than the average Rosstat consumer basket. It is therefore likely that the real purchasing power of pensions will be lower than in 2023. But the situation may level out somewhat if inflation during 2024 drops to 4-4.5%, as the Central Bank of the Russian Federation plans. The increase in payments is ensured by budget revenues included in the plan. In 2024, its deficit is expected to be reduced to 1.6 trillion rubles, according to the bill adopted by the State Duma. This is much lower than the planned deficit of 2.9 trillion rubles. for 2023.”

Commented by Ivan Samoilenko, managing partner of B&C Agency:

“Increasing the retirement age is an objectively necessary process, since the pension system cannot cope with the number of citizens who need to be paid a long-service pension. The PFR budget is 40% financed from the budget of the Russian Federation, and not from insurance contributions from working citizens. But the increase in the retirement age cannot be called very sharp – in the country, the majority of citizens work even after reaching the retirement age, the majority of them have much more than 15 years of experience and the required number of points, as a rule, accumulates.

In addition, we can expect that different decisions will be made next year regarding the pensions of working pensioners, since indexation for this category has been postponed more than once. It is possible that other initiatives will be reviewed to improve the financial situation of older people and pre-retirees. The latter category of citizens is also becoming a priority for the state in terms of filling the shortage of personnel, which is currently observed in various sectors of the country’s economy.”

Increasing the amount of child benefits

In January, as you know, the cost of living increases in the country, which affects the amount of many benefits. In particular, a single benefit that the SFR provides to the parents of more than 10.7 million children and over 390 thousand pregnant women. According to the current rules, the amount of the benefit is determined based on the subsistence minimum established in each region for a child or able-bodied adult. After increasing the cost of living in the regions, the Social Fund will automatically recalculate the amount of benefits.

In addition, from 2024, parents will no longer lose the right to child care benefits for up to 1.5 years in the event of early departure from leave to work. The new rule applies, among other things, to cases of going to work part-time, working from home and telecommuting. The benefit will also remain for those who work for another employer during parental leave.

In addition, on January 1, a law comes into force that allows parents and guardians who return to work on a part-time basis to maintain monthly payments for the care of a disabled child. Including remotely or at home. This applies to recipients of monthly payments in the amount of 10 thousand rubles for the care of a disabled child under the age of 18 or a person disabled since childhood of the first group.

Ivan Samoilenko, managing partner of B&C Agency, comments:

“Children’s benefits are one of the main areas of state social assistance. Moreover, the authorities are consistently eliminating some of the imbalances in the issue of child care payments – this has been done for several years in a row. It is clear why the state considers these issues a priority – to improve the situation of families with children and stimulate the birth rate. And parents receive new and increasingly diverse opportunities to receive financial support from the state. So these decisions regarding families with children are definitely positive for both the well-being of citizens and the demographic situation in the country.”

Changing the conditions for receiving maternity capital

In 2024, the Social Fund will index maternity capital by 7.5%. True, this will not happen on January 1, but a month later. The size of maternity capital for the first child will increase by 44 thousand rubles and amount to 630,967.72 rubles, for the second child it will increase by 58 thousand rubles and amount to 833,800.37 rubles. If a family has received maternity capital and has already spent part of the funds, only its balance is indexed. If, for example, there are 135 thousand rubles left on the certificate, then this amount will be indexed by 7.5%. You can check your maternity capital balance on the State Services portal.

It should be taken into account that from January 1, 2024, the right to maternity capital arises only for parents who have Russian citizenship at the time of the birth of a child who is a citizen of the Russian Federation by birth.

Also in the new year, the period during which you can apply for payment from maternity capital and receive money for the entire time since the birth of the child will be increased. From 2024, parents will have this opportunity within six months after the birth of the child, and not 3 months, as was previously the case.

In 2024, the possibilities for using maternal capital will expand. In particular, recipient families will be able to use maternity capital funds to reconstruct a house in a blocked building, the area of ​​which can be increased in order to improve living conditions through permitted reconstruction.

An important innovation will affect certain categories of men who have the right to receive maternity capital. We are talking about single fathers who raise children or are the only adoptive parents. From January 1, they will be able, just like mothers, to direct maternity capital to the formation of a funded pension.

Andrey Loboda, economist, director of communications at BitRiver, comments:

“Maternity capital is, one might say, the main “trump card” in the system of state assistance to families with children. Many foreigners coming to Russia are surprised that Russians have the opportunity to receive such help. Considering that the amount of maternity capital for families with two or more children is quite large, indexation, in turn, will also be quite large. Meanwhile, these expenses are a significant item of expenditure for the federal budget. But the important thing is that in the context of sanctions, pressure on the Russian economy, and budget deficits, the state continues to develop this support, increasing the size of maternal capital by 7.5%. This speaks to the resilience of our economy in the face of challenges and the government’s clear intention to follow the idea of ​​developing and strengthening social support for citizens. Matkapital, given the flexibility of its use, remains extremely in demand among Russian families with children.”

Increase in sick leave and maternity benefits

Maternity benefits and sick leave payments will increase by almost 1.5 times in 2024. Thus, the maximum amount of temporary disability benefits will increase from 83 to 122 thousand rubles per month. The maximum amount of maternity benefits will increase from 383 thousand to 565 thousand rubles. The maximum amount of benefits for child care up to 1.5 years for working parents will be 49 thousand rubles per month compared to the current 33.2 thousand rubles.

Expanding proactive and digital services

The Social Fund itself, without the participation of applicants, will issue support measures based on data received through the system of interdepartmental interaction. This is a proactive format: citizens do not need to independently apply for a payment to the Financial Markets Service and provide any documents.

Thus, from January 1, the Social Fund will begin to issue social and insurance pensions in the event of the loss of a breadwinner without application. The SFR will assign payments within 5 working days from the date of receipt of information about the loss of a breadwinner. The data will come from the registry office.

Also, from 2024, the SFR will begin to issue proactively bonuses to the insurance pension for work experience in the Far North. After making a decision on recalculation, citizens will receive a corresponding message on the State Services portal or by mail within three working days.

And starting from the new year, the Social Fund begins to gradually launch a unified digital platform, which will be widely used in the social sphere to solve various problems.

As part of this system, the Federal Register of Those in Need will begin to operate in January. Its data will help identify citizens who need government support, and thus provide more targeted assistance. The register will make it possible to provide support measures to such categories of the population as labor and combat veterans, large families, orphans and others.