Pensions are 100 thousand rubles more than Russian ones: how old age is celebrated in the UAE, Turkey and Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan: “I’ve been saving for months to go to the dentist”

In Kazakhstan, men retire at 63 years old, and women at 61 years old. However, the country is gradually increasing the retirement age of women, which by 2031 will be equal to the retirement age of men.

Meanwhile, the number of pensioners in Kazakhstan is growing steadily. Thus, according to the Center for the Development of Labor Resources of the country, about 2 million 300 thousand people are on well-deserved rest. This is the maximum number in recent years. Thus, there is a gradual increase in the retirement age population in the Republic.

Today, Kazakhstan has a three-tier pension system.

The first level is the state basic pension payment, which is assigned to all citizens who have reached retirement age. It was introduced in 2005 as one of the tools for ensuring income for the older generation. The second level (mandatory) is pension payments from the UAPF (unified accumulative pension fund) at the expense of employees’ pension savings. The third level (voluntary) is VPP (voluntary pension contributions), which encourage citizens to take personal responsibility for their pension provision.

The most important and significant is the savings component. In simple words, the more a person saves, the greater the pension he will receive in old age. This gives the population responsibility for their future. At the very least, it should be empowering.

The average pension in Kazakhstan in 2023 was (hereinafter, in terms of Russian money at the exchange rate) – 24 thousand rubles. In the new year, Kazakh pensioners will receive more. The changes will affect large families and people with disabilities.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection said that payments based on age and length of service will increase by 9% of the amount received. Thus, the solidary pension will outpace inflation by 2%. Kazakhstanis look forward to this news no less than the New Year itself, and call it a good tradition. The average total pension from the budget, excluding payments from the Unified Pension Fund, will be 25 thousand 850 rubles.

The only thing that Kazakhstanis are afraid of is that another increase in pensions and benefits will provoke an increase in food prices. And as a result, it is still impossible to expand the food basket. But people hope for the best.

A resident of Kazakhstan, Omar, told MK that, as a teacher of the highest category with 40 years of experience, he receives about 26 thousand 900 rubles a month. Omar’s relatives with 10-30 years of work experience average about 18 thousand rubles. “This money is not enough for a normal life. And I’m not talking about some trips to the sea or major renovations in the apartment. The pension has to be stretched to cover mandatory expenses: pay for communal services, buy food and medicine,” Omar noted.

Another of our interlocutors is Alikhan, a pensioner from Kazakhstan. Before retiring, the man worked as a machinist. Now he receives a pension of about 33 thousand 700 rubles. The most basic expense item is food. On average, a man spends 10-14 thousand rubles a month on food alone. The second expense item is utilities. In the summer, when there is no heating season, it costs about 2 thousand rubles for a one-room apartment of 40 sq.m., but in winter the bills can be three times more.

“Over the past three years, pensioners have become the poorest segment of the population, as everything has risen in price by 2-3 times: both essential products and services. Utility tariffs have increased by 50-100%. Meanwhile, the pension itself was indexed by 1,000 rubles per year. This is a real disaster,” shared Amina, a resident of Uralsk.

After talking with local pensioners, you understand that most of them do not save up for any holiday at sea. Enough for food, as they say. 67-year-old Safiya jokes ironically: “My pension is 19 thousand rubles. Now I’m saving up for a trip to the dental clinic. Dental services are very expensive. We have to put it off for several months.”

Türkiye: “You can’t do it alone, inflation is wild”

Türkiye is one of the countries with a fairly low pension threshold. There, women retire at 58, and men at 60. However, if a woman has more than five children, she can retire at age 48.

Meanwhile, due to certain demographic and social changes, the country’s government has approved a long-term plan to increase the retirement age. It is expected that by 2046 men will retire at 65, and by 2048 the age mark of 65 will also become relevant for women planning to retire. At the same time, the minimum length of service for retirement is 3 years. The longer the length of service (it is counted in Turkey based on working days), the higher the pension will be.

As of December 27, 2023, in Turkey the minimum pension is $255 (about 23 thousand rubles). This pension is paid to pensioners under the Social Security System (SSK) and the Social Security System (Bağ-Kur). The minimum pension for civil servants is about 30 thousand rubles.

Pensions are indexed twice a year, in January and July. In January 2023, indexation was 25%, in July 2023 – also 25%. As a result of these indexations, the minimum pension increased from 10 thousand 760 rubles to 23 thousand rubles. According to forecasts, pensions may increase in January 2024 by 38-50%. But here it is appropriate to note that inflation in Turkey is off the charts; by the end of autumn 2023 it exceeded 60%.

When determining the pension amount, factors such as the number of years worked, length of service and wages for the last three months are taken into account.

Meanwhile, there are 16 million pensioners in Turkey. Of these, 7 million receive the same 23 thousand rubles.

One of the pensioners interviewed mentions that his pension is 23 thousand per month, while renting a house costs him 27 thousand 700 rubles per month. This means that his pension is not even enough to cover housing costs. Where does he get the money from? Relatives help. Another pensioner says that his pension is about 30 thousand 440 rubles, and emphasizes that he is forced to work to make ends meet.

According to Yashar Niyazbayev, editor-in-chief of the online publication MK-Turkey, one of the important topics in Turkey now is what the minimum wage (minimum wage) will be in 2024 and how much pensioners will receive. Today this topic is being discussed by the largest Turkish trade unions at the Presidential Palace.

“For now, only forecasts are known. But perhaps, after a meeting with trade unions, Erdogan will announce a decision. And the most important thing is that from now on the increase will only be at the beginning of the year. There will not be a second increase, as usual. Therefore, the bargaining is serious,” our interlocutor notes. – Meanwhile, the minimum wage is now 11,402 Turkish liras (35 thousand rubles). Indexation is expected in the amount of 35% to 55% i.e. (can range from 47 thousand 330 rubles to 54 thousand 350 rubles). This is a very important topic before the local elections, it concerns both the workforce and employers.”

Istanbul resident Ilhan told MK how things stand with pensions in his family.

“For example, a 70-year-old woman receives 28 thousand 150 rubles. per month. She did not work for a government agency. But there are, of course, people who earn more if they retire later. At the same time, about 27 thousand 700 rubles. it costs to rent a normal two-room apartment in Istanbul. This is more than the average pension, Ilham emphasizes. – As for food prices, half a kilo of cheese will cost 922 rubles, a package of milk costs about 123 rubles, the same kilogram of tomatoes, and a kilo of meat can be bought for about 1,230 rubles. That’s it, you can’t do it alone. Everything has become very expensive, inflation is wild.”

UAE: Pension can be paid after death

The UAE ranks 7th in the ranking of countries in terms of pensions. In 2023, the average state benefit for citizens of the country is 123 thousand 920 rubles per month. And, as a rule, it allows a person to continue to live comfortably. Back in 2022, Emirati citizens received an average of 116 thousand 490 rubles. Thus, over the year, the amount of assistance from the state in the UAE increased by 7 thousand 430 rubles.

Pension provision is available only to UAE citizens and is administered by the General Directorate of Pensions and Social Insurance. In essence, this organization is a state pension fund.

The pension system in the Emirates is noticeably different from the Russian one. The benefit is accrued to citizens monthly at the rate of 60% of wages, if the period for calculating insurance premiums is 15 years. For each additional year beyond these 15 years, another 2% is added to the pension. That is, if you have worked for 20 years, then the payment will be 70% of the salary, after 25 years the pension will be 80%, and after 35 years – 100%. Meanwhile, the pension cannot be higher than the salary. Therefore, if a person has more than 35 years of experience, then in addition to the pension payment, he is provided with an additional benefit.

At the same time, an Emirati citizen can retire early if his work experience is 20 years, with a minimum age of 49 years for men and women. All grounds for retirement are enshrined in the UAE Federal Law.

The right to receive a monthly pension begins the day after termination of service and continues until death. In addition, you can retire before reaching retirement age and length of service. For example, in case of loss of legal capacity and bankruptcy of the company. Another interesting fact of the local pension system is that in some cases the pension continues to be paid even after the death of the pensioner. Then close relatives receive the money. Let’s say an unemployed unmarried daughter can receive her parents’ pension after their death. Payments will also be made to widows, left without a breadwinner and disabled sisters. Payments stop when the recipient gets a job or gets married. But after a job loss or divorce, payments resume again.

There are also a lot of benefits for pensioners. For example, older citizens do not pay for utilities in whole or in part. There are also funds in the country that give pensioners subsidies for visiting resorts, invitations to restaurants and concerts. Medicine for pensioners is also free and this applies not only to banal examinations and tests, but also to expensive procedures, operations, rehabilitation, as well as psychological services.

Everyone is unhappy in their own way

Ivan Samoilenko, managing partner of the communication agency B&C Agency, commented on the pension experience of three friendly countries for MK:

“The main difference between the pension provision of Russia and the above-mentioned countries is that our pension system has been in a transition period for a long time. It is more profitable for citizens to form their future pensions on their own, and not rely only on the state pension for years of service. In countries where this mechanism has been operating for a long time, pensioners receive a higher pension compared to the payments that pensioners have in our country. Now the average pension in the Russian Federation is 21 thousand 800 rubles, in 2024 it will be slightly higher than 23 thousand. You can easily compare with payments in the named countries and draw appropriate conclusions.”