Putin spoke about a new pension reform: the insurance of voluntary savings will change

The expert spoke about the profitability of such a contribution

The Russian economy today needs “long” money. To do this, it is necessary to stimulate the growth of long-term savings of the population. President Putin, in particular, proposed establishing an insurance coverage for voluntary pension savings of 2.8 million rubles – twice as much as for bank deposits. Experts believe that no matter how attractive long-term investments are, Russians are not ready for them en masse. Most citizens live paycheck to paycheck and have no funds for long-term investments, even if we are talking about a future pension. The increase in the insurance guarantee only partially stimulates the demand of Russians for participation in such programs, and only if the income from the deposit is not less than deposits in banks.

The economy needs “long-term” money, so the head of state gave a new start to the topic of voluntary pension savings and proposed increasing insurance for them to 2.8 million rubles. It sounds tempting, but do the Russians have “extra” money with which they would agree to part voluntarily for a long time?

Recall that the topic of voluntary pension savings pops up not for the first time. The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank discussed various mechanisms even before the covid pandemic. But then the initiative was never implemented. No conditions were found under which citizens would want to invest part of their salary in savings.

If we talk about the current situation, then the increase in insurance is unlikely to motivate Russians to carry their money to non-state pension funds (NPFs), experts say.

The main factor that encourages people to invest in the funded pension system is high income, emphasizes Alexander Safonov, professor at the Financial University. If there are no high incomes, hardly anyone will participate in these programs.

“The main part of the population, which receives a median salary of around 40 thousand rubles, spends money on daily needs, and if they save it, then only on two most important tasks – this is the purchase of a vehicle or improving housing conditions,” the scientist continues. — In order to save for retirement, people should have more money. Approximate calculations show that people who consistently receive at least 75-80 thousand rubles a month can participate in such programs.”

The second factor, according to Safonov, which influences the decision whether to take part in such programs is profitability. If the increase covers the rate of inflation, then it is profitable. If not, or the yield is at the level of inflation, there is no point in investing money.

“There are many alternative options that make it possible to save for retirement on your own without the participation of intermediaries. For example, bank deposits or an independent game on the stock exchange, ”the expert said.

“In addition to insurance coverage, even in such a solid volume, the topic of citizens’ insurance savings needs to be stimulated,” says Fyodor Sidorov, a private investor and founder of the School of Practical Investing. Why do our citizens not place their pension funds in the NPF? Because there is no trust in these structures, everyone knows the scandalous situations when non-state pension funds became bankrupt, and their leaders hid in an unknown direction. Therefore, most citizens still prefer to have their funds managed by the state pension (now – Social) fund. At least it’s safe!”