Sberbank NPF proposes to amend the state long-term savings program

The state long-term savings program (LTS), launched this year, needs more stimulation; Sberbank NPF believes that it should be added, for example, the possibility of co-financing from employers and the period of state co-financing should be increased. However, there are no official discussions yet. Experts point out that the state can only agree to socially oriented initiatives.

Sberbank NPF believes that the long-term savings program launched at the beginning of this year needs additional incentives. As Ruslan Vesterovsky, head of the Wealth Management block at Sberbank, said at a press conference held on April 3, it should be possible for employers to participate in the program, so that one part is contributed by the state, and the second part is contributed not by the citizen, but by the employer. “For many medium-sized companies, even large ones, this is part of the social package that may be of interest,” Mr. Vesterovsky is sure. At the same time, he expects that in the next three to five years “the Ministry of Finance and the State Duma may decide to extend the terms of state co-financing” (currently three years).

In addition, Mr. Vesterovsky believes that the list of special life situations when it will be possible to use the accumulated funds should be expanded. “We propose to include in such situations the education of children, the purchase of a first home and disability,” noted a top manager of Sberbank.

According to the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), 18 NPFs currently participate in the program. However, according to market participants, only Sberbank NPF actually draws up contracts. Based on the results of the first quarter, client funds invested 8.5 billion rubles in the program, with 6 billion rubles. of which were transferred from compulsory pension insurance (OPI) funds. At the beginning of April, VTB Pension Fund announced the execution of contracts. The plan for raising funds for the PDS, announced by the Ministry of Finance, is 250 billion rubles. According to the Bank of Russia, at the end of nine months of 2023, obligations under OPS agreements amounted to 2.94 trillion rubles.

Increasing the period for receiving government co-financing will make the program more attractive, agrees Larisa Gorchakovskaya, Deputy General Director of VTB Pension Fund.

However, representatives of regulators and SROs are not yet participating in the discussions. The long-term savings program has been launched and is operating, no changes are expected, and discussions are not currently underway, the NAPF said. “Currently, such discussions are not underway,” the Ministry of Finance also reported. However, the ministry did not rule out that adjustments would be made in the future. In particular, Kommersant’s source in the pension market notes that the Ministry of Finance is ready to consider extending state co-financing depending on the results of the three years of the program. The Bank of Russia did not respond to Kommersant’s request.

The long-term savings program needs additional attractiveness for citizens so that they participate in it and contribute their money to it, “agreeing to the not very friendly conditions of the program in terms of the duration of funds in it,” says Pavel Mitrofanov, CEO of Expert Business Solutions . However, experts believe that not all proposed adjustments will be accepted by regulators. “Most likely, socially oriented initiatives can be supported by the state,” believes Elena Fiveyskaya, director of ratings of investment intermediaries of the NRA. “It is likely that the state will agree to expand the list of special cases in order to at least create the illusion that citizens have the opportunity to receive their own funds from this program ahead of schedule,” concluded Mr. Mitrofanov.

Polina Trifonova