What’s new in store for Russians in May: pensions, mortgages, utility bills

New payments to pensioners

Some categories of older people should receive one-time payments for Victory Day – 10 thousand rubles each. We are talking about veterans, participants in the Great Patriotic War, as well as categories of citizens equated to them. According to the law, a payment of 10 thousand rubles will be received by citizens born before December 31, 1931 inclusive (regardless of the availability of documents confirming work during the Great Patriotic War), as well as veterans, the disabled, “children of war” – that is, people over the age of 92 years old. According to Rosstat, today in the Russian Federation there are about 130 thousand citizens of this age.

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

“Over the past year, the average pension in Russia has grown by almost 14%, today it reaches almost 21,000 rubles. The dynamics are encouraging, since the indexation of pensions in Russia today is noticeably ahead of inflation. Of course, it is very difficult for an elderly unemployed person to live on 20-30 thousand rubles in Russia. Therefore, such support measures for all categories of citizens who went through the Great Patriotic War, of course, are not superfluous. These are very elderly people who have experienced the worst trials in the history of our country. However, I believe that on the landmark Victory Day, one-time payments to veterans of the Great Patriotic War and persons equated to them could amount to not 10 thousand, but 78 thousand rubles. After all, the war ended 78 years ago, and it would be symbolic, and the state would definitely not become poorer from such a payment.”

The order of delivery of pensions

From May 1, only the state-owned Russian Post will have the right to deliver pensions at home. Previously, private organizations, such as banks, could also do this. Plus, it will be possible to receive social payments in cash only at the branches of the Russian Post. Cash desks of other organizations will no longer issue payments. For recipients of pensions or benefits at home, nothing will change. In due time, they will be delivered by an employee of the federal postal department in the same way as before. If someone receives payments by proxy in a particular organization, and not by mail, then the power of attorney will need to be reissued.

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

“With such a measure, the state will be able to protect older people from visits by potential scammers, who often hide behind the fact that they allegedly work in a bank or some kind of social organization. Now only one company will deliver pensions, which will simplify the procedure. Russian Post is the largest enterprise in the country that serves citizens in terms of delivering pensions to their homes. Both the resources and capabilities of the company will be enough to implement this law. And if not enough, then additional employees will be recruited.

Single payment date for children

Families who have issued a monthly payment from maternity capital for a child under 3 years old will start receiving money on the 5th day of each month. They will come not for the current month, but for the previous one. May will be the last month for enrollment under the old rules, and from June, families across the country will receive payments on the same day – the 5th. The transition to a new payment date will occur automatically.

Ivan Samoylenko comments:

“At the moment, according to the Social Fund, about 20 million families in Russia have issued monthly payments from maternity capital. This is a convenient form of additional payment for families with children under 3 years old – parents can use a large amount of the mother’s capital for current needs. Considering that the possibilities for using the mother’s capital have been significantly expanded, we should expect that the number of families who have issued monthly payments will gradually increase. And receiving benefits on the same day every month (for the previous month) will also be convenient for family budget planning.”

Mortgage rules

Starting from May 1, the Central Bank raises premiums on risk ratios for mortgage loans. This change will affect loans that are issued for the purchase of housing in new buildings, as they often inflate prices per square meter in order to push the buyer to take out a mortgage loan. The Central Bank explains the tightening of rules by worsening home lending standards – in the fourth quarter of 2022, 44% of loans were issued to people who spend more than 80% of their income on repaying loans. The authors of the innovation believe that it will be unprofitable for banks to work with insolvent borrowers, who, probably, after the introduction of this measure, will not be approved for a mortgage or will be approved, but at a higher percentage.

Andrey Loboda comments:

“The availability of housing in new buildings in Russia continues to decline. The absence of subsidized mortgages is unlikely to be reflected in lower prices, square meters are still “golden” and inaccessible to the vast majority of citizens. Against the backdrop of overstocking of new buildings and a clear predominance of supply in the housing market over demand, prices for apartments in Russia’s largest cities are a bit too high. The bubble is likely to inflate further, along with it will continue to grow record incomes of banks and developers. In fact, the young and economically active population of Russia is quite noticeably shackled by mortgages for several decades to come. For a qualitative change in the situation for the better, young families should be given the opportunity to use a really preferential lending program for the purchase of housing at rates close to the key rate of the Central Bank, and in the largest cities of the country the maximum mortgage amount should be increased to 12–15 million rubles. Under credit bondage, many children are not born in families. All tangible credit benefits should have been transferred long ago to the sector of individual housing construction. This is a completely different, much higher quality of life, and the prospects for the mass emergence of large families.”

tax secrecy

On May 18, an amendment to Article 102 of the Tax Code of Russia regarding tax secrecy comes into force. A clause will appear in the Tax Code that says: information on deregistration of a citizen due to his death, which the Federal Tax Service sends to banks where a person had accounts, is considered a tax secret. The new rules will allow banks to promptly receive information about the state registration of the death of clients within the framework of interdepartmental cooperation and timely suspend operations on the accounts (deposits) of deceased clients. This measure should reduce the risk of committing illegal actions with the funds of deceased bank customers.

Kirill Stus, specialist of Intercession law firm, comments:

“The introduction of these changes in terms of clarifying the criterion of tax secrecy will allow banks to receive relevant information about the removal of a citizen from tax records from the unified state register of civil status records. This innovation will allow credit institutions to quickly stop operations with accounts and deposits of the deceased and protect funds from fraudsters. It is important to understand that not all bank employees will have access to such information, but only those who are authorized by the credit institution. This will also help to narrow the circle of suspects in case of fraudulent actions with the funds of a deceased citizen.”

Payment of utilities

The Central Bank decided to make transfers through the fast payment system (FPS) more profitable for companies that work in the housing and communal services sector. From May 1, the maximum amount of the bank commission in the SBP will be halved – from 0.4% to 0.2%.

Ivan Samoylenko comments:

“SBP is an example of such a tool that has become beneficial for all market participants. SBP is very popular in retail, especially in micro-organizations and small businesses. Due to low commissions (unlike bank acquiring), more and more users connect to the system. Paying utility bills in this way will also be convenient and beneficial for consumers – it will be cheaper than paying receipts through banks or at the post office.

Labeling of non-alcoholic beverages

On May 15, an experiment with the labeling of soft drinks will begin. Ordinary bottled water, mineral water, sweet drinks, kvass, fruit drink, compote and juice will fall under it. According to the authors of the innovation, the marking will reduce the number of counterfeit products and increase tax revenues to the budget.

Natalia Milchakova, Lead Analyst at Freedom Finance Global, comments:

“In Russia, everything is temporary, or what was originally called an “experiment”, later turns out to be the most permanent. This has already happened with experiments on the labeling of dairy products and bottled water, which today has become everyday history. In principle, there is nothing threatening in the labeling procedure itself for legal manufacturers of the labeled goods, and even more so for retail trade, the labeling costs are very low. For consumers, punching QR codes at the checkout instead of a barcode is also not at all a complicated procedure. And such labeling helps a lot in the fight against counterfeits and fakes, and it is especially important today, given the fact that some well-known foreign brands, for example, sweet soda, are not supplied to Russia. So this innovation is very timely, but its reverse side could be a one-time increase in prices for soft drinks, although it is unlikely to be critical for buyers.”

Trademark Prohibition

On May 28, amendments to the fourth part of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation come into force. They prohibit the registration in the country of a trademark that can be misleading about the place of production of goods. For example, a Chevrolet Tahoe car may not be produced in the city of the same name on Lake Tahoe, but in Kazakhstan. The restrictions include not only the names of geographical objects, but also consonant words.

Kirill Stus comments:

“The amendments will affect the interests of those manufacturers who only plan to register designations containing elements that can mislead the consumer about the place of production of goods as trademarks. Now it is impossible to register a trademark, having looked or heard which the consumer will think that the product was not produced in the place where it was actually produced.

The purpose of the amendments is to ensure that trademarks correspond to the actual location of the right holder or the place of production of goods that are individualized by the trademark. It is important to note that manufacturers whose trademarks have already been registered before the federal law in question comes into force will not have to bring their trademarks into line with the new rules. This federal law does not contain instructions on the extension of the norms contained in it to legal relations that arose before the entry into force of the law.

Termination of e-sick leave

In May, they will no longer extend electronic sick leave, which could be issued by pensioners over 65 who have official employment. A similar document was drawn up to ensure the self-isolation of older people during the pandemic, who were not transferred to a remote mode of work.

Ivan Samoylenko comments:

“The measure was introduced during the pandemic so that older citizens who are at risk for covid visit hospitals less. Now the measure is canceled due to uselessness, because there is no longer any danger of the spread of covid in the country. And the decision to extend the sick leave for older people who continue to work is still better to be taken by the doctor when examining the patient.

Selling a car through the State Services

From May, a new service on the State Services portal will begin to operate, providing an opportunity for car owners to conclude transactions for the sale of cars in electronic format. Individuals will be able to use the service if they have a used car.

Ivan Samoylenko comments:

“It is becoming more and more convenient to use the State Services, because the service is built on the principle of a “one-stop shop” – a lot of opportunities for citizens and businesses are concentrated on it. The fact that another function will appear – the sale of used cars – will greatly simplify the life of citizens. They do not need to collect a lot of sales documents or provide data to the tax office: this will happen automatically. Data on the sale of cars will be available to the Federal Tax Service, traffic police and other government agencies. But, since the resource accumulates a lot of data about the actions of citizens, moreover, indicating their personal data, the degree of protection at the State Services will most likely have to grow.”