If the pension is less than the cost of living, where to go? Federal Law "On State Social Assistance". Social protection authorities

Under the subsistence minimum experts mean a certain amount of income of citizens, affecting the material standard of living. It is a valuation of the consumer basket, and also takes into account the monthly fees and payments necessary to pay.

People who have a long work experience and decent wages, hope for good financial support in old age. It is even more offensive if in the future the expectations were not met, and the amount of accrued payments is unfairly small. If a citizen believes that his pension is lower than expected, then the situation can be challenged, and not only in pre-trial, but also in court.

Despite the fact that going to court is an extreme measure, many pensioners practice this way of protecting their own violated rights. And often succeed. If the pension is less than the subsistence level, where to apply and what legal grounds for such an appeal exist, we will consider further in the article. But at the same time, it is imperative to make sure that your calculations are correct, so that later, in the event of unreliability of the evidence to be proved, you should not face dirt. We will analyze all possible options.

How to double-check pension accrual?

In most cases, it is very difficult for an ordinary citizen to independently manage the calculation of a pension, especially since the algorithm is constantly changing. Why is the pension less than the subsistence minimum, and what should I do if there is any doubt about the accuracy of determining the size of the pension?

The following procedure has been adopted:

1. A citizen makes a statement addressed to the head of the PFR body with a request to recount the amount of the established pension benefit. Employees of the PF are required to familiarize themselves with the result of the audit in writing no later than 5 days from the registered date of receipt of the application.
2. In case of disagreement of the citizen with the answer received, you can apply with a claim to the higher authorities of the Pension Fund.
3. If no response is received at these instances - or in case of refusal - the pensioner can send a statement to the prosecutor with a request to verify the work of the Pension Fund.
4. If all the measures taken have not worked, it makes sense to contact a qualified lawyer and continue to defend your innocence in court.

List of documents required for a recalculation request

The application for checking the correctness of the calculation of pension payments is accompanied by a certain list of documents that allows you to certify the rights of the applicant:

• passport;
• SNILS;
• certificate from the FIU.

The appeal can be sent through the official website of the FIU or by mail with attached copies of the above documents.

The procedure for contesting the amount of pension provision

Based on the results of the audit, the applicant should receive a document indicating all the calculation parameters in terms of calculating the pension benefit. The parameters include the following:

• length of service;
• the number of pension points at the time of calculation;
• individual retirement account status).

The subject of the dispute, as a rule, is the following errors:

• lack of documents to confirm the northern experience;
• the period of caring for children under 1.5 years is not taken into account;
• activity in hazardous production is not taken into account;
• incorrect calculation of insurance experience.

Mistakes made by PF employees are a rare occurrence, but they do occur. If, after determining the reasons why a small pension is awarded, PF employees refuse to recalculate and the pension is less than the subsistence minimum, what should I do? First you need to make sure that all methods of pre-trial protection of your own interests have been exhausted, after which the pensioner will have to defend his rights in court.

Arbitrage practice

To confirm their innocence in the trial, it is important to attract witnesses or submit documents confirming gaps in the calculations (work in the now closed enterprise, lost time period, etc.). If it is difficult for a citizen to calculate the accruals on his own, you can use the help of a pension affairs specialist. A pensioner submits a complaint according to the relevant model, in which it is necessary to indicate:

• personal data;
• residential address, registration address;
• information about the representative of the plaintiff;
• description of the problem.

The complaint must be accompanied by correspondence and answers received from the authorities during the pre-trial proceedings.

How to increase the amount of pension?

In order not to bring the matter to court and not to find out where to go if the pension is less than the subsistence level, care should be taken about the amount of future savings in advance. If in Soviet times when calculating pensions, the main role was played by seniority, today the size of insurance premiums paid by the employer and the amount of wages prevail.

First of all, during the working period, you need to strive to get an official salary. Unfortunately, every fourth salary today is calculated according to gray schemes. This is the main reason that a person receives a pension less than originally calculated.

Participation in investment projects

The second way to remedy the situation could be participation in a variety of investment projects, for example, in a private pension fund program or co-financing. An action algorithm explaining where to apply if the pension is less than the subsistence level is described in detail below.

The third option is based on the rejection of pension payments upon reaching a certain age for the period of continued employment. However, this option may be of interest only to people with high salaries. Most retirees prefer to save some money for the future, having two sources of income at the same time.

Reasons for reducing pension

An unplanned reduction in the size of payments, not taking into account indexation, is a reason to seek clarification from the Pension Fund. Erroneous charges in the form of an increase in the amount will subsequently be withdrawn in one amount, which can be a rather unpleasant surprise for a pensioner.

There are several reasons for reducing payments:

1. If there are no complaints from the PF towards the pensioner, then there may be a malfunction in the banking system. This is clarified by the institution making pension payments.
2. Donation of part of the income in the process of enforcement proceedings to write off debts.
3. When signing a loan agreement, a certain amount of funds may be debited from the pension account.
4. Detection during the audit of inaccurate information about wages or length of service.

How to increase the pension to a living wage?

The Russian state has assumed responsibility for maintaining the income of Russians whose pension level is below the subsistence level. This socially unprotected group includes not only pensioners, but also people of working age.

According to the norms of the Federal Law "On State Social Assistance", there are some rules. Let's consider them in more detail. For example, pensioners are entitled to social supplements to a pension up to a living wage if their size is less. This takes into account the total income of a particular person. It is formed from social benefits and pensions. If after all calculations the pension is not less than the subsistence level, the law does not regulate such payments.

Revenues controlled by social security authorities

In accordance with the amendments to the Federal Law "On State Social Assistance", the concept of social supplements to pensions appeared. When calculating compensation, social protection authorities calculate the total income of each pensioner who has declared himself.

The following are subject to summation:

• all types of social income (funded, insurance);
• copayments which are supposed for privileged categories of citizens;
• EDV, which are assigned to certain persons (WWII veterans, people with disabilities, heroes of the USSR and Russia);
• cash subsidies that compensate pensioners' expenses for housing and communal services, telephone communications, travel.

Is a pension below the cost of living acceptable?

As follows from the speech of Anton Drozdov (head of the FIU) of January 17, 2019, in accordance with guaranteeing insurance obligations, it is not permissible to have a pension below the subsistence level of a particular region. For this, both federal and regional social supplements for pensions are provided. More than 5 million pensioners today receive such surcharges.

This year, regional and state subsidies will be allocated from the PFR budget to about 70 regions of the country. The PMP index is determined quarterly, however, for the introduction of social subsidies, the size is set once a year.

If the amount of the pension is less than the subsistence level, what to do is important to find out in advance.

When are pension supplements prescribed?

In order to receive social co-payments, certain requirements are established, and quite strict:

• pensioner's residence on the territory of the Russian Federation;
• the recipient does not work;
• the amount of the pension is less than the established PMP for the citizen's region of residence.

Federal social payments by social protection authorities are assigned in the following situations:

• The total income of a pensioner is lower than the adopted PMP indicator for the region.
• The regional value of the PMP is less than the index for Russia.

The subsistence level of a pensioner in the Russian Federation for the first quarter of 2019 is 8 583 rubles.

How to apply for social benefits?

In the process of applying for social benefits, which equalizes the pensioner's income to the PMP indicator, a person needs to contact the local PF unit with the following list of documents:

• pension certificate or certificate from the PF;
• SNILS;
• passport;
• document certifying the termination of work.

And where to go if the pension is less than the subsistence level, after collecting all the necessary documents? It should be noted that the main condition for receiving social co-payments is the absence of any paid activity that brings additional income to the pensioner. This circumstance is a direct basis for refusing to receive additional payments, even if the total income does not reach the cost of living.

It must be added that the federal surcharge must be formalized in the PFR branch, and the regional surcharge must be made in the territorial body of social protection of the population.