Workers who work in the service of their country in different structures - these are civil servants. Their pension is calculated and accrued in a special way. What does seniority pension mean? How does it come out and what can a public servant count on?
Draft Law on Pensions for Civil Servants
In October 2015, a bill was approved regarding the retirement age of civil servants, that is, workers who can expect a retirement pension. It talked about increasing the minimum age for retirement from 60 to 65 years.
It is worth noting that the entire reform will take place gradually, that is, the age will not be increased immediately for receiving a pension by civil servants. Every year there will be an “increase” for six months, and after 10 years, age will be set at the planned mark.
Also, a public servant will be able to hold office only until the age of 70. Then the contract with him will be terminated unilaterally. And if an employee retired and after some time returned to the civil service again, then pension payments are “frozen”.
Change in pensions for civil servants in 2017
This year, nevertheless, the reform began to take effect, and already in 2017 there was the first increase in the minimum age for pensioners working in the public service.
Interestingly, the latest law on pensions for civil servants states that the increased retirement age of civil servants is 65 years for men and 63 years for women, although previously it was planned not to divide workers by gender.
In addition, some more amendments were made. They concern not only ordinary civil servants, but also employees of the State Duma and the Federation Council.
The draft law on pensions for civil servants provided for an increase in the minimum period of service for increasing the insurance part of the pension for employees of the State Duma and the Federation Council from one to five years. And in 2017, this amendment entered into force.
Also, in order to receive a full-fledged pension for seniority, now civil servants will need to work for at least 15 years, but 20 years. However, this period will increase gradually.
How is the length of service pension calculated?
Pension payments of public servants consist of two parts:
- long service pension;
- additional parts, for example, disability pension (if any).
The length of service is determined by the average wage of the last period when a civil servant worked. The Law on Pension for Civil Servants establishes a minimum amount of pension payments in the amount of 45% of the average salary of an employee of state bodies. At the same time, a person must have a total experience of at least 15 years in such bodies, and the mandatory insurance part of the pension is included in these 45%.
It is worth noting that to calculate the size of the pension for civil servants they do not take into account the labor activity that was after dismissal from state bodies, as well as the activity of caring for elderly people (over 80 years old) and for disabled dependents.
After 15 years of service, the minimum wage for civil servants begins to increase by 3% per year. That is, a person who has worked in state bodies for 16 years can apply for a pension for long service in the amount of 48% of his average earnings in the service. The "ceiling" of the pension is 75%.
Changes regarding insurance payout
Any pensioner who receives a pension for length of service can count on the insurance part, but some changes occurred in this system two years ago.
So, the insurance share is allocated from the pension capital and the period in which these payments are supposed to be made. It is interesting that both the State Duma and the Federation Council, as well as ordinary civil servants, are related to this system. Pension, or rather the amount of pension capital, is calculated for the entire worked period, that is, from the first day of employment to the last.
It is also worth considering that if a civil servant after reaching retirement age continues to work in the same place, the amount of his capital will increase, which, of course, is reflected in the amount of the insurance part of pension payments.
Since 2015, when calculating the insurance part, they began to take into account parental leave for children under 1.5 years of age, but not more than 4.5 years for all labor activities. Previously, such holidays were not taken into account.
Retirement
After reaching retirement age, so far 55 years for women and 60 for men, a public service employee has the right to leave for legal rest. Of course, a pensioner can continue to work further, but not all civil servants can count on this. Pension, length of service are two concepts that complement each other, and the amount of payments in old age directly depends on the amount of time worked.
An increase in the retirement age has so far been provided only for officials who receive a pension for length of service. Such measures are aimed at saving budget funds, as well as at stabilizing the pension system. If such measures are justified, then soon the retirement age will begin to increase for the rest of the working population.
Is it realistic to retire for seniority ahead of schedule?
Despite the fact that the Russian government decided to increase the retirement age of civil servants, the benefits that allow a person to retire ahead of schedule have retained their strength. For example, preferential pension for civil servants in Russia is retained for workers in the Far North and similar regions.
It must be recalled that people working in the "northern" conditions are entitled to retire and receive payments five years earlier than the other population of the Russian Federation due to the unfavorable climate.
It is worth noting that so far no preferential increases have occurred, but it is assumed that even for “northerners” in the future, the retirement age will increase to 55 years for women and 60 for men. Retirement age growth is also expected to occur gradually.
Benefits and other benefits
The seniority pension is accrued to officials only if they have reached a certain age, and a certain length of service has been worked out. Payments themselves come from the state, regional or municipal budget (depending on what structure the organization belongs to).
So what else can civil servants count on? Pension, according to the law, for officials can consist of only one part: for length of service or insurance.
However, if an employee of state bodies worked after leaving the civil service in a simple enterprise, and at that time deductions were made to the FIU, then he has the right to receive two parts of the pension right away.
Also, the insurance part is paid in the presence of a disability pension of a former official. Otherwise, a person will receive only pension payments for length of service.
Is it realistic to get a surcharge?
The main surcharge of pensioners-civil servants is an additional increase in payments in the amount of one average salary, which is taken over the last 10 years of work experience.
To understand what kind of privileges former officials have, it is worth considering the situation on the example of pensioners from the civil service in Moscow who receive supplements to pensions for civil servants:
- monthly, a pensioner who was in the public service can count on a supplement to the regular part of the pension in the amount of 50-80% of the average salary;
- preservation and receipt of all state guarantees;
- a person receiving a seniority pension has the right to medical care, like all members of his family;
- the provision of free sanatorium vouchers or monetary compensation for them;
- reimbursement of the burial cost of a deceased pensioner who received a seniority pension.
It is worth noting that the size of surcharges and their selection for retirement is very dependent on the region, since this issue is controlled by the authorities at the regional level.
Long-service pension in practice
First, it should be noted that despite the fact that at first glance it may seem that the pension charges of officials are high, this is not entirely true. For a long time, pensions were really meager. Payment for length of service was sometimes several times less than insurance. That is why, before, many civil servants refused their municipal pension in favor of the one paid by the FIU.
Today the situation has stabilized, but the adopted law on increasing the retirement age of working civil servants again reduces the interest of the population in municipal service to almost zero. In addition, people are often repelled by the complicated system of accruing pension for the length of service in comparison with the usual insurance.