Each person, going to a well-deserved retirement, hopes to get a decent monetary security in old age, which will be enough to maintain a good standard of living. But as we can see in real life, our plans are one thing, and the plans and financial capabilities of the state are completely different.
All the same categories of citizens receive pensions in Belarus as in other countries. The size of payments depends on both the length of service and the position held. But in general, the average pension in the country is approximately the same, and seniors rarely receive much more than others.
At what age do they retire in Belarus?
A pensioner is a person who has reached the retirement age established by law and who is entitled to pension payments.
Until recently, the retirement age in Belarus was 60 years for men and 55 years for women. But a couple of years ago, the law was amended, and now men go on well-deserved rest at 63 years old, and women at 58 years old. That is, the retirement age was increased by three years.
It is worth noting that the transition was made smoothly, and people of pre-retirement age were able to retire not at this age, but earlier.
The size of the average pension in the country
At the end of 2017, the average pension in Belarus amounted to 314 rubles, with pension payments varying slightly depending on the region. The largest pensions are received in the capital - 316 Belarusian rubles, and the lowest in the Brest region - 299 rubles. In other areas, the average pension fluctuates within these amounts.
It should be noted that the average pension in the country exceeds approximately 2.1 times the cost of living that is established by law for pensioners. But in practice it often turns out differently when a real pension is enough only for the most necessary. However, this problem is typical for many CIS countries!
As for social pensions, they, again, are the highest in Minsk and average 217 rubles, and the lowest social pensions in the Gomel region - 174 rubles.
Indexation of pensions
As in any other country, pension payments are regularly recalculated for inflation. In Belarus, pensions are recounted at least once a year, and often more often. The last time the recalculation was carried out on February 1, 2018. Both labor and social benefits were increased.
All calculations are carried out taking into account the established living wage, which makes it possible to take into account the real need of people to increase their income. So, for pensioners over 80 years old, in the last recalculation, allowances were made in the amount of 45 rubles, which is almost 25% of the average pension.
How much is the dollar equivalent?
For those who are not familiar with the current exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble against the dollar, it can be difficult to figure out what is the minimum pension in Belarus in dollars. But to do this is simple - divide any of the above amount by two, and you will get an approximate figure in dollars. The average exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble is 1.96 - 2 rubles to 1 dollar, and has not increased much since the zeroing of the money.
We see that labor pensions in Belarus on average amount to $ 155, and social pensions - $ 100. The minimum pension is 182 rubles or 90 dollars.
Seniority allowances
Those who are just going to join the ranks of retirees are often interested in the question of what will be the size of the pension in Belarus with the experience of 30 years or more. And this moment is noted in the legislation - if the length of service exceeds 35 years (for men) and 30 years (for women) for each full year of work there will be a bonus of 1% of the average payment, but not lower than the minimum threshold prescribed by law.
The number of pensioners in the country
We all know that pension payments are taken from the tax established for workers and paid to the pension fund. But here there are nuances that can directly affect the size of the pension in Belarus.
Ideally, it is considered that at least 4 employees should be employed per pensioner. But due to the decrease in population in both Russia and Belarus, this simple rule has long been violated. And if in Russia additional funds for pension payments can be taken from income from the sale of natural resources, then in Belarus everything is more complicated - it does not have these resources.
Now in Belarus there are 2 million 593.7 thousand pensioners, and this despite the fact that the total number of inhabitants of the country does not exceed 10 million people. And from this number it is still necessary to take away children, students and workers in the public sector, then we will get a tangible financial burden on every able-bodied citizen of the country.
And the saddest thing is that the number of retirees will steadily increase, and the number of working-age population will decline. The reason for this imbalance rests on demography, and until the problem of reducing birth rates is resolved, there is no need to talk about a change in the situation in pension payments.
Pension compared to neighbors
If we conduct a comparative analysis of the income level of pensioners in Russia and Belarus, then the latter noticeably lose in this. So, the average pension in the Russian Federation in terms of Belarusian rubles is 430 rubles, and this is much higher than the Belarusians receive. Although it is also worth taking into account regional differences, in many parts of Russia, pension payments are comparable to pensions in Belarus.
But in comparison with Ukraine, the incomes of Belarusian pensioners look positive - there the average pension in terms of the Belarusian currency is 140 rubles. Well, in comparison with Russia, the incomes of Ukrainian pensioners look very miserable.
If we compare pensions with pensions in Western Europe or the United States, then all three countries are very losing.