With the advent of the Federal Law "On funded pension" dated December 28, 2013 No. 424-, Russians have the opportunity to increase their retirement savings through a co-financing program. The transition to private pension companies - NPFs - was chosen by more than 12 million people. But not all clients are satisfied with the conditions offered by non-state funds. Many regret their choice and are now worried about how to move from NPFs back to the FIU.
What is a funded pension?
The new pension reform in 2013 allowed citizens to choose whether they intend to invest their pension savings in non-state pension funds or leave them in the insurance part. In the first case, 6% of the employer's transfers will go to the account of a non-governmental financial organization that the client will choose.
In the second option, citizens ’funds will be spent according to the needs of the state regarding the policy of the Pension Fund of Russia. Savings will be distributed to payments to current retirees, social benefits and benefits.
To transfer the funds of the funded part of the pension, the citizen must contact any office of the NPF and write a statement. For registration, a passport and SNILS are required. Transferring a pension from an NPF to a PFR is the reverse procedure.
Why do Russians transfer savings to non-state funds?
Before moving from an NPF to a Pension Fund, clients of non-state funds asked themselves the question: "Why conclude an agreement with a non-state pension organization?"
The transition to a non-state fund has several advantages:
- Investing retirement savings at the NPF rate.
- Inheritance transfer of funds.
- The possibility of combining a compulsory pension insurance agreement (OPS) with another pension co-financing program.
After concluding an OPS agreement, a citizen becomes a client of an NPF. He can control the investment and transfer of funds in his personal account (online).
But not all companies guarantee high interest rates and are reliable. Market leaders, for example, NPF Sberbank, do not differ in the highest interest rates (the fund's return for 2017 was 8.34 per annum). And those companies whose profitability in 2017 exceeded 10% are bankrupt in 75% of cases.
Which is better: PFR or NPF?
When choosing a future, Russians primarily think about their retirement. They are interested in what to choose: large commercial companies (NPF Sberbank, Gazfond, Diamond Autumn and others) or a state fund?
This choice is provided to citizens by the state. Everyone, from the age of 18 to 60, has the right to decide where to send the funded part of the pension.
Do not be afraid: clients of non-governmental funds always have the opportunity to change their company or transfer funds from NPFs to PFR. By law, customers can change their minds no more than once a year. However, it is not recommended to change companies more often than once every 5 years, since when changing one NPF to another, all accrued interest burns out if less than 5 years have passed since the transition.
If a citizen changes his mind and wants to transfer money to a state fund, he should take care of how to return to the PFR from the NPF. The operation is carried out with the same frequency: not more than 1 time per year.
Reasons for termination of the OPS agreement
The most common reasons for leaving a private pension insurance program are:
- Low interest rate (less than 8% per annum).
- Unreliability of the fund (debts on payments to existing retirees, delayed repayment of depositors' funds).
- Negative customer reviews.
- Choosing an alternative retirement plan.
Ways to return funds from a private pension fund
Those who decide to return the funds to the insurance part of the pension want to know how to transfer from the NPF to the PFR. The return scheme consists of several stages and can be carried out in 2 ways.
- Return to the Pension Fund of Russia upon termination of the contract with the NPF.
- Transfer from the FIU branch.
In any of the ways, a citizen is guaranteed to return funds to the insurance part. They differ only in the speed of the service and the order of actions.
How to return funds to the insurance part of the pension through the NPF branch?
One of the options for moving from an NPF to a FIU is to return to a private insurer office. This is possible if the company has the technical ability, that is, managers can send a notification to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.
To return funds to a government organization, you must:
- Come to the office of the NPF with a passport, SNILS and a compulsory pension insurance agreement.
- Fill out an application for the return of a part of the pension to the FIU.
- Get a copy of the application or receipt of documents.
The deadline is 1 year. The application is processed within a month. Upon successful processing, the client receives a notification that his funded part of the pension will be transferred to the Pension Fund.
By law, the final transfer of funds is made at the end of the 1st quarter of the year following the date of writing the application.
What if the funds were not transferred?
Sometimes, when trying to return funds to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, citizens encounter problems. For example, they will receive an SMS alert that an NPF or PFR has refused a transfer.
This may be due to some reasons:
- Incorrectly filled data. When preparing the application, it is recommended to clarify all the questions that arise with the manager of the pension organization for sending documents for processing.
- Divergence of information. This occurs when at the time of the refund the client has changed documents. If new information has not been entered before, it is required to inform the operator. Otherwise, the system will give an error, or filling out the application will be impossible.
- Technical failure. If the money was not transferred during the refund due to an error in the program, the client will receive a notification by mobile phone or a call will be received from an employee of the company.
For any of the above reasons, the client needs to contact the company office again to re-fill the application. If the operation was not performed due to outdated customer data (change of document), then the service execution period will be increased by 30-60 days (depending on the speed of replacing information in the NPF database.
Not all organizations are involved in the return of customer funds. Before deciding to visit a branch, it is recommended to clarify whether it is possible to transfer cash through a branch of a non-state pension fund.
How to transfer pension from NPF to PFR through the Pension Fund of Russia?
The fastest and most affordable way to return to the state fund is to visit the department of the body. Returns are carried out in the same way as when visiting NPFs. The client applies with a passport, SNILS and an OPS agreement, fills out an application. Next, the employee of the FIU draws up an application and issues a form to the citizen indicating the acceptance of documents for processing.
The term of the service is up to 1 year. Funds are transferred to the state fund no later than the end of the 1st quarter of the year following the sending of documents for processing.
When processing documents through the Pension Fund of Russia to the client, after 1-10 days, employees of the FIU call back to confirm his decision. After that, the application is transmitted to the authorized service, which carries out the return of resources to the Pension Fund.
Alternative Pension Fund Returns
Those who actively use the Internet want to know how to go online from an NPF to a PFR online (Gosuslug, website of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation). The State Services website was developed at the initiative of the Government of the Russian Federation taking into account the wishes of millions of Russians. It helps citizens to obtain documents, to sign up for a queue at a kindergarten or to a doctor, as well as arrange the necessary service without leaving home.
But not all types of services and operations are available through the functionality of the Unified State Portal. In particular, it is currently impossible to return the funded part of the pension back to the Pension Fund with the help of State Services. But using the password and login from entering the portal system, customers can go to the Pension Fund website and sign up for an online consultation.
Online translation processing
Currently, there is no online way to transfer a pension from an APF to a PFR. The only option that non-government funds offer clients is the online conclusion of the contract or its termination due to retirement.
When a citizen reaches retirement age, the compulsory pension insurance contract expires and he is paid the accumulated pension. There are 2 options for receiving funds: payment of a lump sum allowance or increase to the main part. In the first case, you must contact the branch of a non-state pension fund and write a statement on the purpose of payment. In the second, it is required to provide data to the Pension Fund of Russia.
The funded part of the pension does not affect the size of the state benefit and is paid independently of it. Clients can find out about the size of the funded part of the pension, taking into account all percentages and allowances from NPFs, by calling the fund’s hotline, in your personal account, or upon request at the company’s office.
How to check the status of the funded part of the pension: options
If a citizen is aware of how to transfer from an NPF to a FIU, or has already written a transfer application, he needs to make sure that his service is successful. There are several ways to do this:
- Through the "State Services". In the section "Pension, allowances and benefits" a citizen can receive an extract on the state of his personal account. The extract shows the company, which is the current insurer of the client: PFR or NPF.
- Through the FIU website. Using the passwords of the Gosuslugi website, a client can obtain information on the website of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation. An extract is provided in the form of a pre-order. A citizen can receive a certificate at any branch of the FIU.
- At the Pension Fund. A passport and SNILS are required for the visit. When visiting the PFR office, a specialist will print out a certificate within a few minutes.
If the client in the "insurer" column sees that he is still a non-state pension fund investor, he can re-write the application for transferring the pension to the Pension Fund. Information may be delayed if less than 6 months have passed since the provision of the service.
A certificate can only be received by a client of a non-governmental company. The exception is cases where the representation of interests is confirmed by relevant documents, for example, a notarized power of attorney. In online mode, only a contributor can order a certificate or transfer to the FIU.