Passions for retirement age

Scam of the century?
Is there a hole in the Pension FundNikita Krichevsky, AIF No. 43-2010

Recently, VTsIOM published the results of a survey on the attitude of Russians to their retirement future. The results were disappointing: in 2010, the proportion of those dissatisfied with upcoming pensions was 77%, whereas in 2006 their share was only 3% more. People are not convinced by indexing, compensation, or valorization. If we add to this the talk about the deficit of pension funds, raising the retirement age and reducing the number of payers of pension contributions, then the picture really turns out to be sad. And yet do not rush to get upset. It's not that bad.

Is there a shortage?Strictly speaking, there is no budget deficit of the Pension Fund of Russia (PFR).

Moreover, in 2011, the FIU's revenues will exceed expenses by 7.6%. However, this is achieved through financial assistance from the treasury. According to the July projections of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, in 2011 the total amount of state transfers will amount to almost 2.2 trillion rubles, or 40.9% of all Fund revenues.

At first glance, this is a frightening figure, especially considering that 20.7% of the federal budget will be allocated for financial support of the FIU. However, upon closer examination, it turns out that of the 2.2 trillion rubles missing for full retirement happiness, almost 1.5 trillion are intended for the fulfillment of state social obligations. For example, monthly cash payments, maternity capital funds, social support for Heroes, or payment for travel of retired Northerners to and from the place of rest.

How do such expenses relate to pension provision? No way, it's just that at one time our "superpower" state dropped these and other calculations with the people from its "energy" shoulders onto the clay torso of the FIU, making the latter a kind of New Russian "sobes". Hence the drawn deficit. By the way, in 2011, the lack of funds of the FIU for direct payments of labor pensions will amount to a maximum of 180.3 billion rubles, or only 3.4% of the Fund's income. It is not clear why officials tell horror stories about the lack of money in the pension system.

However, one of the goals of the lamentation of the state bureaucracy seems obvious. This is an increase in the retirement age. They say that the deficit of funds of the FIU is so great that soon we will all work day and night exclusively for pensioners.

However, this is what officials who are poorly versed in the current pension mechanism say. The existing system for calculating labor pensions is based on dividing the amount of pension capital (listed contributions) by the expected payment period, now equal to 19 years. Well, they will raise our retirement age, we will work longer, therefore, accumulate the same capital, as a result, the average size of our future pensions, and, consequently, the expenses of the FIU, will only increase. How much? According to the calculations of one of the heads of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, Yu.Voronina, by 30%!

Now about life expectancy. In terms of life expectancy at birth, we are in 162nd place out of 224 states! Last year, the average life expectancy for men was 62 years, for women - 74 years. In turn, men who reached retirement age, on average, lived up to 74 years, and women – up to 78 years. And what if we first create highly effective healthcare and improve the quality of people's lives, and then raise the retirement age? Or are we going to put the cart ahead of the horse again?

Besides, in this case, abroad is really not a decree for us. Firstly, many states have pension accrual schemes that differ from ours, depending solely on seniority and earnings, and in some places pensions are paid directly from the state budget. Secondly, "they" are raising the retirement age gradually, and not like today in France – with a butt on the head. Thirdly, in developed countries, a significant share of pension payments is made up of non-state pension savings, thanks to which in the West it is already normal to receive part of a pension early, for example, from the age of 40-45.

If we really focus on abroad, then not on the problem of raising the retirement age, but on the development of non-state pension provision. Our non–state pension funds (NPFs) are orphans with living parents. On the one hand, "long" money, so necessary for the economy, is accumulated in NPFs, and corporate, professional or individual pension programs can bring payments comparable to "official" pensions.

But on the other hand, the state still does not make efforts to develop this area: tax legislation is such that it is more expensive to save for retirement, there are no state guarantees of savings, unlike the banking sector, and business voluntarily refuses to show social responsibility. What to do?

Simple solutionsThere are several simple ways that can relieve the severity of the pension problem.

First of all, it is necessary to strengthen control over the transfer of pension contributions by employers. Unfortunately, receiving "white" earnings does not guarantee equivalent payments to the FIU yet. It is necessary to establish that in the settlement sheet, which is issued on hand when receiving a salary, not only income items or the amount of the approach tax should be indicated, but also the amount of mandatory social contributions.

Further, it makes sense to amend the Labor Code, according to which each organization should have its own corporate co-financing program for future pensions (a similar practice has long existed in the West). At the same time, the amount of deductions should be determined individually at each enterprise, depending on financial capabilities.

It is necessary to simplify the procedure for the transition of "silent" from VEB to NPFs, in which both the profitability is higher and the terms of cooperation are more transparent. It would be correct, by analogy with banks, to extend state guarantees to the pension savings of citizens with a parallel tightening of supervision over the activities of NPFs.

Finally, it is worth thinking about the abolition of the upper limit of payment of insurance pension contributions, equal to 415 thousand rubles this year. Assumptions about the departure of earnings into the "shadow" are untenable: there are not boundless "dashing 90s" in the yard, and it is unlikely that the management of large companies will be interested in "piquant" communication with the tax authorities.

In general, in order for Russia not to be associated with a militarized society, we need to immediately start modernizing the pension system. If, of course, the talk of modernization itself is still relevant.

The current retirement age established by lawA country

 Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru27.10.2010