Min: Russia not to raise pensions of working pensioners 2017–2019

GORKI, Moscow Region, Sep 14 (PRIME) -- The Russian government will not increase pension payments of working pensioners in 2017–2019 but it has envisaged a special mechanism for compensation for underpaid pensions after working pensioners retire, Labor and Social Protection Minister Maxim Topilin told reporters Tuesday.

Under the current law, Russia is to raise pension payments to non-working retirees from February 1 of each year by the level of inflation of the previous year. But in 2016, pensions were raised only by 4%, while inflation in 2015 amounted to 12.9%. In August, the government decided to replace the pension adjustment to inflation in 2016 by a one-time 5,000 ruble payment in January 2017.

“This regulation is envisaged by the current law. As you know, we are not increasing pensions of working pensioners from this year, so we have not even discussed this issue because we have the regulation of the current law,” he said when asked about the Finance Ministry’s suggestion to not adjust payments of working pensioners to inflation in 2017–2019.

But these pensioners will receive compensation when they stop working. “So, if the combined indexation for the three years amounted to 15% or 16% and a pensioner works through all these years, they will receive an additional 16% increase after they retire,” he said, adding that the regulation was stipulated in the December 2015 law.

Topilin also said that the January 2017 one-time payment will be made under a schedule that is different from payments of pensions, and the federal budget and the Pension Fund’s budget for 2017 have already envisaged 221.7 billion rubles for that purpose.

(64.8102 rubles – U.S. $1)

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