How will the cost of living of a pensioner be calculated according to the new rules?

It is worth noting the fact that not all citizens, but mostly older people, live in abundance and have all the things necessary for a normal existence. This is directly related to the fact that salaries in the country are not high, pensions are small, and the money received is barely enough to survive. For this reason, such a concept as a living wage was introduced.

It represents the amount of money needed to purchase things, products, and essential medicines. They represent an additional payment to your existing pension or salary. In this article we will look exclusively at the cost of living that pensioners are entitled to in 2019.

What does a pensioner's living wage include?

First you need to understand what the living wage is. This is a certain amount of money paid by the state to unsecured or needy pensioners whose income is below average.

Basically, these funds are used to purchase food, detergents, medicines, as well as those types of services that are needed.

It also consists of two components, namely:

1. Physiological needs are those material items without which it is impossible to imagine the ordinary life of any person. They make up more than 80% of all money allocated for the cost of living.
2. Social needs - it includes a full set of spiritual and mental values.

Important! It is worth noting that the amount of these payments is determined individually for each pensioner, since everyone has a different income. It also all depends on the region of residence of the elderly person.

Who determines the living wage and how?

The subsistence minimum is the approximate amount of a person’s salary in a particular region. In other words, the subsistence minimum is the amount of money on which a person can live for a month in a particular economy.

PM is determined by the authorities of each region. In Moscow and other cities, this indicator is considered for three main categories of citizens:

1. Working population;

2. Pensioners;

3. Children.

After the calculations, the average is determined, which becomes the subsistence level.

PM is used to assess the well-being of citizens, determine the minimum wage, before planning social budget payments to pensioners, disabled people and students.

Thus, the cost of living for Muscovites from January 1, 2019 was 16,260 rubles per person.

Lower limit of PM:

• 18,580 rubles for working citizens;

• 11,505 rubles for pensioners (by age/health);

• 13,938 rubles for children.

What is the cost of living for a pensioner in 2019?

As mentioned earlier, the cost of living depends on many factors and is determined according to several categories, namely:

1. Place of residence of the pensioner.
2. Amount of pension payments.
3. Availability of an additional source of income.

Elena Smirnova

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The main and key factor is still the region in which the elderly person lives. This is due to the fact that each of them has its own salaries and prices.

The cost of living for a pensioner in a constituent entity of the Russian Federation

We present to your attention a table with the regions, as well as the minimum amounts of cash payments that they are entitled to this year.

NLA - A normative legal act, in accordance with which the cost of living of a pensioner in a constituent entity of the Russian Federation is established

Based on the data in the table presented, it is clearly visible that the average cost of living is 8,726 rubles .

How does the cost of living of a pensioner affect the size of the pension?

The first thing that every pensioner should know when applying for a living wage is that its amount directly depends on whether you are working or are an unemployed pensioner. Since in the first case the amount will be 10,573 rubles, and in the second - 8,078, which is significantly lower than the first amount.

Next, we will answer the most common answer regarding the connection between the size of the pension and the cost of living. These two units are in no way connected with each other and have different components. For example, for those whose pension is an amount equal to the minimum, no additional or preferential payments will be provided. And for those who need them, they will be assigned without fail.

General provisions

Both the size of the monthly minimum wage and the size of the “minimum wage” are set strictly per person, the amount is precisely determined for a specific period:

The federal minimum wage is set for a year, the frequency of the regional minimum wage is not established, but usually for a year or two;

PM is approved quarterly, in addition to the indicator for pensioners to determine the amount of social supplement, this PM is also set for a year.

Currently, for the Moscow region, the minimum wage for 2019 is 14,200 rubles and the monthly minimum wage for the 3rd quarter of 2020. The indicator for the 4th quarter of 2020 is expected in February-March next year, and for the 1st quarter of 2020 will be determined closer to the summer.

The minimum wage is set uniformly; the minimum wage differs depending on the citizen’s membership in a specific socio-demographic group. There are three in total:

Working-age citizens (virtually the entire adult population).

Pensioners.

Children.

That is, there is one minimum wage per person, and the minimum wage can be of three different types. In addition, such an indicator as the subsistence minimum per capita is calculated. These provisions are contained in federal laws: Federal Law-82 on the minimum wage and Federal Law-134 on PM.

How is the social supplement to the subsistence level financed?

There are two types of social supplement:

1. Federal surcharge.
2. Regional surcharge.

The only differences between them are that they differ in the sources that provide them with money and the place where they apply for these payments.

Elena Smirnova

Pension lawyer, ready to answer your questions.

Ask me a question

It is also necessary to know that the social supplement is assigned only if the entire income, which consists not only of the pension, but also of other additional payments, is less than the established amount.

It should also be noted that the amount of this additional payment is determined individually for each pensioner, since everyone’s income is different.

What will the new calculation scheme affect?

The size of social supplements for pensioners is related to the level of the cost of living in the region. The social supplement to the pension is not part of it, but is provided as part of state social assistance. The rules for calculating the federal social supplement to pensions came into force on May 26, 2020. According to this document, if the pension is less than the minimum monthly wage in the region, then an increase is paid.

As previously stated by the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, the recalculation of pensions under the new scheme will affect 12% of non-working pensioners. This will require an additional 120 billion rubles in 2019-2024.