Pension in the Far North: principles for calculating residents and the impact of the reform on the retirement age

A significant part of the territory of Russia is located in harsh climatic conditions, where work and living are very difficult.

The working capacity of the working population is lost much faster in the northern regions, therefore the state provides various benefits for such workers, including early retirement.

It is legally determined that the criterion for receiving relief and preferences is work in areas of the Arctic and tundra climatic zones . The latter, depending on the severity of living conditions, are divided into regions of the Far North (KS) and areas equivalent to it (MKS).

Geographically, these include the following regions: Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Tyumen (partially), Tomsk (partially), Irkutsk (partially), Magadan, Amur, Sakhalin (partially) regions; Yakutia, Buryatia (partially), Tyva (partially), Altai Republic, Karelia (partially); certain areas of the Krasnoyarsk, Primorsky, Khabarovsk, Transbaikal Kamchatka Territories, as well as autonomous districts - NAO, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Most of the preferential areas are located in Siberia and the Far East of the country.

Which regions belong to the Far North and equivalent regions?

To begin with, it should be said that this benefit, as well as the reform in the pension sector, which was adopted by the state, does not apply to the entire north. There are also territories that, along with the north, can also claim assigned privileges. Now let’s look at what exactly is included in the territory of the Far North, namely what areas make up this part.

These include such republics as:

Altai (exclusively two regions).
Buryatia (partially).
Karelia (it includes its entire territory).
Komi (as well as Karelia, the entire republic is included in the program).
Sakha (absolutely the entire republic).
Tyva (also completely).

It should be noted that this is only part of the list, which includes all localities, districts and territories to which this pension benefit applies.

Elena Smirnova

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There is also a list of localities that, along with the current list, include benefits for pensioners. Their list includes such regions as Arkhangelsk, Tyumen, Tomsk, Irkutsk, Chita, Amur and Sakhalin regions.

Preferential conditions for pensioners of the Far North

For such citizens as residents of the Far North, the state provides certain types of benefits. This is due to the fact that these people live in extremely difficult conditions and need additional privileges, unlike their fellow citizens living in the central part of the country. Now let’s take a clear look at what benefits regarding retirement conditions are provided for northern pensioners.

These include the following:

Having the right to retire early with a period of five years.
If a woman has two or more children, then she has the right to apply for a pension at the age of 50, provided she has 12 years of work experience.
Indigenous residents of the north have the right to retire without having any work or work experience.

Good to know. The above benefits can only be counted on by those citizens of the north who have fulfilled the special requirements assigned to receive them.

Supplement to pension

According to the latest news, northerners will receive an increased amount of insurance benefits in 2021. The increase is calculated due to an increased fixed payment or an increase in the amount of payments by the established regional coefficient. If you have the right to both ways to increase your pension, the northerner chooses one option at his own discretion. This order will continue in 2021.

The conditions for calculating additional payments differ from each other:

to receive an increased qualified payment, you must have sufficient northern or standard experience;
To receive a supplement based on the regional coefficient, you must live in the regions where it is established.

Supplements for the northern pension will be paid in 2021 if the recipient moves to another area.

Additional payment to the benefit is provided for in Art. 17, FZ-400. You can only receive it for old age or disability insurance benefits. The main condition for accrual is the development of northern experience. Only periods of official employment during which the employer made transfers to the Pension Fund are taken into account. The minimum work experience in the North is 15 years. In this case, the additional payment will be 50% of the insurance pension. In areas equivalent to the North you need to work for 20 years. Then the citizen will receive an increase of 30% of the benefit amount. In both cases, except for the northern one, you need to have sufficient total experience: 20 years for women, 25 for men.

Citizens who have mixed experience, i.e. those who worked in the North and equivalent areas can also receive additional payment. The bonus is calculated according to the following principle: 1 year of work in equal areas is equal to 9 months of employment in the North.

Raising the retirement age for residents of the Far North in 2020

According to a previously adopted decision regarding northern citizens, it was that residents of this territory had the right to retire earlier than residents of other regions. This is due to difficult conditions not only of living, but also of work.

Based on the 2020 reform, it was initially assumed that the retirement age would increase for all residents of the north, regardless of gender. But then it was decided that these changes would not affect the fair sex, and for them everything would remain unchanged.

Important! Following the innovations that will come into force this year, it turns out that citizens are now retiring 5 years later than the previously scheduled date. It follows that men retire at the age of 60, and women at the age of 55.

Thus, the retirement age in this area was increased. But don’t be upset, since there are still reforms ahead regarding pension payments, which are also planned to be increased.

93% of Yamal residents are deciding whether to stay in the North after the pension reform

The State Duma approved special retirement rules for northerners Photo: Vyacheslav Egorov © URA.RU

article from the story

Pension reform in Russia

The Russian State Duma approved new parameters of the pension system, which immediately excited Yugra and Yamal. The northern territories of the Ural Federal District are full of rumors about the abolition of benefits for Russians living in the Arctic zones. Others have heard that benefits have been confirmed, but do not understand what they are. VTsIOM recorded the almost total interest of local residents in the bill. And now that its parameters have been established, “URA.RU” tells: who received benefits and who did not, when the Arctic will be empty and why.

What benefits were left to the small peoples of the North?

For small nations, the retirement age has not changed

Photo: Alexander Kulakovsky © URA.RU

The version proposed by the government for the first reading in the State Duma did not provide for the preservation of benefits for the Ministry of Taxation. This put indigenous peoples on the brink of extinction, declared the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation (headed by State Duma deputy from Yamal Grigory Ledkov). But now benefits for the small peoples of the North have been preserved in full.

The age for receiving a social pension will not be raised and will remain 55 years for men and 50 for women. Representatives of the Ministry of Taxes who are engaged in traditional activities and have worked for at least 25 (men) and 20 (women) years as reindeer herders, fishermen, and hunters receive the right to early insurance retirement at 50 and 45 years, respectively. Provided that they work in the conditions of the Far North or equivalent territories.

The association’s information center noted that they are grateful to President Vladimir Putin for the amendments he introduced to the bill, developed by the association and deputies from the northern regions.

How will they determine who is entitled to such benefits?

In some Arctic regions there is disagreement about who should be classified as the small peoples of the North. Therefore, in the same autumn session, the State Duma will consider the law on the register of the Ministry of Taxes. In Yamal, a similar system is already in place, the district government told URA.RU. The Unified Information System (UIS) includes all information about the small peoples of the North, and also takes into account those who lead a traditional lifestyle, being a reindeer herder, fisherman, and commercial hunter, who are entitled to especially large benefits.

The process of calculating social pensions will not cause difficulties, deputy Eduard Yaungad said on Thursday, September 27, at a meeting of the Yamal Legislative Assembly.

What benefits were left to the residents of the Far North and similar territories?

Retirement table for northerners from 2019

To make it easier to navigate the adopted reforms regarding raising the retirement age for northerners, we present to your attention a table. It contains all the necessary information, as well as at what age retirement is due, and how far forward it is.

Floor	In 2020	In 2020
For men	at the age of 55	at the age of 60
For women	at the age of 50	at the age of 55

Based on this table, you can notice minor changes in the retirement age. Since residents of the north were previously offered early retirement benefits, they are now retiring along with other residents of our country.

Does the minimum “northern” experience change?

The latest news does not foretell changes in 2020 regarding the conditions for length of service that give northerners the right to receive a pension. The following minimum indicators still apply:

15 or 20 years (according to data on the payment of insurance contributions to the Pension Fund) for CS and ISS, respectively;
20 years of “female” or 25 years of “male” total experience;
the set minimum for pension points is approximately 18.6 in 2020 (it will grow by 2.4 points annually until it reaches 30 IPC).

To receive a northern pension, you need to correctly formalize your employment relationship with your employer. For example, for an employee of a division of a company from the Arctic (with the main office located in the capital), the work book must indicate the exact location of the place of work, otherwise it will not be possible to apply for increased benefits or focus on the retirement age for northerners.

If there are not enough years of work to meet the minimum requirements, you can achieve retirement at an earlier age (But in any case, you need more than 10 years of experience in the ISS or 7.5 years in the KS) according to the following scheme:

a full calendar year worked in KS areas allows you to reduce the age standard by 4 months;
years worked in the ISS are reduced to the length of service in the Far North by reducing the first indicator by 25% (since 12 months of work in the ISS is equivalent to 9 months of work for the KS).

Social payments to northern pensioners

This type of payment is provided for those citizens who do not have a certain and required work experience, which is so necessary when applying for a pension. For such citizens, special payments are also provided, which are called social payments.

They do not represent a very large amount, but they will definitely be enough for a pensioner’s living wage.

Elena Smirnova

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This type of payment is also subject to the recently adopted reform, according to which it was decided to increase the retirement age by as much as five years.

Pension for northerners when moving

If a Russian decides to leave cold regions and move to warm regions, then the pension subsidy is recalculated. The amount of experience and individual coefficients remain the same, and regional increasing indicators taken into account when living in a certain region are reset and calculated based on the coefficients applied at the new place of residence. To receive pension payments in a new place without delay or delay, proceed as follows:

apply for transfer of the subsidy to the Pension Fund at your new place of residence;
achieve immediate registration and reclaiming of the pension file from the region of previous residence;
provide a package of documents - a passport with a registration mark, SNILS, other papers;
receive recalculated funds.

Pension indexation for pensioners of the Far North in 2020

This year, a decision was also made to index pension payments for northerners. These changes are directly related to extremely difficult working conditions. For this reason, the state decided to increase the size of the pension. Now let's look at how much the pension will increase in 2020.

To begin with, it is worth noting that these additional recalculations of payments will apply exclusively to working pensioners. If you have no work experience, you will be entitled to social benefits.

As for payments, their amount will directly depend on the amount of insurance contributions that you made while not yet a pensioner. And accordingly, the larger this amount, the greater the increase in your pension. For this reason, indexation is carried out on an individual basis, and for each pensioner it amounts to a different amount of accrual.

Documents for calculating pension increases for northerners in 2020

When calculating the pensions of northerners in 2020, a factor such as length of service is taken into account: it also includes the time spent on training or serving in the army. Moreover, the region of residence of an individual plays an important role, since it is legally assigned a certain coefficient. Despite the slightly confusing calculation scheme, such changes guarantee one or another addition not only to old age benefits, but also to disability benefits or in the event of the loss of a breadwinner. You should only take into account that the amount of the subsidy cannot be more than three minimum pensions.

However, due to the increase in pensions for northerners in 2020, the amount of state support is:

7200 rubles – for those whose age is less than 80 years, and these persons do not have any relatives to support them;
14,400 rubles – for citizens who have 1st group of disability or their age has reached 80 years, but they do not provide for other individuals;
9,600 rubles – if at least one dependent is in the care of a northerner who has not yet turned 80 years old;
16,800 rubles – if a person is already 80 years old and must support a close relative.

To receive payments in such amounts, you must provide the following to the Pension Fund:

a document that will confirm the person’s identity - age and place of residence must be indicated;
papers documenting the availability of relevant work and northern experience;
documents that will indicate that the individual is supported by certain citizens;
additionally - a document confirming registration of place of residence, and a document confirming a change of name (if this fact occurred).

An application written to the Pension Fund is considered within 10 days. If a positive decision on accrual is made, the first payment will be made for the month in which the individual submitted the documents. This cash grant must be provided monthly and indefinitely.