Not only years of work are counted in pensionable service: even days without pay can "work" toward a pension.

      otvprim.tv

      When it comes to pensions, most people understand "length of service" to mean years of employment during which insurance contributions were paid. However, as State Duma deputy Alexey Govyrin told RT in an interview, the legislation also takes into account other life periods that can be credited to the insurance record when calculating the pension.

      Which life events can be included in the record

      Pension legislation includes in the record not only years of work but also special life stages. It is important that there be at least one minimal period of employment with payment of insurance contributions between them, both before and after. Such life periods may include: conscript service and service equated to it; time spent on sick leave (receipt of temporary disability benefits); caring for a child up to one and a half years old (for each child separately, but no more than six years in total); caring for a person with Group I disability, a child with a disability, or a person over 80 years old; receipt of unemployment benefits; participation in public works; relocation at the direction of the employment service; living with a spouse who is a military servicemember in places where employment is not possible (no more than five years).

      How pension points are accrued for these periods

      Counted periods not only increase the insurance record but also affect the accrual of pension points (pension coefficients). For example, if a person cared for a person with Group I disability, a child with a disability, or a person over 80 years old, 1.8 points are accrued for each full year of care. If it concerns children up to one and a half years old, then: for the first child 1.8 points per year; for the second — 3.6 points; for the third and fourth — 5.4 points. For care lasting less than a year, points are accrued proportionally to the time. These points are added to those a person earns for actual employment but do not replace them.

      Limitations on duration and application

      Although such periods are included in the overall insurance record, they do not increase the "long-service" requirement needed for early retirement. For men this is 42 years, for women — 37 years. Thus, childcare, military service and care for incapacitated persons are not counted when calculating long-service for early retirement, although they are taken into account when calculating the standard old-age pension. This may affect the right to early retirement: two people of the same age and with the same insurance record may be in different situations if one of them has more non-insurance periods.

      How to confirm these periods

      In order for such periods to be counted, supporting documents must be provided. Some information is received automatically through state registers such as the registry office (ZAGS), the employment service or medical and social expertise. However, for older periods or in disputed cases documentary confirmation may be required. Such documents include: birth certificates of children; study certificates to extend dependent status; medical conclusions and MSE certificates; military documents; certificates of cohabitation with a spouse who is a servicemember. An application can be submitted to the client service of the Social Fund of Russia, through an MFC or electronically via the Gosuslugi portal. This approach allows for accounting of periods during which a person did not work officially but which were relevant to the formation of their pension rights.

      The role of such periods for future pension

      Knowing that not all life periods not related to employment can be counted in the record gives citizens the opportunity to use provisions of the law that may affect future pension accruals. This is especially important if there are periods of caring for children or incapacitated persons that can increase the pension amount. Such stretches of life can significantly affect the final amount of pension payments, and properly prepared documents will allow people to use them to improve their pension conditions. Timely submission of the necessary certificates and applications will help increase the transparency and efficiency of the pension assignment process.

      Azalia Urazbayeva

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