Professor Safonov: “The state deceived itself: people continued to work, but received their salaries in envelopes”
From February 1, 2025, pension indexation for working pensioners in Russia will resume. Vladimir Putin announced this to stormy and prolonged applause during his speech at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
As the president emphasized, the issue of indexation for working pensioners is long overdue, and the country has resources. He instructed United Russia to prepare a bill and pass it this session.
There are about 8.1 million working pensioners in Russia. The indexation of payments to them was frozen in 2016 under the pretext of social justice. They say that those who work already receive much more than those who do not work. Why widen this income gap?
In all subsequent years, politicians and public figures offered different indexation schemes to workers. The government, however, had a short answer: the sources of funding were not indicated.
Now they have appeared?
“The president’s initiative is beneficial not only for working pensioners, but also for the state itself,” says Alexander Safonov, a professor at the Financial University under the Russian Government. – Recently, many people have left the labor market for one simple reason – so that their old-age payments are indexed annually. This also explains the emerging shortage of experienced workers in the country. Some staff are leaving, although they may still be working. Others move into the “gray zone”: they continue to work, but receive their salaries in envelopes and do not pay any taxes on them. The state is losing huge sums. I believe that the Ministry of Finance decided to play “openly.”
— A pensioner who receives money in an envelope does not pay any taxes – neither to the Social Fund, nor to the compulsory health insurance fund… And this, for a second, is 30% of the wage fund. Plus another 13% — income tax. This amount significantly covers the costs that the state would incur if a working pensioner had his pension indexed annually.
— Let's do the math. Let’s say a working pensioner receives a salary of 30 thousand rubles per month. If his pension were indexed, the increase per month would average 800 rubles, that is, the state must pay 10 thousand rubles per year. Now let's see how much it loses. Only from non-payment to the Social Fund — 40%, that is, 12 thousand rubles per month, and more than 140 thousand rubles per year. Compare these figures.
— Let me put it mildly: strict cost savings have led to the fact that the budget loses more from these savings than it gains. It is impossible to fight shadow unemployment and wages in envelopes.
— Naturally, such a recalculation will be made.