Experts explained what additional payments await veterans in the last month of spring
In the last month of spring, pensioners will receive increased payments. True, not all — but quite a lot. In May, as many as 5 categories of elderly Russians will be able to receive an increased pension: those who celebrated their 80th birthday, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, trustees of disabled relatives who decided to leave work for a well-deserved rest, as well as former pilots and miners. Experts told MK which of them and by how much exactly the payments will be increased.
In May, increased pensions will be paid to those Russians who celebrated their anniversary in April — they turned 80 years old. Those who have reached this age limit are entitled to an additional payment of one hundred percent of the fixed part of the pension. In 2024, this amount is 8134 rubles 88 kopecks.
Also, the fixed payment will be doubled for elderly people who received group I disability in April. Moreover, the fixed payment is doubled only on one of these two grounds. That is, if a person’s pension was increased when he received the first disability group, then the second time, when he reaches 80 years old, it will no longer be increased.
It is important that the Social (former Pension) Fund of Russia draws up This additional payment is automatic; there is no need to apply anywhere.
According to Candidate of Economic Sciences Mark Goikhman, an analyst at the Capital Skills Financial Academy, Russian citizens who have reached the age of 80 are approximately 4% of the country’s population. “To support them additionally financially is a noble goal,” the expert believes. “After all, due to age-related health problems and, as a rule, difficult life circumstances, they actually have, on average, less income and often higher expenses compared to even more «young» pensioners.»
In May, those elderly Russians who have disabled relatives — children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters under 18 years old — can also apply for an additional payment to their pension in May. If these relatives are full-time students, then the additional payment will be accrued until they turn 23.
The additional payment for one relative in care is a third of the fixed pension payment; if there are two dependents, the amount of the additional payment will be doubled. If a pensioner has three or more people to support, the additional payment will be higher than one hundred percent of the fixed payment.
This type of additional payment is issued when a pension is assigned. However, if an elderly person began to care for disabled relatives later, then he needs to submit an application to the Social Fund to increase his pension. To confirm the right to payment, he will be asked for a number of documents. For example, a child’s birth certificate or marriage certificate, a certificate from the place of study. Accordingly, from May this type of payment will go to those elderly who took out guardianship in April.
An increased pension in May will also be received by those elderly people who worked after receiving a pension, but who ultimately decided to retire. In Russia, since 2016, there has been a moratorium on indexation of pensions for working pensioners. However, after dismissal, their payments are immediately increased, and the size of the increase takes into account all missed indexations.
Pensions are recalculated from the 1st day of the month following the month of dismissal. The Social Fund does this automatically; you do not need to submit an application for this. However, the recalculation itself takes time; this process takes 2-3 months. At the same time, no matter how long the recalculation takes, the money will not be lost during this period. When the recalculation is made, pensioners will be credited with the difference between the new and previous pensions for the entire waiting period. Thus, in May, those elderly Russians who quit their jobs around the end of winter 2024 will be able to receive an increased pension.
In May, the monthly pension supplement will be recalculated for former civil aviation flight crew members and ex-coal industry workers. These payments are due to them by law, in connection with harmful, dangerous, stressful and difficult working conditions. The additional payment is formed from the funds that employers transfer for these employees during their working career.
By law, the amount of payments to these two categories of pensioners is adjusted four times a year — February 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1 . The pension supplement is individual for everyone. It depends on the average monthly earnings and length of service, which gives the right to additional payment.
“We are talking about targeted surcharges,” clarifies economist Andrei Loboda, director of communications at BitRiver. “The surcharge is assigned based on a certain length of service as a member of the flight crew. For men it is 25 years, for women — 20 years. At the same time, it is important to remember that retirement should be from the position that has the corresponding right to a bonus.” The expert drew special attention to the importance of additional payments to former miners. In his opinion, they are designed, first of all, for residents of new regions of the Russian Federation — in particular, Donbass, known throughout the world for its coal mines. Therefore, this will be a good addition for pensioners of the DPR and LPR, who devoted their working youth to coal mining, Andrei Loboda believes. He adds that for miners, work experience is also required for such an additional payment — for workers in underground and open-pit mining and those employed in the construction of mines — 25 years or from 20 years — as workers in the leading professions of the industry.
Traditionally, by May 9, all participants and disabled people of the Great Patriotic War receive a one-time payment. The amount of payments changes annually and in each region it depends on the category of citizen. As a rule, 10 thousand rubles are transferred to such pensioners in May. At least in recent years, this practice has been widespread. Also, some regions themselves establish such payments in addition to federal ones. Payments are transferred to citizens through branches of the Social Fund in the way they chose to receive pensions: to a bank card, to a post office or to a bank account
“Additional payments to pensioners before the May holidays is a very important and expected measure support from the state,” says Andrei Loboda, “It’s no secret that many citizens in this category are just waiting for the holidays, largely not for the sake of weeding the beds, but for the sake of receiving an increase in payments.” The expert explains this by the fact that pensioners, especially those in the age category that belongs to WWII veterans, are the most socially vulnerable group of the population, which, despite all the efforts of the authorities, may experience financial difficulties due to lack of funds to live.
As for the amounts of a one-time payment for Victory Day, they, according to the expert, are quite significant for the elderly: this is a good financial help, in fact, the 13th pension for someone. “And the fact that veterans of the Great Patriotic War will receive this payment is more than justified, given their services to the country,” the economist concludes.