Retirement age is legally called the number of years determined by the state, after which citizens of the country constitutionally receive the right to regular payments from the budget of the republic, called pension benefits.
Age pensions are financed by the republican budget. The government obliges employers and employees to pay contributions to the Social Security Fund throughout their careers. For hired workers this figure is 1% of their earnings, for managers - 28%.
At the beginning of April 2020, state leader A. Lukashenko signed a decree providing for an increase in the retirement age threshold by 6 months annually from 01/01/2017 to 01/01/2022. It follows that the age for receiving pension benefits will be 63 years for men and 58 for women.
It is important to know that the date of application to the regulatory agency also determines the date of enrollment in government support.
Table of access to Persia in the Republic of Belarus, women
Date of birth Date of retirement Retirement age, years01.01 - 30.06.196201.07 - 31.12.201755.501.07 - 31.12.196201.07 - 31.12.20185601.01 - 30.06.196301.07 - 31.12.201956.5 01.07 - 31.12.196301.07 - 31.12.20205701.01 - 30.06 .196401.07 - 12/31/202157,501.07 - 12/31/1964 and younger 01/07 - 12/31/202258
Subtleties of registering a pension
Pension payments are not assigned automatically. A Belarusian must submit an application to the authority for labor, employment and social protection of citizens. The employer (for employed Belarusians) or the applicant himself must complete and submit the required papers.
The list of papers that will be required depends on the type of pension provision. Documents that confirm work experience and income are considered common.
Documents that prove identity, age, residence address, and citizenship are considered to be:
- Belarusian passport – for citizens of Belarus;
- passport of a foreign citizen, residence permit - for foreigners and stateless persons;
- birth certificate, passport - for children who have not reached the age of sixteen.
The following documents may need to be attached to the application:
- representation of the employer (for employed Belarusians);
- employment history;
- military ID;
- papers confirming that the applicant is studying full-time;
- children's birth certificates;
- an extract confirming that the applicant was on maternity leave for a certain period;
- an extract confirming that the applicant received unemployment benefits for a certain period.
Important! In addition, you will need papers that confirm your salary data. If pension provision is assigned in the current year, you will need to prepare salary certificates for the previous 24 years of work.
There is no need to provide salary certificates for periods of work that took place after 01/01/2003. This is due to the fact that when individual accounting was introduced, information about these periods began to be confirmed by a certificate from the citizen’s personal account. It is issued by the Federal Social Protection Fund. The request for this document is carried out by the social security authority, to which the citizen submits an application for registration of pension payments.
Pensions in Belarus, as in many other countries of the world, are divided into different types. What they have in common is that their size depends on the duration of certain periods in a citizen’s life (work activity, military service). An exception is pensions provided upon fulfillment of any requirements (disabled status, loss of a breadwinner).
Table of access to Persia in the Republic of Belarus, men
Date of birth Date of retirement Retirement age, years01.01 - 30.06.195701.07 - 31.12.201750.501.07 - 31.12.195701.07 - 31.12.20186101.01 - 30.06.195801.07 - 31.12.201961.5 01.07 - 31.12.195801.07 - 31.12.20206201.01 - 30.06 .195901.07 - 12/31/202162,501.07 - 12/31/1959 and younger07/1 - 12/31/202263Additional benefits from the state in Belarus
The list of all benefits for recipients of pension payments looks like this:
- there is no requirement to pay taxes on real estate that belongs to a citizen (if people of working age do not live in it);
- for procedures related to the work of a notary, you need to pay only 50 percent of the state fee;
- During the summer season , from May 1 to September 30, the price of tickets for commuter trains and buses, as well as for water transport, is halved.
A citizen can use the benefit if he declares his own right. In order to buy tickets at a reduced price, you must show your ID to the conductor. To receive benefits for paying for electricity and gas, you must contact the organization that supplies these resources with an identification card and other documents.
Certain benefits are not intended for all pension recipients, but only for some groups of them. These include:
- labor veterans;
- former law enforcement officers;
- persons who participated in the Great Patriotic War;
- people who eliminated the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster;
- people with disabilities.
These categories of Belarusians are partially or completely exempt from paying for utilities and have the right to undergo health procedures free of charge.
In 2020, some of the previously existing benefits were canceled or replaced with pension supplements.
So, now retirees:
- pay taxes on interest on deposits;
- pay taxes on lottery winnings;
- pay a state fee for permitting a car to operate and for technical inspection;
- cannot buy tickets on public transport in cities at a reduced price.
If the lottery winnings are not personal, then no tax is required to be paid, in accordance with subparagraph 17 of paragraph 2 of Article 153 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus. If the winnings are personal, that is, to receive it you need to provide a passport, you must pay income tax. The amount of this tax is 4 percent of the amount won.
Reference! Some organizations issue internal decrees under which pensioners can receive additional benefits for goods or services. The law does not oblige companies to provide benefits to citizens of retirement age, so you should not be surprised if pensioners can buy goods at a reduced price in one store, but not in another.
When is it time to retire?
Born in:
- in the first half of 1962, women and the first half of 1957, men retired at 55.5 and 60.5 years, respectively;
- in the second half of 1962, women and the second half of 1957, men retired at 56 and 61 years old, respectively;
- in the first half of 1963, women and the first half of 1958, men retired at 56.5 and 61.5 years, respectively;
- in the second half of 1963, women and the second half of 1958, men retired at 57 and 62 years old, respectively;
- in the first half of 1964, women and the first half of 1959, men retired at 57.5 and 62.5 years, respectively;
- in the second half of 1964, women and the second half of 1959, men retired at 58 and 63 years old, respectively.
“Even those who don’t like it agree”
The Belarusian authorities took a decision that was extremely unpopular in the post-Soviet space. Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic Natalya Kochanova stated on national television a fundamental decision has been made to raise the retirement age in the country by three years.
The decision was made after a recent meeting with the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko , dedicated to improving the pension system. Following the meeting the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Marianna Shchetkina said that the most acceptable option was a gradual increase, in six-month increments, starting from January 1, 2020, of the retirement age by three years.
According to officials, this measure was the most lenient of those put forward for discussion. “People understand that today the number of pensioners at a retirement age like ours is growing at a very fast pace. Our pension fund is not growing, and today we already have to finance the pension fund from the budget. Pensions cannot be reduced. Just as it is impossible to increase taxes or social contributions, payments to these social funds. Therefore, we cannot escape from making appropriate decisions,” Lukashenko said at the meeting. According to him, “even those who don’t like it” now agree to such a measure.
Related article Tax on pensions? What reforms is the Ministry of Finance preparing?
Retirement age in the world
In addition to the Republic of Belarus, the following states are planning to increase the pension threshold in the near future:
- Russian Federation, where raising the age for both sexes to 65 is being discussed;
- Kazakhstan, which plans to equalize the age for women with men (63 years) from 2020;
- the United States of America, where the threshold may increase from 65 to 69 years;
- Estonia, where in 2026 the age will be 65 for everyone.
The reason for the initiation of reforms for the countries of the former Soviet Union is considered to be the demographic crisis of the 1990s, which led to a decrease in the birth rate.
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Who is entitled to a labor pension?
In Belarus you can receive either a labor or social pension. The size of the labor pension is significantly higher than the social pension; to receive it you must:
- reach the age established by law;
- have work experience - 20 years for women, 25 years for men;
- develop the insurance period specified by law.
The insurance period is the period during which a person paid contributions to the Pension Fund (the accounting department of the employer company handles the corresponding deductions from the salary). It may also include the time during which the citizen was engaged in activities defined by law.
Do not confuse the concepts of labor and insurance experience. In the first case we are talking about a broader concept; the amount of the labor pension may depend on it, but only the insurance period gives the right to receive it. In other words, if you have enough work experience, but not enough insurance, you will only receive a social pension. It is assigned later than labor: for men from 65 years of age, for women from 60 years of age. Its size is 50% of the subsistence level, now it is 123.39 rubles.
The following are the types of activities that are included in the length of service, but are not included in the insurance:
- military service;
- care for persons who need it: an elderly person over 80 years old, a disabled person, a disabled child;
- full-time education at secondary educational institutions and universities;
- maternity leave;
- receiving unemployment benefits.
Until 2013, Belarus had a relatively short period of insurance coverage—5 years. However, it further increased: from 2014 - to 10 years, a year later - to 15 years. Currently, the insurance period is 17.5 years, but by 2025, after a gradual and gradual increase (by six months annually), it will reach 20 years.
The situation with the neighbors
In Japan, the USA, and most European countries, people of both sexes retire at the same age, which in different countries is in the range of 60-65 years.
In Russia, economic authorities are carrying out a reform that began in 2019 and will last until 2028. As a result, the retirement age will rise to 65 and 60 years (this applies to the male and female population, respectively). These are the indicators today in Poland, where in 2020 the retirement age was sharply lowered (before that it was 67 years for everyone).
The Baltic states are currently undergoing pension reform, which will end in Estonia and Lithuania in 2026, and in Latvia one year earlier. Citizens of these countries will begin to retire at 65.
| A country | Men | Women |
| Germany | 65-67 | 65-67 |
| Poland | 65-67 | 60-67 |
| Finland | 62-68 | 62-68 |
| Sweden | 61-67 | 61-67 |
| Italy | 57-65 | 57-65 |
| Norway | 67 | 67 |
| Austria | 65 | 60 |
| Belgium | 65 | 65 |
| Great Britain | 65 | 65 |
| Georgia | 65 | 60 |
| Spain | 65 | 65 |
| Canada | 65 | 65 |
| Cyprus | 65 | 65 |
| Latvia | 65 | 65 |
| Luxembourg | 65 | 65 |
| Netherlands | 65 | 65 |
| Portugal | 65 | 65 |
| USA | 65 | 65 |
| Croatia | 65 | 60 |
| Switzerland | 65 | 64 |
| Japan | 65 | 65 |
| Macedonia | 64 | 62 |
| Montenegro | 64 | 59 |
| Armenia | 63 | 63 |
| Bulgaria | 63 | 60 |
| Kazakhstan | 63 | 58 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 63 | 58 |
| Slovenia | 63 | 61 |
| Estonia | 63 | 61 |
| Azerbaijan | 63 | 58 |
| Lithuania | 63 | 60 |
| Hungary | 62 | 62 |
| Moldova | 62 | 57 |
| Slovakia | 62 | 55-59 |
| Czech | 61 years 10 months | 56-60 |
| Russia | 60 | 55 |
| China | 60 | 50-55 |
| Ukraine | 60 | 55 |
| France | 60 | 60 |
In all states carrying out pension reforms, the main reasons for innovation are the rapid growth in the number of aging populations compared to the number of working-age citizens. In ex-Soviet countries, this is usually a direct consequence of the demographic failure of the 1990s, which caused a decline in the birth rate.
Law
Is it possible to cancel a gift agreement in Belarus?
“My father, a citizen of Belarus, gave his nephew an apartment in Minsk in the hope that he would take care of him in his old age. This was a family decision, since I have been a citizen of Russia for a long time, live in the Far East and do not have the opportunity to look after my dad. However, I recently learned that the one who was obliged to take care of his father is doing it very poorly. Is it possible under Belarusian legislation to cancel a gift agreement? Anna, Khabarovsk.”
As Elena Titlova, a lawyer at the legal consultation in the Pervomaisky district of Minsk, explains about this situation, termination of a gift agreement is possible only by agreement of the parties or in court, if there are grounds. This, for example. The donor has the right to cancel the donation if the donee has made an attempt on his life, the life of one of his family members or close relatives, or has intentionally caused bodily harm to the donor. In case of intentional deprivation of life of the donor by the donee, the right to demand in court the cancellation of the donation belongs to the heirs of the donor. The gift agreement may also stipulate the donor's right to cancel the gift if he survives the donee. Unfortunately, there are no other reasons.
