How will the work of the Pension Fund offices change from March 30?

The salaries of pension fund workers in 2020 will increase by 15% - this became obvious back in 2020, when the amount of the state budget was announced. It must be taken into account that a pledged amount of such a value implies a significant excess of the average wages in Russia by 2 times.

Almost every Russian is aware of the fact of the budget deficit, which is reported annually by press services from bureaucratic offices.

To reduce the deficit, budget funds are being optimized, which affects every second citizen. Here's what the optimization is:

• the fact that some part of Russian pensioners do not have their pensions indexed;
• in the “freezing” of salaries and the temporary impossibility of increasing them;
• in staff reductions, which means layoffs.

In the process of the notorious optimization, budgetary funds are distributed unevenly: government funding often passes by those who needed it most. There is no need to talk about fairness in resolving such issues: there will always be those dissatisfied with the decision made.

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Average salary in Russia

Table: wages in the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation in various regions in 2019-2020.

The salary of employees of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, according to them, does not exceed 27 thousand rubles per month on average.

This information differs from that announced by representatives of financial departments involved in planning the state budget. It is necessary to understand the following questions:

• what is the salary of Pension Fund employees;
• how much does it actually cost the state to maintain Pension Fund specialists (in numbers);
• how costs are rising.

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Increase in expenses for Pension Fund employees

The stated plans of the Pension Fund include increasing the costs of maintaining its specialists. In numbers it looks like this: from 78.7 billion rubles in 2020 to 83 billion in 2020. The increase in expenses for the Pension Fund apparatus looks strange, especially against the background that the state is acutely short of funds for indexation of pensions.

Journalists from well-known media calculated:

1. If we assume that 12 thousand rubles is the average pension, then the salary increase for employees of the pension department will cost 358 (!) thousand pensions.
2. The calculated amount could allow supporting more than 30 thousand pensioners. And this number does not take into account the fact that many receive a pension much less than the average.
3. Full indexation of pensions by increasing funding for pension fund workers is impossible, but fairness to those in greater need would be more likely.

On our website you can find out about the amount of pensions in countries around the world and in European countries.

Trends in salary increases for PF employees look like this:

1. The average salary increase should be closer to 5.5%.
2. The real increase in income is much higher, since the Pension Fund apparatus is threatened with numerous cuts: about 10% of employees will be laid off.
3. The cost of maintaining an ordinary PF employee should be about 57 thousand rubles (before staff reductions). In 2020, the expense was slightly lower - 54 thousand rubles monthly. Where does the difference go if ordinary specialists claim that their salary is 27 thousand rubles? Unanswered question.
4. In the event of a one-time staff reduction, the maintenance of 1 PF specialist will reach almost 63 thousand rubles.

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What else is included in the maintenance of employees of the Pension Fund

Such large expenses imply not only the salary (in total, it is about 40 billion rubles) that employees receive, but also the following points:

1. Formation of insurance premiums that the Pension Fund pays for its subordinates to insurance funds. It follows from this that the state not only provides income to employees, but also their future pensions, which the Pension Fund itself will then pay to its employees of retirement age. The amount of these insurance contributions is 30% of the salary, which is about 8 thousand rubles (based on the average salary of 27 thousand rubles). Thus, the formation of pensions for Pension Fund employees additionally takes 11.5 billion rubles from the state.
2. The remaining 30 billion, requested from the state budget by the department, disappears in an unknown direction, since the specific necessary expenses have not been presented. Perhaps it’s because of high bonuses or expensive business trips, which department heads do not disdain. An analysis by Life.ru journalists of travel statements of PF employees demonstrated that even middle-level management employees consider it normal to buy tickets costing 100-200 thousand rubles at the expense of the fund.
3. Some more expenses of the Pension Fund in numbers:

• outreach activities - 185 million rubles;
• construction purchases, acquisition and rental of real estate - more than 14 billion rubles, in many cases (50%) the amounts were greatly exaggerated.

Number of Pension Fund employees per 1 million pensioners in Russia, USA and Sweden

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Staff reduction

The staff of the Pension Fund throughout the country includes about 121,670 people. A global reduction in the Fund’s staff occurred in 2020 due to the fact that the Government drew attention to the exorbitant and senseless costs of maintaining the Pension Fund.

Such expenses included not only the cost of paying employees, but also the maintenance of buildings, on which no expense was spared. It was decided to reduce staff, increase salaries for the remaining employees, and transfer some of the Foundation’s buildings to centers where citizens of pre-retirement age will be trained in new professions.

The Pension Fund of Russia includes such divisions as financial, economic and legal departments, a department for social payments and personnel.

The most common position in the Pension Fund is a pension specialist. Such a person works with clients and advises them. Constant interaction with citizens is his main task. Consequently, all applicants for such a position must have the necessary level of communication skills, respect, politeness and, of course, a high level of stress resistance.

How are pension fund expenses growing?

It is important to note that in Russia the ban on increasing the salaries of officials has not yet been lifted and even extended. How does this fit in with the above? The question is rhetorical.

A few more interesting facts about the Pension Fund: the Pension Fund has the status of an extra-budgetary institution, and therefore its employees are not formally officials, which means that the moratorium on salary increases has nothing to do with their salaries.

Pay attention to the video: the salary level of Pension Fund officials.

The department must be self-sufficient and autonomous, and also support its employees at its own expense.

1. The money that the Pension Fund generates independently, which is about 3.5 trillion rubles, is not even enough to pay the necessary pensions.
2. Due to the fact that the Fund is not able to ensure its own self-sufficiency, 40% of all expenses of the pension department in the amount of 3.2 trillion are borne by the state. The mistake is in ineffective spending of the funds that he can generate on his own. And pensioners who are deprived of indexation pay for these mistakes.
3. The wages of ordinary employees of the pension department are set and, accordingly, increased at the level of all federal structures to which the ban on salary increases applies. Therefore, the salaries of employees in the Pension Fund will remain the same as last year 2020, despite the fact that more than enough additional funds have been allocated. This is a paradox in Russian.

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Qualities for applicants

Who is best suited to work in a pension fund?

Feedback from employees suggests that the following characteristics are required:

1. Stress resistance. Behind this word, which is so often used by applicants for any position in principle, lies the ability to maintain a straight face and at the same time a friendly expression, no matter who you happen to communicate with. Working in a pension fund involves daily communication, not only with colleagues, but most often with potential buyers, it is no coincidence that the image of a grouchy elderly man is hidden. If you work in the non-governmental sector, then get ready for objections and ridicule in response to the offer of a service. The ability not to lose face and not burst into tears due to rudeness is what is fundamental in the work of state and non-state pension funds.

2. Competent speech. You may not have a higher education, but it is very important to be able to competently and clearly explain everything about the quality of the product, especially for employees of non-state pension funds. Your salary depends on how well you can present your product. The point about competent speech includes persuasiveness and the ability to negotiate.

3. Putting your career above personal relationships and family. Working at a pension fund involves long hours, and non-state pension funds pay their efficient employees who are willing to stay at work late. If you plan to leave the office no later than 17:00, then this job is not for you.

Salary increase

Some senators and representatives of the Union of Pensioners of Russia believe that increasing the salaries of Pension Fund employees in 2020 would be completely justified, since the burden on the Fund’s employees is constantly growing: despite the fact that control of social contributions is no longer their prerogative, they continue to administer a lot of other payments (in addition to pensions).

An example of spending the budget of the Russian Pension Fund on its own needs

For example, voluntary contributions to insurance and funded pensions, social benefits, maternity capital. It would be fair if increased expenses for the Pension Fund also meant an increase in employee salaries - this is the opinion of many interviewed by Life.ru journalists.

Professional responsibilities and work characteristics

Today, the Pension Fund employs more than 110 thousand people. The vast majority of employees are women. The list of positions in the Pension Fund is fixed by the Resolution of the Board of the Pension Fund in 2014. The list is quite impressive, so it is difficult to describe the responsibilities for each position.

The following categories of PF employees can be distinguished:

1. Management.
2. Executive Directorate.
3. Audit committee.
4. Territorial authorities.

Working in a Pension Fund requires employees to

The following activities are organized in the fund's branches: