Head of the Department of Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Polotsk District Executive Committee on Legislative Innovations in the Field of Social Support

Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No. 402 "On Social Support", which abolishes restrictions on the size of pensions for working pensioners.

Svetlana Kasyanova, Head of the Department of Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Polotsk District Executive Committee, comments on legislative innovations, as well as changes that await Belarusians:

"The decree provides for several measures of social support.

Removal of the restriction on the amount of pensions for working pensionersNow for elderly Belarusians, an individual earnings coefficient (IPC) is applied. Working pensioners who have it above 1.3 do not receive a pension in full. According to the new law, this restriction is canceled. From January 1, 2025, the pension will be paid in full, which not only increases pension payments, but also creates an incentive to continue working as long as possible.

Extension of the deadline for filing an application for a pensionThe right to apply is introduced both one month before the right to a pension arises and within one month after the emergence of this right. If this period is met, the pension will be assigned from the date of the right to it. With a later date of application, the pension will be assigned from the date of applying for it.

The procedure for collecting documents on earnings forcalculating pensions is simplified The decree fixes a 30-year period for calculating the individual earnings coefficient. Further annual increase in this period is stopped in order to gradually transition to confirmation of earnings only by the data of individual (personalized) accounting of the social protection fund (conducted since 2003), without citizens submitting "paper" certificates of earnings.A certificate of earnings is issued by the employer (his successor or archive). However, if the documents have not been preserved, when assigning a pension, earnings for such work are taken into account with a zero value (which reduces the amount of the pension). An employee can establish earnings only in court.In order to protect the interests of citizens in such situations and to reduce the burden on the courts, the decree provides for the right of the employee not to take into account ("skip") when calculating the individual earnings coefficient the periods of work where the documents have not been preserved, and to replace them with earlier periods where the documents are available.

At the same time, if a citizen has an actual length of service, for which there is information about earnings, 30 years or less, this procedure for determining earnings does not apply.

Additional categories of citizens have been introduced who can receive a pension by mail (including home delivery).

These are disabled people of group III; persons with limited ability to move independently (functional class III and above); caring for a disabled child under the age of 18 and receiving benefits for caring for this disabled child; registered at their place of residence in the same residential building with a disabled person of group I receiving a pension through a postal service facility connections; pensioners who reach the age of 70 before  January 1, 2025

Other categories of pensioners will also be able, if desired, to transfer pension payments from the bank to the post office, provided that they ay for pension payment services at their own expense (at established tariffs).

Additional support for families with disabledchildren In the event of the death of one of the parents,The decree grants the right to an early retirement pension to fathers of disabled children (disabled since childhood) who have raised a child on their own, without the participation of the mother. Today, such a paternity pension can be granted only after the child's mother has formed the right to this pension and renounced it in favor of the father or did not have time to exercise her right due to death.

An early pension in lieu of the mother will be assigned to the father when he reaches the age of 58, subject to confirmation of the fact of raising a disabled child for at least 8 years before his majority, work experience of at least 25 years, of which at least 5 years of work with the payment of insurance contributions (insurance period).

For women with four children

From January 1, 2025, for women who have given birth to four children and raised them up to the age of 8, the insurance period for the assignment of an old-age pension is reduced from 10 years to 5 years, as provided for women with five or more children.