A decent pension should be around 40,000 rubles per month (USD 630), according to a recent poll in Russia. By the way, a median wage in Russia is just 34 thousand rubles (USD 540), according to the official statistics.
Decent life in retirement: How much money do you need?
One would be able to live decently on USD 630 a month, a poll by Superjob revealed. To live decently, this is the amount one would require, RBC.ru reported.
The majority of Russians don’t believe that pension will be the major source of income for them in their senior years. 29% of respondents think they would still have to work, while 14% of participants hope to make enough personal savings to finance their lifestyle. Only 22% of survey participants think that pension will be their major source of income in old age.
Russian women are happy with less
Males and females have different expectations, when it comes to the amount needed to live decently.
- Russian males think they would need 42 thousand rubles (USD 658).
- Russian women think they will be living well enough on 37,5 thousand rubles (USD 587).
Russian women in the survey indicated they would be happier with a lower monthly benefit than what males desire to get in retirement.
Older people want more
The younger respondents were wishing for lesser income in retirement than the more mature generation.
- People aged 24 and under desire the payout by age of 32,600 rub (USD 510).
- The group aged 45+ wants on average 43,000 rub (USD 673).
In October 2019 the government of Russia proposed to introduce a self-funding retirement scheme for local seniors. At the moment, only a government-funded pension is available for Russian retirees.
Last year the Russian government raised pension age for men and women by 5 years: From 55 to 60 for women and from 60 to 55 for men.
In many regions, the average life expectancy of Russian males is lower than the newly adopted pension age.
Statistics on average pensions in Russia (1999-2017). The highest real social benefits for retirees by age were achieved in 2013, when pensioners were getting on average USD 315 monthly. Then the economic crisis that followed Crimea takeover and sanctions against Russia hit the most vulnerable, via the galloping inflation and drop in the real income. The size of nominal benefits in RUB kept growing, but it was still 25% lower in USD in 2017, as compared to 2013.
Average pension in Russia
The reality, however, is far from the hopes. In 2017 the average benefits for retirees in Russia was only 14,075 rub ($235), according to VesBiz.ru.
The region where the retiree lives determines how much a person is getting as a payout by age: It is linked to the sustenance level in the given region. In some regions, it is only 9,000 RUB per month (USD 141), while in others it is 15,000 RUB (USD 236).
Moscow residents have special local benefits and recently got an increase. From September 2019 the minimum pension in Moscow is 19,500 RUB (USD 307). So, even the richest Russian pensioners get only 1/2 of what a decent pension should be, according to the poll.
In the meantime, the bottom 10% of wage earners in Russia receive a pay check of 12,000 rubles per month. They have to work full time to earn this amount. The median monthly wage in Russia is USD 540.
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“In the meantime, the bottom 10% of wage earners in Russia receive a pay check of 12,000 rubles per month.”
Top pensioners should not get more than workers.
Workers must make fundations in life, like get a home, create a family, raise children.