Who retires on pension in 2022 and under what conditions pension benefits will be assigned

    In 2022, the pension qualification age will increase and the pension insurance record required for the assignment of pension benefits will rise. At the end of 2021, the average old-age pension for a non-employed pensioner after the latest adjustment in September amounts to BYN 545.

    About 2.4 million people get various types of pension benefits in Belarus.

    The minimum total length of service that guarantees the right to a pension benefit on a general basis upon reaching the established pension qualification age is:

    • 25 years old – for men
    • 20 years old – for women.

    According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, with the maximum length of service and earnings set for calculating pension benefits (length of service of at least 45 years – for men, 40 years – for women, and an individual earnings ratio of 5.0 and above), the old-age pension benefit for a non-employed pensioner amounts to about BYN 924.

    Conditions for assigning pension benefits in 2022

    The old-age labour pension will be assigned to citizens who have reached the generally established pension qualification age with the required pension insurance record.

    The generally established pension qualification age in 2022 will be:

    • 63 years old – for men;
    • 58 years old – for women.

    Accordingly, the right to pension benefits will arise for:

    • men born in 1959 (II half of the year);
    • women born in 1964 (II half of the year).

    “Young” pensioners will get the right to pension benefits in the second half of 2022.

    The old-age labour pension benefit will be assigned if a person has reached pension insurance record, which includes periods of employment with the payment of mandatory insurance contributions to the Social Security Fund.

    The pension insurance record in 2022 will be 18 years 6 months. It will rise annually by 6 months until it reaches 20 years in 2025.

    There are categories of recipients of old-age labour pensions for whom the pension insurance record is 5 years (for example, lifelong disabled person, I and II categories) or 10 years (for example, mothers of four children).

    As a reminder, an increase in the pension qualification age by 3 years for men and women started on January 1, 2017; in 2022, the level set by the pension reform will be achieved. There are no plans to raise it further. The transitional period will also end, its feature was the validity of the requirements for the pension qualification age and length of service during the calendar year (from January 1 till December 31) for which they are provided. For pensioners, the date of applying for a pension benefit was very essential.

    For example, if a woman gets the right to a pension benefit in December 2021 (she has reached the generally established pension qualification age of 57 years 6 months in December with the pension insurance record required to assign a pension benefit in 2021 (18 years)), however, she applies to the authority for labour, employment and social protection for a pension in January 2022, then the new requirements for the pension qualification age and pension insurance record, effective from January 1, 2022 (58 years and 18 years 6 months, respectively), will be applied to determine her right to a pension benefit.

    The period from the earnings for which the pension benefit is calculated will also be increased annually by 1 year. In 2022, the pension benefit will be calculated based on earnings for the last 28 consecutive years of employment.

    Guarantees for employees at pre-retirement age

    Employment contracts with pre-retirement age employees will be concluded and prolonged according to general rules. However, labour legislation provides for guarantees for those who have only two years before reaching the pension qualification age – employees at pre-retirement age.

    Employment contracts concluded with such employees will be prolonged (new ones will be concluded) taking into account the generally established pension qualification age determined for the corresponding calendar year.

    The employment contract with an employee at pre-retirement age will be prolonged (a new one will be concluded) provided that the employee performs the work in good faith, without violating production and technological discipline as well as performance and labour discipline. Then, in accordance with Art. 261-5 of the Labour Code, the employer, with the consent of the employee, is bound with the obligation to prolong the employment contract or to conclude a new contract with this employee for a period until he/she reaches the generally established (in the current year) pension qualification age. The two circumstances – discipline and age – shall apply jointly. This means that disciplinary punishment or legal penalties (for example, disqualification for bonus / bonus reduction) release the employer from the obligation to prolong the employment contract with the pre-retiree.

    The pre-retirement age in 2022 will be:

    • 61 years old – for men;
    • 56 years old – for women.

    As for the termination of the employment contract, then, upon reaching the retirement age, the employee has the right require termination of employment at any time, and in this case he/she himself can determine the date of his/her retirement and indicate it in the application. Order on employment termination at the request of the employee in connection with reaching the pension qualification age (old-age pension) shall refer to clause 3 of Part 2 of Art. 35 of the Labour Code (but not to Art. 41 of the Labour Code).

    28.12.2021