Labour migrants from Armenia to receive Russian pensions

Russia will begin to pay pensions to migrant workers from the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union  – a transnational body operating under its auspices, including: Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

According to the bill, migrant labourers will receive a pension from the country in which they worked and made contributions to the pension fund.  Now a percentage of the wages of migrant workers goes to the pension fund of Russia, but they do not receive a pension.

 How pensions will be paid

Labor migrants from countries that are members of the Eurasian Economic Union will be able to receive self-remuneration payments according to a mechanism called “export of pensions”.

The basic principle is that the pension will follow the pensioner.  That is, in the event that a pensioner moves to another country of the Eurasian Union, the pension granted in one of the member states will “follow” him.

For example, if a migrant from Armenia at the time of attaining retirement age is entitled to an old-age pension in Russia, then even when he returns to Armenia, Russia will continue to pay him.

But the agreement will not act retroactively.  The first assignment of an old-age pension to a citizen who has moved from one country of the Eurasian Union to another will be possible no earlier than 2020. 

The situation today

Currently, the country in which a person lives permanently, assigns and pays a pension regardless of his or her citizenship.

At the same time, countries in the EAEU have different size of pension contributions from wages.  For example, in Belarus the contribution is 29%, in Russia it is 22%, in Kazakhstan and Armenia it is 10% each, and in Kyrgyzstan there is no fixed rate.

How much will the Russian agreement cost?

Additional expenses of the Pension Fund of Russia in 2020-2021 will amount to 166 million rubles, that is, approximately 2.5 million dollars.

This amount will consist of pensions due to residents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – including those who continue to live in Russia.  This amount, according to the calculations of the Ministry of Labor of Russia, includes pensions, which will be paid to Russian citizens who, after the appointment of the pension, will move to live in other EEU countries. Over time, this amount will increase, as contributions to the pension fund, which will be received after the signing of the agreement, will accumulate.

More numbers

According to the report of the Eurasian Economic Commission, the largest number of migrant workers in the Eurasian Economic Union is in Russia, where the salary level is teh highest. According to the report of the commission “Social and demographic indicators”, the average wage is:

•  Russia: $695;
•  Kazakhstan: $471;
•  Belarus: $470;
•  Armenia: $358, and;
•  Kyrgyzstan: $236.