Sixty cadres: indexation of pensions encouraged the elderly to look for work
The return of pension indexation for working pensioners from January 2025 stimulated elderly Russians to look for a job. In 2024, the number of job seekers over 60 increased by a quarter, according to hh.ru analysts. The main reason, as before, is the acceleration of inflation, due to which the state benefit is not enough. However, the employers' demand for older employees has doubled: they require less salary, but have more experience. How the influx of the elderly in the labor market affects the economy and whether they will take away jobs from young people - in the material of "Izvestia".
How in 2025 indexed pensions for working pensioners
In Russia last year sharply increased the number of job seekers of pre-retirement and elderly age. The number of resumes of citizens 51-60 years old compared to 2023 increased by 13% - from 2.6 to 2.9 million. And those who want to work professionals over 61 years old became a quarter more - 500 thousand people, calculated for "Izvestia" in hh.ru.
One of the reasons for the increased activity of pensioners in the labor market is the expectation that from 2025 indexation of payments to working senior citizens will be resumed, explained Ludmila Ivanova-Shvets, associate professor of the basic department of the TPA "Human Resource Management" at the Plekhanov Russian Economic University. The measure prompted people to come out of the "shadow", who in recent years worked informally and received increased funds from the state as unemployed. Now they can get an official job but not lose their pension increase.
From 2016 to 2024 inclusive, old-age insurance pensions in Russia were indexed only for non-working citizens. The employed elderly received an insurance payment and a fixed amount to it without taking into account the planned increases. In the middle of last year, the authorities decided to resume indexation of pensions for the employed.
Working pensioners began to index payments according to the same rules as those who are not employed. In 2025, both those and others have already been raised twice - by 7.3% in January and by 2.2% in February.
To calculate the size of the increase, the pension that could have been received taking into account all the missed increases from 2016 to 2024 is taken as a base.
In general, the main reason for older citizens to go out to work, both in past years and now, is to provide themselves with a more familiar standard of living. The fact is that the average state payment for old age in the Russian Federation amounted to not such a large sum - 24 thousand per month in 2024, recalled Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
- Inflation last year officially amounted to 9.5%. At the same time, it usually outpaces the general one among pensioners, as their consumer basket contains a higher share of food products and health care costs, and last year food prices rose faster than the official price growth index," added Olga Belenkaya, head of macroeconomic analysis at Finam.
"Izvestia" sent a request to the Ministry of Labor with a request to explain the growth in the number of elderly job seekers.
How to get a job for pensioners
According to hh.ru, the demand for older people in the market is actively growing - in 2024 it doubled. Such dynamics - the highest among other age groups, calculated in the recruiting company. For comparison, applicants aged 14-18 years began to be invited to a vacancy only one third more often, and young people cohort 18-30 years - 1.5 times. The company did not provide absolute figures on the number of vacancies for these groups.
- In the last 20 years there was age discrimination in the labor market, albeit hidden. Most companies hired young, flexible and at the same time experienced employees. But it turned out that there was a catastrophic shortage of them, and the age limit began to gradually increase," explained Lyudmila Ivanova-Shvets from Plekhanov Russian Economic University.
Often employers have even begun to prefer more experienced workers, especially when it comes to positions requiring specific skills or knowledge, said Tatiana Ushkats, an expert from the PFUR Economics Department.
The demand for older workers will inevitably grow, as many vacancies with low wages, unfavorable working conditions and in non-prestigious professions do not entice young people, said Alexander Safonov, a professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. Here plays a role and the difference between generations: zoomers make a choice in favor of a balance of life and work.
According to statistics hh.ru, last year elderly job seekers were most often invited to vacancies in the fields of security, agriculture and manufacturing, as well as in domestic and service personnel.
At the same time, Russians of retirement age request salaries below the national average - women expect 50 thousand rubles, and men - 80 thousand. According to Rosstat, the average salary in Russia in October 2024 exceeded 86 thousand.
- Older Russians do not ask for such a high salary, as they already have income in the form of a pension, as well as social benefits in some regions. In addition, the small salary by market standards allows them to be more competitive on the labor market with younger job seekers if they have a serious length of service," explained Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Finance Global.
In some sectors of the economy the competition between older people and young people is quite fierce - for example, in education or medicine. However, as long as unemployment in the country is below 3%, there are enough jobs for everyone, the expert emphasized.
In general, due to the aging of the population, it is extremely important for the economy to solve the problem of staff shortage. And the potential of older generations plays a global role: thanks to them most educational institutions continue to work, and they also produce additional volumes of products, said Alexander Safonov. In addition, the employment of pensioners increases their income, which increases domestic consumption and reduces budget expenditures on various payments other than pensions.
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