The average pension in the Russian Federation has dropped below a third of the salary

In Russia, at the end of last year, the average old—age pension was 25 thousand rubles, and the average salary was 86 thousand rubles. Thus, at the end of their employment, elderly people receive from the state less than a third (29%) of the earnings they could receive if they worked, the National Association of Non-Governmental Pension Funds (NAPF) has calculated. Izvestia has the document.

They went into a gap: the difference in the amount of pensions in the regions exceeded 2.3 times

Which regions have the largest and lowest payouts, and is it possible to smooth out this disparity?

This indicator has been the lowest in Russia since at least 2017, when the coefficient was at 36%, according to NAPF calculations. It gradually decreased: in 2023, it was one percentage point higher than in 2024.

The ratio of pension and lost earnings is called the "replacement coefficient" — the International Labor Organization (ILO) recommends keeping it at least 40%, explained Yulia Finogenova, Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Finance at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

At the same time, the All-Russian Research Institute of Labor believes that comparing today's average salary with the pensions of Russians who have long since retired is not indicative. The fact is that incomes, unlike pensions, are growing unevenly: some people's salaries have increased by 20% over the past year, while others have remained at the same level.

One of the main reasons for the gradual decrease in compensation after the loss of earnings is actually quite positive — this is a record increase in income for Russians in recent years due to an acute shortage of personnel, explained Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global. Nevertheless, the comparison of average old—age payments and average incomes is relevant - it reflects the well-being of pensioners in the current conditions.

Another factor is the abolition of pension indexation for working citizens from 2016 to 2024, added Yulia Dolzhenkova, professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. This affected the amount of payments and affected the replacement rate.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

If they pull, they will not reach it: the average pension in the Russian Federation has sunk below a third of the salary