The expert explained the specifics of taking into account parental leave in retirement

Parental leave, contrary to popular misconception, is only partially included in retirement experience, said Anna Anisimova, an economist and director of the Merchant CRM service. She told Izvestia how insurance experience differs from the general one, and how the period of child care is taken into account.

"Only the first year and a half after the birth of each child is counted in the insurance record, which directly affects the right to an old—age pension and its size. It is during these one and a half years that pension points are accrued, since this is considered an "insured" period: even if the employer does not pay contributions directly, the state conditionally compensates for the lack of work by caring for the child," she explained.

At the same time, the second year and a half — from the moment when the child turns 1.5 years old to the age of three — is not included in the insurance record. During this period, benefits are usually no longer paid, contributions to the Social Fund of Russia are not paid, which means that there are no rights to additional pension points.

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"We are talking here about the insurance record, which is the one that is needed for the appointment of an old—age pension. It differs from the total length of service, which is taken into account, for example, when assigning an old—age pension according to the old rules before the 2002 reform, or when determining seniority," the expert said.

The insurance record presupposes the fact of payment of insurance premiums or the recognition of the period by the insured state. It includes not only official work under an employment contract, but also periods when a person was caring for a disabled person or a child under 1.5 years old.

"However, there is a limitation here: the total amount of such "non—insurance" periods is a maximum of six years. That is, even if there are five or six children in the family, no more than four decrees will be included in the length of service," Anisimova clarified.

Speaking about early retirement, the economist noted that parental leave is counted in the length of service that entitles to benefits only in one exceptional case: if it began before October 6, 1992.

"It is this date that captures the change in approach — before it, vacation was considered a special length of service, after that it is no longer. This means that if a woman started her vacation before this date, then her entire period is included in the length of service for early retirement, even if it ended later. If the leave is issued later, it will not be able to affect early retirement. This is especially important, for example, for teachers and health workers who have a special length of service for retirement before the general deadline," concluded Anisimova.

Earlier, on April 8, Igor Balynin, PhD in Economics, associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, said that insurance pensions for working pensioners in Russia after indexation in 2025 increased at a rate higher than the inflation rate. According to him, the average growth was more than 13%.