It didn't work out: The Accounting Chamber checked the Russian Post

The Accounting Chamber reported on the debts of the Russian Post to the Pension Fund (now a branch of the Social Fund of Russia), which led to interruptions in pension payments. Following the results of the inspection, the agency appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office. The focus is on overdue transfers of more than 1.2 billion rubles. We are talking about funds that were transferred to the Post Office for the delivery of pensions and benefits, but did not reach the recipients on time. Experts do not believe that something terrible has happened: digitalization is necessary in our country, and without it, pensions would be even worse. Details can be found in the Izvestia article,

Izvestia sent requests to the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Finance, as well as the Russian Post, but at the time of publication, no responses had been provided.

"As of the end of 2023, the debt of FSUE Russian Post to the branches of the Social Fund (SFR) amounted to 1.26 billion rubles. At the same time, there were cases of late delivery of pensions to citizens in a number of branches of the SFR," the Accounting Chamber said in an official statement. The reason for contacting the Prosecutor General's Office was the company's debts to the Pension Fund and cases of delayed delivery of pensions. The supervisory authority will have to give a legal assessment of the situation in order to establish whether there have been violations of the law and who exactly is responsible for them.

How to get pensions

The delivery of pensions via Russian Post is regulated by contracts between the company and the Pension Fund. The money is transferred to the accounts of regional divisions, from where it is then received by postmen or through branches into the hands of pensioners. Any delay in one of the stages can cause disruptions.

— From a technical point of view, delivery problems may be related to late payments between the parties, overloading of IT systems on certain days, routing errors or insufficient transport resources on the ground. In conditions of high workload, such risks increase in the first days of the month," Daniil Ivanin, chief analyst at VMT Consult, told Izvestia. He stressed that remote areas with poor logistics and poor Internet coverage remain particularly vulnerable.

Consequences for Russian Post

At the moment, there is no question of sanctions against the Russian Post. According to article 21 of the Federal Law "On Insurance Pensions", pension delivery is carried out at the request of a pensioner through a credit institution by crediting amounts to a bank account, or through a postal service organization by handing over funds at home or at the cash desk. Ilya Vasilchuk, a judicial lawyer and an expert on the security of electronic transactions and real estate transactions, told Izvestia about this.

The lawyer clarified that, unlike bank deposits, the activities of the Russian Post are not insured and, according to him, there is a threat that the funds received for transfer to pensioners may not reach them, since the post office in this case is an intermediary.

Consequences for pensioners

According to the SFR, in 2024, about 7.6 million pensioners are still receiving payments through Russian Post. These are usually residents of villages and remote settlements where there are no bank branches or stable mobile communications. Postmen deliver money to the house, while recording the delivery with special forms and mobile terminals. This system operates on the basis of contracts approved annually.

According to Ilya Vasilchuk, in accordance with Article 34 of the Federal Law "On Postal Communications", the Russian Post is responsible to its customers for non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of obligations to provide services, but within the amount of the transfer. To receive compensation, you need to apply for damages, the lawyer added.

At the same time, it is worth remembering that the Russian Post is a non-public joint stock company, 100% of whose shares belong to the Russian Federation. According to paragraph 7 of its Charter, the Russian Post is responsible for its obligations only with its property, and the Russian Federation, in turn, is not responsible for the obligations of the enterprise. In the event of an increase in debt and a delay in the delivery of pensions, there may be real risks of losing part of the payments.

— Due to organizational problems within the Russian Post, pensions may not be delivered to pensioners for a long time, while it is likely that they will not be able to receive reasonable compensation for the delay. If the amount of debt owed to the SFR becomes too large, pensioners may lose parts of their pensions altogether," Ilya Vasilchuk points out.

Digitalization as a way forward

—Automation of delivery, reporting, routing, and feedback between recipients and operators is no longer the future, but an urgent necessity," says Olga Orlova, Head of Industry at the Institute of Oil and Gas Technologies. — I believe that either the Russian Post or the Ministry of Finance could develop special applications in which it would be possible to report on receiving a pension after the fact.

According to the expert, such digital connectivity is a guarantee of transparency and risk minimization. The complexity of all digital systems lies not only in the software part, but also in building sustainable data logistics, especially in remote regions where there is no stable connection, admits Olga Orlova.

"But that's where digital tools can play a crucial role. Offline application modes, automatic synchronization, built-in delivery and geolocation control mechanisms are already being implemented, including in projects related to the social sphere. The main thing is that there should be a request from the state and the delivery operators should have the technical base for such solutions," she points out.

We are confident that in the coming years, interaction with citizens in the social sphere will fully switch to the platform model. This means that all participants in the process — from the Foundation to the postman and the recipient himself — will work through unified systems in which every step is recorded, protected and analyzed. The sooner the mass implementation of such solutions begins, the fewer reasons there will be for contacting the prosecutor's office," Olga Orlova summarizes.

It would be worse without the number

— Today's situation is a system debugging of a complex mechanism. Without digital solutions, we wouldn't even have an understanding of where the failure is. In the nineties, pensions could not come for months, and no one knew who was to blame. Today, the system is required to do things that were previously considered impossible," said Yulia Makarenko, Deputy Director of the Banking Development Institute. — But you need to understand that an increase in requirements is a consequence of an increase in reliability. That is why digital transformation, despite some failures, is a step forward.

According to the expert, in the long term, it is the automation of processes that will ensure stable and timely delivery of payments.

— Any logistics involves risks. And logistics, tied to budgetary funds, is doubly important. This includes the human factor, technical errors, and reporting issues. At the same time, people should not suffer. The problem is not even in the Mail, but in the general deterioration of the infrastructure. And here the question is not about the operators, but about the systematic support of the state," Yulia Makarenko added.

Problems with the delivery of pensions are an alarming signal, but not a disaster. This is a challenge that requires a technological response.