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- Family - in a row: co-financing of long-term savings may be tied to the number of children
Family - in a row: co-financing of long-term savings may be tied to the number of children
State co-financing under the Long-Term Savings Program (LTSP) may be tied to the number of children. Such a proposal is being discussed within the framework of the family savings instrument, which the President instructed to create at the "Russia Calling" forum, Izvestia sources familiar with the preparation of the new mechanism and industry representatives confirmed. It is planned that PDS participants will be able to conclude contracts for minor children, who will be subject to separate co-financing. One of Izvestia's interlocutors clarified that no concrete solutions have been made yet - various proposals, including linking state contributions to the number of children, are still being worked out.
What will be the family long-term savings program?
At the VTB forum "Russia Calling" in early December, President Vladimir Putin instructed the government, together with the Central Bank, to develop the parameters of a family investment mechanism for long-term savings. The head of state also mentioned one of the proposed changes - the possibility of receiving a tax deduction for all working family members (up to a minimum of one million rubles a year in total). The press service of the Ministry of Finance then specified that the details of such tools and the timing of their launch will be worked out in the near future. Other details of the family program have not been disclosed yet.
Since January this year, Russia has been running a long-term savings program (LSP), which provides an opportunity for citizens to save for their future, children's education, etc.
To encourage people to participate in the program, the authorities have provided for a tax deduction from the amount of contribution up to 400 thousand rubles, as well as co-financing from the state - up to 36 thousand rubles per year.
According to the President's instruction, by the end of 2024, 250 billion rubles should be attracted to the program through non-state pension funds (PDS operators).
Izvestia has learned that one of the initiatives being discussed in the creation of a new savings mechanism concerns the co-financing of citizens' investments in the PDS. It is proposed to tie the size of the state contribution to the number of children in the family, several Izvestia sources familiar with the discussion told the newspaper. There are several proposals, including this one, another Izvestia source confirmed. According to him, there are no final decisions yet - everything is being worked out. The press services of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance did not respond to the editorial board's request.
Arkady Nedbai, Chairman of the Council of the National Association of Non-State Pension Funds (NAPF), told Izvestia that the idea of tying the amount of state co-financing to the number of children was put forward by the industry as part of the preparation of the family program. It is proposed to give an opportunity to conclude contracts in favor of minor children with separate co-financing for each family member, he explained. Such a solution, for example, could help to save, for example, for education.
Now co-financing depends only on the income of the program participant. A maximum of Br36 thousand a year can be received from the state as support (Br360 thousand for 10 years, for which this mechanism is designed). To get the maximum amount, citizens whose income does not exceed Br80 thousand need to pay Br36 thousand a year. People with earnings from Br80 thousand to Br150 thousand - Br72 thousand, over Br150 thousand - Br144 thousand.
How the extension of co-financing to children will affect the attractiveness of the PDS
Naturally, market participants consider the linkage of co-financing to the number of children relevant and useful. According to Arkady Nedbay, the mechanism will not only encourage families to save for the future of their children, but will also create additional motivation for citizens in general.
- Government support can play a key role in the formation of financial literacy and responsibility among parents," he believes.
Anton Tabakh, chief economist of Expert RA rating agency, also believes that any expansion of incentives for long-term savings with clear motivation is useful.
- It is more difficult for large families to save, so it is logical to expand co-financing for them," he said.
In the conditions of high inflation and modest projected returns on investments in the PDS, co-financing remains the only strong point of the program, said Ilya Zharsky, managing partner of the Veta expert group. But even it, the expert believes, cannot protect money from inflation - especially personal inflation, which at the moment can reach 20-25%.
- Approximately this level of deposit rates are now offered by banks. Therefore, in order to improve the PDS, it is necessary, first of all, to ensure at least a return on invested capital at the level of inflation. In a market economy the other conditions of the program are secondary, - said Ilya Zharsky.
What other changes in the PDS are proposed by the government and experts
Other experts also agree that, first of all, it is important to improve the long-term savings program itself. Izvestia already wrote in September about what changes may be in it. It is planned, for example, to expand the list of life situations in which citizens will be able to receive the funds accumulated under the program ahead of schedule without loss of income. And also to increase benefits to employers if they co-finance employee contributions, etc.
As reported earlier by the Ministry of Finance, as of November 1, 2024, 1 million 750 thousand citizens became participants of the PDS, who invested in it about 103 billion rubles. Of these, about 50 billion - own contributions and 53 billion - transferred pension savings.
To increase the attractiveness of the program, according to Anton Tabakh, it would be logical to strengthen the motivation for employers to co-finance employee contributions. The expert considers it important to integrate corporate pension programs into the PDS.
- It is not so simple both from the legal and organizational point of view, but all the problems are quite solvable, - said the chief economist of Expert RA.
According to Arkady Nedbai, it is also necessary to speed up the process of transferring pension savings from the mandatory pension insurance system (OPS) to the PDS.
- Now non-state pension funds can make such a transfer only once a year, and it would be expedient to give the opportunity to do it quarterly, - explained the representative of NAPF.
According to him, it is important to simplify and speed up the procedure for citizens to receive co-financing from the state, so that these funds are accrued no later than March of the year following the reporting year. PDS participants, Arkady Nedbai stressed, should understand how their money works within the program mechanism and see their profit.
