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- Go ahead and get a pension: Russians have been saving through NPFs for years for an increase of only 4 thousand
Go ahead and get a pension: Russians have been saving through NPFs for years for an increase of only 4 thousand
Decades of savings through non-governmental funds have brought Russians an average of less than 4 thousand lifetime pension increases, according to the NAPF data (Izvestia has it). The reason is small contributions and relatively weak returns. The new long-term savings program promises a more noticeable result, but even if you put aside 5,000 rubles a month for 15 years, the final lifetime payment may be only about 10,000, which will eventually be eaten up by inflation. What is more profitable to invest money in in old age and whether pension programs can compete with deposits and gold — in the Izvestia article.
Why do Russians have such small pension increases?
In Russia, in the first quarter of 2026, the average insurance pension exceeded 25 thousand rubles, while the average salary in the country is already above 100 thousand. Given the large gap between the indicators and rising prices, many Russians tried to generate additional income on their own in the future through non—governmental pension funds (NPFs) - individually or together with an employer. Such a system is called non-governmental pension provision (NGO).
Currently, payments from NPFs are received by women over 55 and men over 60, who began saving in such accounts many years ago. However, the amount of the increase remains modest so far. According to the NAPF (Izvestia has the document), the average lifetime non-state pension in 2025 was only 3.9 thousand per month, which is about 17% of the insurance payment.
The reason is the small savings of citizens, explained NAPF President Sergey Belyakov. According to him, the average bill in corporate programs is about 436 thousand, and in individual programs — only 74 thousand. Most of the participants are still only forming capital, and only a small part of the clients have reached the payment stage.
In addition, young people practically do not participate in voluntary pension programs. People under the age of 30 prefer to spend money on more relevant purposes — mortgages, education and current consumption, said Sergey Belyakov. Additional pressure was exerted by the launch of the long-term savings program in 2024: some customers switched to this particular tool.
The PDS is actively developing: more than 10 million people have already joined it, and the amount of funds raised has approached 1 trillion rubles, the Central Bank told Izvestia. They added that by the end of 2025, the volume of payments to NGOs reached 94 billion. Such pensions are mainly generated through corporate programs.
The amount of the future payment directly depends on how much a person has been putting off and for how long he has been doing it, said Alexander Abramov, head of the Laboratory for the Analysis of Institutions and Financial Markets at the Presidential Academy. While about 22% of the salary fund (PHOT) is allocated to the state system for an employee during his career, contributions in voluntary programs usually amount to only 3-6% of salary. Therefore, the final pension increase is significantly lower.
Corporate pension programs are also poorly developed. According to Andrey Osipov, CEO of NPF VTB, the total expenses of employers for such schemes do not exceed 170 billion per year with a total salary fund of more than 50 trillion. In fact, companies allocate only about 0.3% of the VAT for such payments, which is too little to generate tangible increases in the future.
The amount of payments was also affected by the freezing of the funded part of the pension in 2014, which affected current pensioners, added Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global. That is, the amounts, in fact, grew more slowly, since money could not be reported to these accounts — they increased only due to investment income.
Irina Baranova, Deputy General Director of NPF Gazfond PN, stressed that Russians are starting to think about additional savings too late. According to her, contributions in the amount of 3-10% of income over 15-20 years provide a noticeable result.
What profitability do NPFs show?
Another reason for low payments from NPFs is the relatively modest profitability of pension savings. According to Izvestia calculations, in 2020-2025, funds brought in an average of 8-9% per annum. At the same time, bank deposits over the same period yielded about 10-11%, OFZ — about 10%, and gold in rubles rose in price by about 20%.
The gap became especially noticeable in 2024-2025 against the background of high interest rates: the average deposit rates then reached 15-18% per annum. The yield of NPFs rose sharply only in 2025, to about 14% after the bond market grew. In 2024, the figure was about 9%, and in 2021-2023 it remained mostly single-digit.
The reason is the strict regulation of the industry, explained Alexander Bakhtin, an investment strategist at Garda Capital. According to him, NPFs are required to hold a significant part of their assets in OFZ and bonds issued by reliable issuers. From the early 2000s until 2021, such securities often brought only 5-7% per annum. In addition, funds cannot quickly redistribute assets between instruments like private investors, which is why they sometimes miss periods of high returns.
The asset structure of NPFs is indeed severely limited by law, confirmed Andrey Smirnov, an expert at BCS World of Investments. According to him, up to 80-90% of portfolios are placed in fixed—income instruments - OFZ, bonds of reliable companies and monetary instruments. Investments in stocks and gold are minimal, as the regulator prioritizes the safety of pension funds. Additionally, part of the income goes to the commissions of the management companies and the funds themselves.
In addition, long—term bonds purchased in 2017-2020 with a low key interest rate - then it dropped to 4.25% - still remain in the portfolios of NPFs, Andrei Smirnov added. Because of this, the funds could not quickly reach a yield of 10-12%, which banks began to offer on new deposits.
However, it is not entirely correct to compare NPFs with deposits or gold, says Maya Dubovik, Professor at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. According to her, deposits and gold are either short—term or more volatile instruments. High deposit rates directly depend on the Central Bank's policy and decrease after the economy stabilizes, while gold can rise sharply in one period and stagnate in another.
How to save up for a decent old age
Experts believe that one tool is not enough for a decent increase in retirement — savings need to be diversified. It is wise to use several savings options at once, says Alexander Bakhtin from Garda Capital. According to him, the PDS is especially beneficial for people with low official incomes due to government co-financing. For citizens with average and high earnings, he recommends combining CDS or AIS-3 with government bonds. Bank deposits, in his opinion, are more suitable for temporary storage of funds.
At the same time, the portfolio itself, according to Andrey Smirnov from BCS, should remain conservative. The expert recommends keeping about 70% of savings in government bonds and corporate securities of the first or second echelon. The remaining 30% can be invested in riskier assets — shares of the largest companies and dividend securities.
The key role is played not so much by the amount of contributions as by the duration of savings, emphasized Sergey Belyakov from NAPF. According to him, even small regular contributions due to compound interest and government support can eventually turn into substantial capital.
According to Sergey Belyakov, if you start saving 1 thousand per month in 20 years, then over 35 years personal investments will amount to 420 thousand, and the total capital, taking into account profitability and government support, may reach 5.7 million. This will allow you to receive about 48 thousand rubles per month for ten years.
Even a later start can produce noticeable results. If you start saving at the age of 40 and save 3 thousand each. For 15 years, it is possible to form a capital of about 2.3 million rubles per month. This amount will ensure payments of about 19 thousand per month for ten years, estimated Sergey Belyakov.
However, lifetime payments will be significantly lower than term payments. According to Izvestia calculations, if a woman with a salary of 100,000 rubles sends 5,000 monthly to the social security Fund for 15 years, transfers 100,000 frozen pension savings and receives tax benefits and co-financing, then with a yield of 10% per annum, the pension increase will be less than 10,000 rubles per month for life. At the same time, in 15 years, inflation, even at the target 4% per annum, can almost double prices, which is why such an increase will be felt much more modestly.
Thus, non-state pension programs are not yet able to provide Russians with a significant increase in old age on their own. However, experts agree that with a long savings horizon, regular contributions, and a combination of different tools, they can become an important source of additional income in the future.
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