No matter how sad it may sound, work takes up most of a person’s life. There is an unspoken attitude that you need to get an education, find a profession you like and work until you retire.
Older people have a special attitude towards continuous work experience. In their opinion, this is an indicator of professionalism and dedication to their work, which in the future will ensure a relatively comfortable old age.
The modern generation rarely has such dedication to the profession, and thanks to pension and social reforms there is no understanding at all of the importance of work experience. In order to correctly place the emphasis, it is useful to understand why continuous work experience is needed.
Is continuous service cancelled?
During the Soviet period, permanent work was a guarantee of receiving an increased pension and additional benefits for length of service. The accrual of social benefits, for example, sick pay, also depended on the length of service. Therefore, people of the older generation still retain the concept and meaning of long-term work.
But what value does continuous experience have now? Firstly, the rules for paying sick leave have changed. It is not based on the period of work, but on the employee’s income for the previous two calendar years.
Secondly, the calculation of pensions has a complex formula, in which work experience is also not taken into account in the first place. Thirdly, various bonuses for length of service are now preserved mainly in state and municipal organizations. In some commercial organizations, this takes the form of additional employee motivation for long-term cooperation.
Currently, the term “insurance period” is more common, i.e. the time during which taxes and insurance premiums from the organizations where he worked were paid to the employee’s personal insurance account. Of course, there is a direct relationship: the longer you work, the higher the length of service and, accordingly, the more insurance premiums paid.
Thus, the terms “insurance period” and “continuous service” can be considered identical, but there are several differences.
Insurance experience can only be obtained from an official employer, who transfers all required payments. The insurance period includes all periods of work documented not only in the work book. For example, fixed-term contracts that are not reflected in the book also need to be taken into account to calculate the length of service (if there were insurance payments for them).
The insurance period is not interrupted, even if the person did not work officially or at all. Only contributions are taken into account, and the frequency with which they were made does not matter. For continuous work experience, it was necessary to work constantly; a break of more than three months meant actually resetting the accumulated years.
The Labor Code also does not contain information about continuous length of service, its calculation and meaning, unlike insurance.
It cannot be said that continuous experience has ceased to exist. It can be considered as an indicator of a person’s performance, constancy and reliability. It is always doubtful to see a mature specialist with an empty work book; for many employers, this raises suspicions that the employee is unreliable and a reason to refuse a job.
Continuous work and accrual
Many people ask the question: “If I have 5 years of NS experience, is this enough to calculate old-age benefits?” This “magic number” indeed played its role before the Pension Reform of 2015, as described above, but, unfortunately, it has nothing to do with continuous service, as well as now with the pension itself.
NS was given great importance in the Soviet era. All kinds of payments and additional allowances to the benefit itself depended on its size. But time passes and it seems that such a concept as continuous experience will soon fall into oblivion.
Size based on five years of experience
What to expect for those who, due to various life circumstances, do not have the necessary insurance experience? What payments can be expected from the state in this case? Let us repeat: in the current situation, you can only count on old-age social benefits, and in this case, the age for retirement is increased by five years.
The size of the pension for less than 5 years of work experience is determined by the subsistence minimum established in the territory of residence, and it, in turn, is calculated based on statistical data on prices for food and non-edible goods.
IMPORTANT! The minimum pension cannot be less than the minimum subsistence level established in the territory where you live. Otherwise, you have the right to additional payments, in accordance with Federal Law No. 178.
To receive this supplement, you will need to submit an application. If at this moment you are officially working, then you are not entitled to such a payment.
Procedure for appointment and registration
Having reached a certain age, which we wrote about above, you can contact the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation in the territory in which you live, but given the fact that you will have to collect documents, we advise you to approach the Pension Fund in advance.
The appointment itself is not an easy process, because the Pension Fund will need to check all your documents, especially those that confirm your work experience. There are regulations that are regulated by the Law. If your work experience is incomplete, you can also apply for social benefits if you have a disability or have lost your breadwinner.
From 2021 accruals are made in accordance with the new legislation, Federal Law - No. 400, No. 424. When assigning, the total amount of payments is taken into account, which was influenced by the size of the salary and length of service.
If you were engaged in any labor or other social activity, please clarify whether it is not taken into account in your total work experience? If everything is in order with the documents provided, then, as a rule, the pension will be assigned within ten days from the submission of the application.
To avoid all sorts of delays during registration, start preparing in advance.
It is optimal to contact the Pension Fund six months before the expected retirement, and 30 days before the appointed time you can already submit an application for a pension.
To complete it, you will need to submit the following documents:
- passport, as well as a copy of it;
- work record book (when providing a copy, it must be certified by a notary);
- additional documents confirming experience (if available);
- military ID;
- SNILS;
- if you were registered with the Central Health Insurance Center and received benefits - a certificate;
- children's birth certificates for women, and in the case of men - if there are dependent children who have not reached 23 years of age and are receiving full-time education.
In some cases, additional documents may be required, which the Pension Fund will tell you about. This is the basic procedure for assigning and registering a pension benefit.
Social benefits will be assigned from the first day of the month following the one in which you applied, but not earlier than your retirement age.
Important: you must permanently reside in the Russian Federation and be a “disabled citizen.”
Watch a video on the topic:
We invite you to familiarize yourself with information about what kind of pension a person whose experience is , , , , or 40 years should expect.
Legal meaning
The concept of “work experience” has a collective meaning, so the terminology should be separated.
Lawyers distinguish three types of experience:
- Insurance period is the period during which insurance premiums are paid per person.
- Total length of service is the actual value of how many years a person has worked in his life without taking into account breaks in work.
- Continuous work experience shows how many years you have worked without breaks for less than one month (in exceptional cases three months)
The role of each seniority is different. For example, the total length of service does not matter if a person worked unofficially for a long time, since the amount of his income was actually not taken into account anywhere, and there were no insurance payments. Therefore, this will not in any way affect the increase in social payments and benefits.
Video: Minimum length of service for retirement in 2021.
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Expert opinion
Kurtov Mikhail Sergeevich
Practitioner lawyer with 15 years of experience. Specializes in civil and family law. Author of dozens of articles on legal topics.
One of the prerequisites for calculating a pension is to earn the minimum length of service for calculating the pension. In Russia, starting from 2020, it is 11 years (for civil servants – 17 years ).
For those whose experience is more or less, certain accrual rules apply. To find out the exact size of your future pension, you need to submit documents to the Pension Fund and ask for a calculation.
Experience directly affects the amount of benefits.
Why do you need continuous work experience?
Nowadays, insurance experience matters, so it is difficult to determine the true role of continuous work in legislative documents. However, in some situations it is continuous experience that matters:
- full calculation of temporary disability benefits;
- calculation of temporary unemployment benefits;
- determining the possibility of providing a person with additional education and advanced training;
- pension calculation;
- wage supplement, especially important for civil servants or municipal workers;
- receiving additional benefits if they are fixed at the federal or regional level;
- preferential retirement based on length of service in professions established by law.
Although the labor code now does not contain a definition of continuous length of service, its role has been preserved and, in one way or another, contributes to the receipt of social guarantees and compensation.
Work experience for early retirement
From Article 8 of Federal Law No. 400 it is clear that it is not necessary to wait until retirement age. If a person has worked enough, he receives the right to rest and government support two years earlier.
IMPORTANT!
For women this is 37 years old, for men - 42. But before 55 and 60 years old, respectively, you will not be able to take advantage of this benefit.
A woman born on May 1, 1965 is legally required to retire in November 2021 at age 56 and a half. But if she started working at age 18 and worked continuously for 37 years, then she will be able to start receiving pension payments in May 2021.
According to Article 30 of Federal Law No. 400, if they have a certain length of service, representatives of some professions may also not wait until retirement age. The number of years may be even less than what is needed to assign benefits under normal conditions:
- for those who worked in underground work: 10 years for men and 7.5 for women;
- for working locomotive crews - 12.5 and 10 years;
- for crew members - 12.5 and 10 years;
- for workers and logging foremen - 12.5 and 10 years.
In some cases, there are additional requirements for general insurance coverage.
Does continuous service affect sick leave?
Although the term “continuous service” does not actually exist, this does not mean that it has ceased to have meaning. For example, to receive sick leave benefits, the total period of work is important:
- with less than 5 years of experience, the amount of sick leave will be 60% of the salary;
- from 5 to 8 years – 80%;
- more than 8 years – 100%.
The calculation of temporary disability benefits has the following indicators:
- the employee’s average income two calendar years before the onset of the disease;
- average daily salary (calculated from the previous value);
- total work experience, which is recorded in the work book and contracts not included in the book.
At the same time, insurance contributions were transferred to the employee from each place of work.
How many years do you need for early accrual?
In 2021, for men in Russia the minimum age at which one can retire is 60, for women – 55 years. In Art. 30 and 32 of Federal Law No. 400 of December 28, 2013 states that some workers still have the right to retire early due to old age or disability.
Conditions for early retirement:
| "Preferential" group of citizens | Minimum age (years) | Required experience (years) |
| Mothers of many children who raised at least 5 children under 8 years of age | 50 | 15 |
| Mother or father of a child with a childhood disability who raised him until he was 8 years old | men – 55, women – 50 | men – 20, women – 15 |
| Guardian of a disabled child who raised him until he was 8 years old | The pension is reduced by 1 year for every six months of guardianship, but for a maximum of 5 years | men – 20, women – 15 |
| Disabled people due to blindness (group I) | men – 50, women – 40 | men – 15, women – 10 |
| Persons who have received a disability group after receiving a combat wound | men – 55, women – 50 | men – 25, women – 20 |
| Dwarfs and Lilliputians | men – 55, women – 50 | men – 25, women – 20 |
| Doctors | regardless of age | 25 – in the city, 30 – in the village |
| Teachers working with children | regardless of age | men – 25, women – 20 |
| Unemployed after dismissal | men – 58, women – 53 | men – 25, women – 20 |
Federal Law No. 76 of May 27, 1998 separately prescribes the procedure for assigning a pension at the minimum wage for military personnel. They have the right to receive benefits at any age. The main condition is to work for at least 20 years.
Receiving benefits before age 55 is an exceptional case. This is possible if the husband died while serving or due to combat wounds. The size of the pension in this case is calculated based on the rank, length of service, and merits of the military husband.
Expert opinion
Kurtov Mikhail Sergeevich
Practitioner lawyer with 15 years of experience. Specializes in civil and family law. Author of dozens of articles on legal topics.
Retiring early is a right, not an obligation. You can continue to work, in which case the benefit amount will increase.
What is the impact of continuous experience in 2018?
In connection with numerous reforms in the social sphere (pension reform, changes in methods of paying for sick leave), the meaning of continuous service has changed. Any benefit, state payments (pensions) depend on the accumulated insurance experience.
However, the role of seniority remains relevant. Length of service can be called continuous experience. This is a period when a person has worked for several years in a specific professional field without breaks.
Not all workers are entitled to a preferential long-service pension. First of all, this is due to the specifics of the work, its danger, emotional and physical stress. Thanks to this, people receive additional compensation from the state.
The assigned areas of activity that qualify for early retirement at generally accepted ages include:
- state and municipal employees, including employees of internal bodies (not all, there are exceptions), the length of service must be at least 15 years;
- workers in the mining industry and underground work, 25 years of service;
- some types of work in hazardous industries, it is enough to work for 25 years;
- workers in emergency rescue operations (not all categories), minimum 15 years of experience, for firefighters - 25 years;
- employees in the field of education must have worked for at least 15 years;
- cultural and educational workers, depending on the position and specifics of the work, must accumulate a minimum experience of 15-30 years;
- medical workers of all categories and qualifications. For urban specialists – 30 years, for rural areas – 25 years;
- workers of the sea and river fleet and fishing industry. Women are entitled to early retirement after 50 years of age, and men after 55 years of age;
- military personnel are entitled to a pension after 20 years of continuous service.
This is a list of professions established by law in which a preferential pension is accrued primarily based on continuous service. It is possible to exclude the accumulation of slightly less working time if the employee stopped working for objective reasons, for example, downsizing or liquidation of the organization.
In this case, an early pension is issued. It is important to note that this is considered individually for additional applications.
Under hazardous working conditions
Resolution of the USSR Cabinet of Ministers No. 10 of January 26, 1991 provides 2 lists of professions that require special working conditions associated with danger and harm to health. Among them:
- mining, metallurgical, chemical industries;
- nuclear energy and manufacturing;
- spheres of transport and communications;
- pulp and paper mills;
- enterprises for the production of medicines;
- divers;
- gas-electric welders - if they use substances of at least hazard class 3;
- teachers who train personnel for the chemical industry, etc.
For persons performing such work, the total length of service required for retirement is reduced.
Conditions for disability pension:
| Conditions of appointment | Men (years) | Women (years) |
| According to list 1 (critical level of danger) | ||
| Age | 50 | 45 |
| Total experience | 20 | 15 |
| According to list 2 (dangerous and difficult conditions) | ||
| Age | 55 | 50 |
| Total experience | 25 | 20 |
To apply for a disability pension, you will also need documents confirming your right to such a preference. These include certificates from the employer about the special nature of the work, cards recording the actual time worked.
This is important to know: Deadline for consideration and filing of an appeal in a civil case
How many days of service is considered continuous?
From the name it follows that continuous experience must be permanent. The law defines the time frame when it remains uninterrupted. Separately, it should be noted that military service and maternity leave are included in continuous service, but some events can spoil it:
- The minimum duration of the unemployed period should be no more than one month in case of voluntary dismissal and up to three months in case of reduction or liquidation of the organization.
- Lack of work for up to a year in certain conditions: if care is needed for a minor child with HIV, when a spouse is transferred to another area, for working pensioners, sometimes for military personnel and veterans.
- Termination upon dismissal of an employee for guilty actions, for example, absenteeism, drunkenness, theft, fraud.
Changes in length of service in recent years
Reform 2018
The President proposed reducing the length of service required for early retirement by three years.
And:
- From January 1, 2021, it is proposed to begin paying a 25% supplement to the fixed payment of the insurance pension for non-working pensioners living in rural areas with at least 30 years of experience in agriculture.
- The age for assigning social pensions (awarded to those who have not officially completed the required work experience) is being increased to 68 years for women (currently 60 years) and to 70 years for men (currently 65 years).
- The age for assigning social pensions (awarded to those who have not officially completed the required work experience) has changed to 68 years for women (currently 60 years) and to 70 years for men (currently 65 years).
Past changes regarding the minimum insurance period
Previously, according to the law (Federal Law No. 173 “On Labor Pensions in the Russian Federation”), starting in 2002, the minimum insurance period for retirement was five years . According to the new law, in force since 2015, it is planned to gradually increase the minimum insurance period for retirement:
- From January 1, 2015, the minimum length of service to receive a labor pension will be 6 years;
- from January 1, 2021 - 7 years;
- from January 1, 2021 - 8 years;
- from January 1, 2021 - 9 years;
- from January 1, 2021 - 10 years;
- from January 1, 2021 - 11 years;
- and so on until 2024, in which the minimum insurance period will be 15 years.
Such citizens can apply for a social pension from the Pension Fund: women from 60 (68, according to the new package of reforms) years and men from 65 (70, according to the new package of reforms) years.
Insurance pension and insurance period: what is it?
In accordance with current legislation, the insurance period represents the total duration of a citizen’s working activity, during which insurance accruals were made to the Pension Fund. Previously, the concept of “work experience” was in effect - the period of work of citizens in various organizations. It could be called continuous only if the interval between dismissal and registration for work did not exceed 1 month.
Now, for the formation of an insurance pension, it is the insurance, and not the length of service, that is important, because officially this concept has been abolished. This is due to the entry into force of Federal Law No. 400 “On Insurance Pensions”, which separately highlights the insurance part and downplays the importance of the funded one. However, any citizen can make savings contributions to a non-state Pension Fund voluntarily, but his employer must make insurance contributions without fail.
Some experts equate a labor pension to an insurance pension, pointing out that at the legislative level they are treated approximately the same. However, it is worth considering that when forming an insurance pension, periods when citizens did not work and did not make contributions are also taken into account, but this time is still included in the length of service: maternity leave, military service, etc.
