From January 1, 2027, the procedure for assigning and indexing pensions changes in Russia

What changes on January 1, 2027

In two months, on January 1, 2027, several changes to pension provision come into force in Russia at once, as reported by Life.ru. The main innovation is the switch to two-stage indexation of insurance pensions: previously the increase was made once, on January 1, but next year it will be carried out twice — on February 1 and April 1. Lawyer Elena Kuznetsova noted that on April 1 there will be not only the second indexation of insurance pensions, but also the scheduled indexation of social pensions, whose increase schedule is not changing.

Automatic pension assignment and counting caregiving toward length of service

The second significant change concerns the procedure for assigning payments: from January 1, 2027, old-age insurance pensions will be assigned automatically — no application or electronic consent will be required. The new procedure also applies to early pension assignment. To receive a pension, one still needs at least 15 years of insurance record and at least 30 individual pension coefficients.

Caring for people with disabilities and the elderly: a new rule for length of service

The rules for registering caregiving for children with disabilities, first-group disabled persons, and people over 80 will also change. From January 1, 2027, an application to include caregiving in the length of service must be submitted to the Social Fund before the caregiving begins — via Gosuslugi, an MFC office, or an SFR branch. For a year of caregiving, a person is credited with 1.8 pension coefficients and one year of insurance record.

Set of social services and retirement age

A separate issue is the set of social services (NSS). Until October 1, people entitled to it could choose its in-kind or monetary form; according to the SFR, those who chose monetary compensation will start receiving the increase from January 1, 2027. The chosen option takes effect from the new year and remains in place until the person submits a new application to refuse the services or resume them; the choice can be changed once a year, before October 1. The compensation can be full or partial. For context, the transitional period of raising the retirement age is ongoing; it began in 2019 and will end in 2028: ultimately, women will retire at 60 and men at 65. In 2027, the right to an old-age pension will go to men born in 1962 and women born in 1967, and the retirement age that year will be 64 for men and 59 for women.