The key facts

  • The early payment will affect those who normally receive their pension between the 1st and the 10th of the month
  • This is not an additional pension but an early January payment; no application is required
  • The exact transfer dates have not yet been determined; the indexation from February 1 will not be included in the early payment

Two payments in December

Some Russian pensioners will receive two pension payments at once in December 2026 — for December and for January 2027. This was announced by Alexey Govyrin, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy; his words were reported by TASS (the situation is covered by Gazeta.Ru and Life.ru). The early transfer will affect citizens who normally receive their pension in their bank account between the 1st and the 10th of the month.

Reason for the shift and payment procedure

The reason for the shift is the long New Year holidays: from December 31 to January 10, many institutions will not operate as usual, so part of the January pensions will be transferred in advance. According to Govyrin, early payments are provided for both working and non-working pensioners and may affect insurance, social and funded pensions if they fall within the holiday banking schedule. Importantly, this is not an additional pension but an early receipt of the January payment: no application will be required, and the transfers will be made automatically.

What remains unknown and what to rely on

The exact dates for the funds to arrive have not yet been determined. The deputy told TASS that the last working day of 2026 falls on December 30, and the specific payment date can be clarified with the bank or in the regional schedule of the Social Fund. Those who normally receive their money after January 10 should rely on separate delivery schedules; for recipients of payments through post offices, a special holiday operating procedure is provided. Govyrin also recalled that the indexation of insurance pensions will begin on February 1, 2027, and of social pensions on April 1, so the January pension transferred early will not include the February increase.

Context: other changes from January

Life.ru previously reported how the pension payment procedure will change in December and January: in addition to shifting January payments to the end of December, from January 1, 2027, the procedure for granting old-age insurance pensions is planned to change — they will be issued automatically, without an additional application from the citizen. Thus, the early payment is a one-time shift of the schedule due to the holidays, while automatic pension granting is a separate permanent change to the procedure that is expected to take effect from the new year.