Demographic conditions of raising the pension age in Russia

The problem of raising the pension age in our country has been discussed from the first steps of the market transformations in the pension system, i.e. for a quarter of a century, and without any visible progress towards its solution. At the same time, all civilized countries have already developed a clear programme of actions for its solution, although with different social and economic consequences: some countries raised the pension age by shock instruments within one or two years, others stretched this process for several decades, still others rejected age-related regulation of the pension insurance rights. Under the present socio-economic conditions the problem of raising the pension age in Russia has become particularly acute. Launching of the fifth pension reform in 2015, which once again restructured all elements of the pension system, did not attract attention of the civil society to the social essence and economic consequences of the reform. One of the main incentives to pacification of people was guaranty of the inviolability of working pensioners’ rights and a promise not to raise the pension age. However, even experts familiar with modern pension legislation do not always fully realize that in the pension insurance systems (both pay-as-you-go and fully funded) increase of the pension age entails at first accumulation of the pension rights of the ensured, and then - inevitable growth of the pension obligations, i.e. the size of pensions, and consequently - growth of the expenditures. Hence follows the conclusion that the problem of pension age and all problems of the pension system are multifactor and multi-structure by their institutional nature, and defy primitive linear solutions.