A new type of pension insurance has been introduced in the Republic of Belarus.
A new type of pension insurance has been introduced in the Republic of Belarus – voluntary insurance for an additional funded pension with state financial support!
The new voluntary pension program will serve as an additional source of income for citizens in the future, supplementing the guaranteed state old-age labor pension without affecting the state's obligations under the solidarity pension system.
Working citizens for whom mandatory insurance contributions are paid and who are under the following age: women – 55 years, men – 60 years, may participate in this program.
An employee who decides to participate in this insurance concludes a contract with the state-owned enterprise "Stravita". An application can be submitted and a contract concluded by visiting an office of this enterprise in person or through its website.
The employee independently selects the contribution rate, but not exceeding 10% of actual earnings. That is, alongside the 1% mandatory pension insurance contribution to the fund budget, the employee will voluntarily pay an additional contribution to the funded pension at the selected rate.
Upon concluding the contract, the employee must notify their employer and provide a copy of the certificate of additional funded pension insurance.
Subsequently, the employer joins in paying contributions and will be required to pay an insurance contribution to the funded pension – proportionate to the employee's contribution rate, but not exceeding 3%. For example, if an employee chooses a funded pension contribution rate of 3% of their salary, the employer also contributes at a rate of 3%. As a result, this employee's accumulated funds for the funded pension will amount to 6% of their salary.
At the same time, the employer's expenses for paying pension contributions to the fund budget do not increase. This constitutes the state co-financing of individual savings of citizens for their future pension.
An employee has the right once a year to change the insurance tariff rate, suspend (or resume) participation in voluntary savings pension insurance.
Additional employee contributions to the savings pension, upon the employee's request, shall be remitted monthly by the employer.
A tax benefit shall be provided to the employee when calculating personal income tax on the amount withheld from their wages for transfer to the State Enterprise "Stravita".
The additional savings pension shall be paid upon reaching retirement age from the accumulated contributions and investment income. The payout period for the additional savings pension shall be 5 or 10 years, as chosen by the employee.
The accumulated and unpaid balance of the savings pension shall be subject to inheritance.
"Taking care of one's future pension should become a regular practice for every individual. Only in this way can a comfortable income level be ensured in old age, enabling a standard of living that meets personal expectations."