The Russian government will additionally allocate more than 10 billion rubles to support non-working pensioners.

This was announced on Thursday, July 28, by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

As the head of the Cabinet clarified, we are talking about social additional payments to the pensions of those citizens whose income is below the subsistence level.

In total, the regions will be able to pay allowances to more than 1 million Russians, the prime minister added.

“From June 1, on behalf of the head of state, he (living wage. -

RT

) was increased by 10%.

The burden on Russian subjects has grown.

Federal subsidies will allow them to compensate for the costs associated with this, ”Mishustin explained at a government meeting.

Recall that since June 1, the cost of living per capita in Russia as a whole has increased from 12,654 to 13,919 rubles.

For able-bodied citizens, the corresponding value is now 15,172 rubles, for children - 13,501 rubles, and for pensioners - 11,970 rubles.

The indicator traditionally serves as a criterion for establishing many social benefits in the country.

In particular, it is taken into account when financially supporting families with children, as well as when calculating additional payments to pensions.

The allocation of additional funds to compensate for the expenses of the regions will not lead to a serious increase in the burden on the Russian budget.

This point of view in an interview with RT was expressed by the head of the Finance and Economics department of the Institute of Contemporary Development Nikita Maslennikov.

“The amount of 10 billion rubles is quite moderate, and it is obvious that it was taken into account in the draft budget expenditures by the end of this year.

As for the impact of this initiative on the population, any increase in payments is a good help for citizens, especially for non-working pensioners, in the face of inflation,” Maslennikov explained.

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According to the latest estimates from Rosstat and the Ministry of Economic Development, consumer prices for goods and services in Russia have increased by an average of 11.3% since the beginning of 2022.

Even against the backdrop of accelerating inflation, the government continues to systematically fulfill its social obligations, Svetlana Bessarab, a member of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs, noted in an interview with RT.

As the deputy recalled, in addition to the subsistence level, since June, pensions themselves have been re-indexed in Russia - also by 10%.

The average amount of old-age payments to non-working citizens increased to 19,360 rubles, and in total indexation affected about 35 million people.

This is stated in the materials of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.

“Given that even before that, from January 1, the authorities indexed pensions by 8.6%, then in total, since the beginning of 2022, the amount of payments has been increased by about 19%, that is, ahead of inflation.

The president previously set the task of compensating citizens for price increases and supporting people, for which it was necessary to carry out indexation twice, ”Bessarab explained.

However, according to experts, support measures will not be limited to the indexation of payments.

According to Nikita Maslennikov, in the near future financial assistance to senior citizens from the state will continue.

“Today in Russia, pensioners account for almost a third of the total population of the country, and they should receive increased attention from the state, since they need support in the first place.

I think that the government will continue to closely monitor inflation rates and, based on its dynamics, adjust financial assistance to the most vulnerable categories of citizens, ”the specialist suggested.

Recall that in July the authorities approved a law on the merger of the Pension Fund of Russia (PFR) with the Social Insurance Fund (FSS).

As expected, the new body will start working from January 1, 2023 and will make it easier for citizens to receive social benefits and other financial support.

In turn, the state will be able to reduce costs and allocate additional funds for payments to pensioners, according to the Ministry of Labor.

“We will have a real opportunity to optimize the costs of maintaining the apparatus ... the costs associated with the maintenance of movable and immovable property, and, of course, this will be done and these resources ... will be directed directly to increasing pensions,” said Andrey Pudov, deputy head of the Ministry of Labor.