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The System of Social Protection of Older People in Russian Federation

Vladimir M. Vasilichikov
Director of the Institute of Social Gerontology, 
Moscow State Social University, 
Head of the Chair of Social Gerontology, 
Candidate of Medical Science, Professor. 

I. Legal Basis for Social Protection of Older People

Legal system of Russian Federation consists of legal codes and rules, which protect basic freedoms and interests of all the citizens of the country including older people.

Social protection of older people is based on the current legal acts and rules, which can be divided into 3 groups:

1. Legal Codes which ensure rights of all the citizens independently of age. They are crucial for older people as for the other categories of population. (The Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Civil Code of RF, the Family Code of RF, the Labor Code, Legal Fundamentals on Health Care, Federal Laws on Housing Policy, on Social Service in Russian Federation, etc).

2. Legal rules which protect rights of older people and appropriate responsibilities of the State, non-governmental organizations and family. (Pension Code and Federal Law "On Social Services for Older and Disabled People").

3. Legal rules which guarantee rights and benefits of specific groups of older people (veterans of war and labor, Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of Socialist Labor, citizens who were repressed and then rehabilitated, etc). 

There are also municipal laws that are usually introduced by regional and local authorities. As a rule, they are addressed to those groups of older people whose rights are not included into the federal laws.

Both federal and local legal acts take into account the existing international legal rules devoted to older people and experience of some other countries (Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, etc).

II. Pensions in Russian Federation

The Pension System in Russian Federation was previously based on a distributive principle.

On the date of January 1st, 2002 three new federal laws came into force: "On the State Pension Providing System in Russian Federation", "On the Compulsory Pension Security in Russian Federation" and "On Labor Pensions in Russian Federation". They were worked out in accordance with the Program of Pension Reform in Russian Federation. The general idea is the transition from the distributive principle to the principle of accumulation and distribution of pensions.

The new structure of the Pension System in Russian Federation includes:

1. State Pensions (to federal officials, military servicemen, participants of the Great Patriotic War, to those citizens who suffered from technogenic and human-made disasters, to disabled people who can't work, etc.)

2. Compulsory pension security (insurance) (labor pensions to employees based on previous compulsory insurance fees);

3. Additional pension insurance (additional payments based on accumulated voluntary payments of employers and insured individuals themselves).

The new structure of pensions is being introduced:

- Basic part of labor pension will be of equal size for all recipients of state pensions who fulfill the minimal requirements on length of service;

- Insurance part of labor pension depends on the results of personal work and employer's payments for the person during all his labor activity;

- Accumulative part of labor pension is calculated as accumulated insurance fees plus investment profit.

Today the real income of pensioners in Russian Federation is quite low (the average pension is equal to 1200 rubles per month, that is less then $40 (US).

The size of average pension equals to 28.5-34% of the average salary and even decreases in comparison with 1997.

At the same time a pension is the only financial source for the great majority of older people in Russia. According to the official statistical data, only 18.5% of pensioners continue to work.


III. The System of Benefits and Allowances

Social protection of older people in Russian Federation includes benefits and allowances. Almost two thirds of the whole population gets various kinds of allowances and additional payments, and half of the recipients are older people. 

Allowances and benefits are based on the federal laws and on regional and municipal legal rules.

According to the Institute of Labor, in 2000 there were approximately 650 kinds of benefits, financial compensations and other social payments, 740 groups of population to whom they were addressed and 610 legal acts ensuring these payments.

Such a system of benefits is rather complicated and ineffective because of the absence of a mechanism that would provide the delivery of money to the right, exact address. The other reason of its inefficacy is a constant budget deficit. Therefore the new social and economic situation in Russia must be reformed.

The reform will be done in several steps. First of all, some ineffective, meaningless benefits will be eliminated. The responsibilities of the State will be dovetailed with its financial possibilities.

The recipients of pensions will be divided into 3 categories:

1. Citizens who have performed great services to their home country independently of their income (Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russian Federation, participants of the Second World War and some others who are predominantly older people).

All investments are made from the federal budget.

2. Citizens who will receive benefits according to the size of their income in comparison to the subsistence minimal wage which is different in various regions of the country (veterans of labor, disabled people and some other groups, predominantly - pensioners).

3. Citizens who will be entitled to benefits dependently on their work and profession. They will receive special payments along with their earnings. The investments will be made by Ministries and Departments.

However the reform is impossible without radical amendments, which will change the Russian Constitution and many federal laws and regional legal rules in order to ensure civil rights.

IV. The System of Social Services

In Russia the modern state (municipal) system of social services for older people started in late 80's of the 20th century.

Currently we have four kinds of social services:

- Residential service (it exists for decades)
- Partially residential
- Care at home 
- Urgent social services (organized during the last 10-15 years)


Residential network consists of 1314 institutions such as:

618 - sheltered accommodations and special home for older and more dependent disabled people (non-specialized);
440 - psychoneurological departments;
64 - charity homes for older and disabled people;
14 - gerontological centers;
245 000 people live in these institutions of social care, 140 000 of them are older people.

The number of older people in the institutions is permanent during the previous years but the number of institutions has significantly increased.

Table 1. Development of the network of residential social care institutions in Russian Federation

The living conditions were also improved in them. 

During the last years we can see a trend to diminish the size of the institutions and organize group homes (average number of people in such a home is 151 in 2002 in comparison with 293 per institution in 1992.)

The other trend is to organize specialized residential care institutions for older people and gerontological centers which are mainly concentrated on medical care.

17, 200 older people are now waiting for their turn to be admitted to these centers. 

Partially residential care institutions include the Centers of Social Services which have expanded swiftly during the last decade. The first Center of Social Services (CSS) was founded in Cheliabinsk in 1987. Now we have 1875 CSSs in Russia.


Table 2. The dynamics of the Development of CSS network in Russian Federation

In 2001, 825 500 elderly and disabled people got help in day care units, 54,400 older and disabled people attended respite care units.

There are 99 institutions for people without permanent residence. In 2001 respite care units provided services for 57,400 people, predominantly in 38 night shelters (23,100 people) and in 21 centers of social adaptation (15,600 people). 30% of them are older and disabled people.

The health care network it is also developing. 52 centers for social and medical care provided services to 55,900 people in 2001.

21,700 people live in 701 specialized homes for lonely elderly. These institutions are not large, for less then 25 people. 21.8% of these homes provide social services and daily help for older people.

Non-residential care (care at home) is characterized with high rates of development of specialized departments (15-20 times higher then non-specialized).


Table 3. Development of the network of domiciliary care departments

In 2001, these departments provided services for 1, 255, 300 older and disabled people, 12% (150,900) of whom were served by specialized departments of social and medical care.

Urgent social care is the most widespread and popular in Russian Federation. In 2001, more than 13 million people got single-time urgent social assistance. In some regions 92-93% of them are older and disabled people
On the whole, the welfare and living standards of Russian citizens constantly improves. Nevertheless urgent social care is expanding widely and provides services for a great number of people.

Table 4. Development of the network of urgent social care departments

V. Interaction Between State institutions and Non-Governmental Organizations 

Social partnership in Russia for protecting older people is not yet well developed.

On the one hand, there is a legal base for it; on the other hand, there is no legal mechanism for it to function and work effectively. So we can see a tendency to proclaim slogans instead of real work.

For instance, in the sphere of social services we try to develop mainly state institutions, which are invested from the state budget. Our state doesn't even notice the attempts of NGOs that are willing to cooperate and help solve the problem.

According to the Federal Law on Social Care of Older and Disabled people (1995), NGOs can become potentially developed in Russian Federation. But the NGO sector has no opportunity for development because of the lack of standards for social services, rules and mechanisms of getting license for their activities and absence of tax benefits. There is no constant and serious support of NGOs from the government. There are a lot of problems and barriers for charities and volunteering, therefore this obstacle keeps them from developing. 

Unfortunately, the position of the State remains unclear even after the preparation and submission of the Draft of the Declaration on State Social Policy dealing with support of older people for the current decade (till 2010).


Additional information on the topic can be followed in Russian in the following documents and literature: 

1. The Federal law on "Social service for elderly and disabled citizens," August 2, 1995, № 122 - FЗ.
2. The Federal law on "The basics of the social services care for elderly population of the Russian Federation," December 10th, 1995 № 195 - FЗ
3. The Federal law on "Veterans" January 12, 1995, № 5 - FЗ (renewed on January 2nd, 2000), № 40 - FЗ.
4. The Federal law on "State pensions in the Russian Federation," December 15, 2001, № 166 - FЗ.
5. The Federal law on "Compulsory pensions/insurance in the Russian Federation," December 15, 2001, № 167 - FЗ.
6. The Federal law on "Labor Pensions in the Russian Federation," December 17, 2001, № 173 - FЗ.
7. The resolution of the Russian Federation Government on "Federal listings of the government's social services guaranteed to the elderly citizens and disabled and offered by the governmental and municipal departments for the social services," November 25, 1995, № 1151.
8. The resolution of the Russian Federation Government on "The procedure and the terms for payments for the social services offered by the governmental and municipal social service departments to the elderly and disabled citizens," January, 1996 № 473.
9. The resolution of the Russian Federation Government on "Payment for the social care institutions," issued on April 17, № 244.
10. The resolution of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Russian Federation on "The consolidation of the recommendations for the activities of the governmental institution, The center of the social care for the population", July 27, 1999, № 32.
11. The resolution of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Russian Federation on "The consolidation of the procedure and the terms on the signing, changing and the dissolution of the agreements for the municipal social service departments for the elderly and disabled citizens," May 17, 2002, № 35.
12. Government's report on the "Situation of the elderly citizens in the Russian Federation," Мay, 2001. - 228 с.
13. Report form the International Year for the Elderly in the Russian Federation (1999). М., 2000. - 204 с.
14. National report, "Aging people in the Russian Federation: present situation, problems, perspectives," М., 2002. - 56 с.
15. Vasilichikov V. M. "The organization of the social care for elderly and disabled in Russia//Medical expertise and rehabilitation,"- М., 1999. - № 2. - С. 5 - 9.
16. Social benefits for citizens, S. Pozdniakov, I. Duda,- М., 2000. - 188 с.
17. Holostova E. I. "The elderly in the society.". Second edition - М., 2000. - 236 с.
18. Holostova E. I. "Social work with elderly: A study book"- М., 2002. - 296 с.
19. Huhlina V.V. "Not for profit sector in the civil society: experience and the problems for development". - М., 2000. - 46 с.
20.Shineleva L.T. "Social partnership: the reality and the perspectives for development," М., 2001. - 200 с. 
21.Shiukina N. P. "Self - reliance and help in the social care of the elderly," Мay, 2000. - 244 с.