Social package 2021: size, what is included and how to refuse the social package

Social package 2021: size, what is included and how to refuse

In accordance with the response of the pension recipient, the social package may be indexed to a financial equivalent, which will be included in the amount of the basic pension.
For people with disabilities and disabilities, a social package can provide regular treatment.

Any citizen of the Russian Federation who has the right to additional benefits can purchase it on the basis of their own application to the regional Pension Fund. For Russians living abroad, in addition, payments are provided through the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.

Basic Concepts

A social package is a set of necessary accessories and conditions provided to people with disabilities. Its registration is carried out in social funds: MFC or Pension Fund of the Russian Federation. The list of benefits is individual for each citizen. You can find out more about it on the Unified Portal. The social package includes:

• drug benefits;
• sanitary resort treatment;
• preferential travel on suburban and intercity transport.

Refusal of a social package for disability is a procedure aimed at terminating the provision of social benefits

The concept of “social package” - what does it mean?

The concept of “social package” means carrying out a number of activities aimed at improving the financial situation of certain categories of citizens, strengthening their health, protecting labor rights, etc.

The social package is provided by the state free of charge and is one of the ways to provide targeted assistance to categories of citizens with low income.

Employers provide social support to working citizens. The main task of enterprise managers in this case is to retain qualified personnel.

The social package includes various preferential payments and compensations. For example, for old-age pensioners, vital medications are included in the social package. All this helps improve their quality of life.

Goodbye, social package!

Free lunches in the office, voluntary health insurance policies, reimbursement of costs for mobile communications and travel on public transport to work, compensation for the use of a personal car for business purposes, payment for trainings, English courses and classes in fitness clubs, preferential loan terms for employees , “thirteenth salary”...

What benefits and incentives have employees become accustomed to over the past few years!

However, the economic crisis has made its own adjustments, significantly affecting the labor market. According to experts, currently the most popular measure to reduce costs for employers is to reduce or completely eliminate social packages provided to employees.

Opinion

Dmitry Novinsky, tax consultant, certified bank auditor:

Just six months ago, the availability and “range” of a social package in a company was one of the main conditions for choosing a place for a specialist looking for a job. The social package was not just payment for medical insurance, mobile communications, a fitness club, it meant belonging to the circle of the most promising organizations that are a kind of “locomotives of the new economy”: fuel and energy complex, investment banking, exporters, etc.

Of course, here we can remember that the incentive for such guardianship over employees was largely Chapter 25 of the Tax Code, which makes it possible to legally reduce the tax burden through social spending. If not for this opportunity, care for employees would most likely remain at the level of the 90s, when everyone took care of themselves exclusively.

But now, in a crisis, many employees will have to wean themselves from free benefits, which in a number of companies were provided not only to them, but also to their relatives.

Of course, the problem can be looked at from the other side.

Opinion

Olga Gavrilova, HR manager, consultant in the field of compensation management, auditing and consulting group:

At the very beginning of the crisis, employees of many companies proudly said that everything in their organization was stable and no changes were expected. But several months have passed, and these workers are no longer so optimistic. Even those companies that have not been significantly affected by the crisis are in a “wait-and-see economy” mode and are gradually beginning to reduce costs for social benefits.

Often, employees are confident that reducing incidental expenses will be followed by other cost-cutting measures, and this will include reducing wages and laying off employees. It is not surprising that the cancellation of a social package is perceived as a sign of instability of the company, which has a significant impact on employee motivation. But in addition to this, organizations are “tightening the screws”: control over work efficiency, discipline, etc. is being tightened. Taken together, these factors reduce the level of loyalty to the employer, the overall tone of work capacity and, as a consequence, productivity decreases.

As sad as it is to admit, the reduction or cancellation of the social package actually means a decrease in the employee’s income. According to the observation of financial analyst Anatoly Berezutsky , the reduction in wages due to the abolition of social packages for some categories of workers reaches 50%.

For an employer, the refusal of social packages is often caused by the need to concentrate and mobilize all available financial resources, which are so necessary in an economic crisis. As Dmitry Novinsky notes, under such circumstances, issues of tax optimization and reducing the amount of income tax paid for employers recede into the background, until better times. Austerity policies and cuts in overhead and personnel costs are coming to the fore.

The gates to a preferential paradise have slammed shut

Does the employer have the right to cancel the social package? Let's figure it out.

“The social package (its availability, composition, terms of provision, etc.) is an expression of the free will of the employer, his desire to further stimulate his employees,” emphasizes Alla Kozlova, chief accountant of the First House of Consulting “What to do Consult” .

Olga Gavrilova adds: “The employer is not obliged to provide the employee with compensation and benefits other than those specified in labor legislation. That is why the “content” of the social package depends entirely on the wishes of the employer: it can be only voluntary medical insurance, and the payment of several compensations, for example, payment for food, travel to work, corporate mobile communications, life insurance. At the same time, the employer, at its discretion, can distribute the set of compensations differently for different categories of employees.”

Regarding responsibility, Dmitry Novinsky notes: “If you look at the situation regarding the provision of a social package from the outside, putting aside the emotional component, then from the point of view of labor legislation, the employer does not bear any obligations to employees. Moreover, the possibility of employees winning a case in court, in my opinion, is zero. In fact, when canceling the social package, the employer does not bear any legal or judicial risks.”

However, employees who complain about their employer can count on fairness.

Opinion

Anna Mazavina, director of legal issues at the Legal Resources legal agency:

In the context of an increasing tendency to reduce the social package, violations of employee rights by the employer are indeed possible. Each fact of the employer’s failure to fulfill what was promised must be considered separately. In particular, it matters not only what document provides for this or that benefit - an employment or collective agreement, agreement, bonus regulations, other local document or legal act, but also the order in which the employer carried out this deterioration in conditions labor.

So, there are two possible options for introducing benefits at an enterprise. In the first case, the employer secures all bonuses and privileges included in the social package in legally binding documents (employment contract, additional agreements to it, local regulations). In the second, the employer does not prescribe benefits in any way and only verbally announces them to his employees.

Opinion

Alla Kozlova, chief accountant of the First Consulting House “What to do Consult”:

If the social package is recorded in the documents and the employer cancels anything from the list of social benefits, he is obliged to notify the employee in writing about this and enter into a new additional agreement with him describing the changed terms of the social package.

If all the benefits were announced by the employer solely in words, then he has the right to change any conditions at his own discretion without any sanctions.

It is significant that even the indication of benefits in an employment contract does not guarantee their safety for the employee.

Opinion

Dmitry Novinsky, tax consultant, certified bank auditor:

The basis for mandatory provision of social packages is most often an employment or collective agreement. Moreover, the latter is extremely rare in Russian companies.

And regarding the employment contract, it is a common practice when the social package is not provided to employees immediately, but after a certain time or under special conditions, be it passing a probationary period, working out a temporary period in the organization, or being in a certain job category. Thus, the provision of a social package is directly, as a rule, not related to the conclusion of an employment contract between the employee and the administration (employer).

Therefore, most often in the contract, all the obligations of the employer are actually reduced to a vague and ambiguous wording: “The administration (employer) undertakes to provide the employee with appropriate working conditions.”

This formulation means providing the employee with a workplace, computer and organizational equipment, necessary office supplies and an appropriate amount of work. In addition, he is “happy” with the timely payment of wages. But the unconditional obligation of the employer to provide a social package to employees does not follow from this formulation.

This means that when filing lawsuits in court, employees will not be able to win the case, since judges proceed from a literal reading of contracts and agreements. Therefore, if the employer’s obligation to provide certain benefits is not clearly stated in the employment contract, then there can be no claims against it.

Attempts to somehow put pressure on the employer will also lead to nothing and may result in dismissal. Therefore, many employees will have to get used to standing in lines at regular clinics or paying exorbitant prices and being treated by their favorite doctors at their own expense. And you will have to completely forget about free cellular communications, subscriptions to fitness clubs, tourist trips or dental prosthetics at the expense of the company for the next three to four years.

The representative of the Federal Service for Labor and Employment also calls for paying attention to the wording of the employment contract, focusing on the procedure for amending the employment contract.

Opinion

Yana Meteleva, Deputy Head of Department of the Federal Service for Labor and Employment:

For an employee, the question of how long his social package will be retained will be resolved depending on what conditions were specified in his employment contract. If, say, the issuance of a voluntary health insurance policy was specified in the employment contract and was not limited by any deadlines (for example, the period of validity of the contract between the employer and the insurance company or the terms of this contract), then the employer will have to comply with the rules of Article 74 of the Labor Code to change this provision Code of the Russian Federation, that is, warn the employee in writing about a unilateral change in this condition of the contract after two months and indicate the reason for the changes there.

If this condition was not specified in the contract, but was provided in accordance with the local regulatory act of the organization, then the employer, in accordance with Article 12 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, has the right to cancel it without the mandatory written notification provided for in the aforementioned Article 74 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

However, the absence of relevant clauses in an employment contract or other document does not always mean that the employee will be deprived of any benefits. “It must be borne in mind that in some cases an employee cannot be deprived of voluntary health insurance, even if this condition is not provided for in the employment contract. For example, in accordance with Article 348.2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, athletes can always count on it,” notes Anna Mazavina.

Opinion

Yana Meteleva, Deputy Head of Department of the Federal Service for Labor and Employment:

As for mobile phones and payment of bills for cellular communication services, as a rule, these conditions provided for the employee to perform a job function (that is, for official conversations) are stipulated by employers, otherwise there would be difficulties with accounting.

This means that the employer thereby ensures, in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, that the employee fulfills his labor duties (providing means of labor). The fact that employees use telephones for personal purposes does not mean that they become their owners (telephones are included in the organization’s fixed assets) or that the employer is obliged to pay for all employee calls. Thus, the employer can change the established procedure at any time by notifying the employee in any form. For example, he can notify an employee that he needs to hand over his phone, or that from a certain date he is prohibited from making calls beyond a certain limit.

“If you refuse to pay your mobile phone bills, you need to take into account a number of other factors,” adds Anna Mazavina, “for example, who the telephone set and number are registered to, whether calls from a mobile phone are related to work or made for personal purposes. In particular, it is worth remembering Article 188 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, according to which compensation is provided for the use by an employee of personal property with the consent of the employer.”

Thus, even recording benefits and compensation in documents does not at all guarantee that in a crisis situation the organization will not “take away” them from the employee. Moreover, many employers “insure themselves” in advance by specifying cases in which the employer stops paying compensation in the document itself that provides benefits (contract, agreement, other local act). But if such a condition was not previously provided, then the employer should follow the procedure for canceling preferential provisions by revising the document itself (for example, by adopting an additional agreement to the employment contract).

The winner receives... taxes

How can the abolition of the social package affect the position of the employee and the employer from a tax point of view?

Opinion

Olga Gavrilova, HR manager, consultant in the field of compensation management, auditing and consulting group:

The most common options in modern social packages are voluntary medical insurance, payment for meals, travel to work, corporate mobile communications, and the provision of company transport.

Insurance premiums paid by the employer under a VHI agreement in favor of the employee are not subject to personal income tax, as are insurance premiums paid in favor of the spouses of employees and their children (if such an option is present in the social package). Official transport and mobile communications used for the performance of official duties are also not subject to personal income tax.

But payment by the employer for travel of employees, food, official transport and mobile communications used for personal purposes, on the contrary, is subject to personal income tax.

Thus, from a tax point of view, the abolition of the social package does not entail any changes for the employer, and for the employee - if we think solely from the point of view of taxation - even brings a certain benefit.

For whom the Bell Tolls?

As you can see, for employers, in terms of canceling the social package, the conditions are more “comforting” than for employees. As practice shows, refusal of benefits and compensation does not mean that this was done in violation of labor laws. If they were allowed, then the employee has the right to protect his interests.

Opinion

Anna Mazavina, director of legal issues at the Legal Resources legal agency:

If there is a “promise” to provide benefits or incentives in the contract, the employee has the right to challenge their cancellation, both by contacting the labor inspectorate and through the procedure for resolving an individual labor dispute. Liability – imposing a fine on the company, collecting a penalty in favor of the employee and compensation for causing moral damage. In this case, as already noted, the employer’s refusal to provide one or another social package option can be formalized only by amending the employment contract, which is possible only by agreement of the parties.

Opinion

Yana Meteleva, Deputy Head of Department of the Federal Service for Labor and Employment:

Both the trade union and the labor inspectorate can carry out inspections based on employee complaints. But to qualify a violation, it is necessary to refer to a rule of law, and in this case, the employer may be held liable for violation of Article 72 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (changes in the terms of the employment contract) or Article 74 of the Labor Code (violation of the procedure for changes). Based on the results of the inspection, the inspection will issue an order to eliminate violations and has the right to bring the employer to administrative liability on the basis of Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

In this regard, both the employer and the employee who find themselves in a similar situation should carefully study all local documentation. “If the norms of the Labor Code were fully complied with by the employer, no one (neither the trade union nor the labor inspectorate) can influence his decision to reduce additional social benefits during a crisis,” emphasizes Alla Kozlova.

Instead of a conclusion

Is it right to cancel social packages? In this “confrontation” between employer and employee, it is difficult to find who is right and who is wrong. From the employee's perspective, this is certainly very bad. The employer is simply trying to survive in a crisis, resorting to unpopular measures.

Opinion

Dmitry Novinsky, tax consultant, certified bank auditor:

In terms of personal income, most workers will have to come to terms with a reduction in social packages and the need to resolve a number of issues exclusively at their own expense. And this, together with lower wages, rising prices and the likelihood of losing their jobs, will have a negative impact on employees and their attitude towards the company. Of course, some staff will do more work for less money and in the absence of a social package, but only until the economic situation begins to improve and a number of more interesting job offers appear on the labor market.

Opinion

Olga Gavrilova, HR manager, consultant in the field of compensation management, auditing and consulting group:

To cancel the social package (except for social benefits mandatory under labor law), the employer does not have any serious legislative or tax obstacles.

Cutting costs for the compensation package during a crisis can be called one of the softest measures to reduce costs on the part of the employer. And many employees are ready to accept this state of affairs. They note that it is better to do without corporate holidays, fitness and pay for training on your own than to be subject to staff reduction or liquidation of the company due to bankruptcy.

Legislative regulation

You can find the answer to the question of how to refuse a social package for a pensioner and what it includes, the categories of pensioners who can count on receiving assistance, in the Federal Law “On State Social Assistance” dated July 17, 1999 N 178-FZ. The procedure for applying for a social package and refusing it is regulated by Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated December 29, 2004 N 328 (as amended on March 1, 2012) “On approval of the Procedure for providing a set of social services to certain categories of citizens.”

Citizens should remember three things:

• the social package consists of three services: reimbursement of travel expenses, for the purchase of medicines and sanatorium treatment;
• the social package can be provided in kind or cash;
• monetization or return to kind is carried out exclusively upon the application of the pensioner, which is submitted before October 1 of the current year.

Before submitting an application to refuse to receive a social package in kind, you need to weigh the pros and cons, since health problems can arise at any time. And then you will have to undergo treatment at your own expense, and you will be able to return the benefit only after a year.

What is included in the pensioner’s social package in 2021: latest changes

• Content

What is included in the pensioner’s social package in 2021: latest changes

Having retired, every citizen has the right to count on free support from the state.

It is expressed in kind, which, at the request of the beneficiary, can be replaced by monetary compensation.

To take advantage of this preference, you need to know what is included in the pensioner’s social package in 2021, and you can learn about the latest changes from this article.

What is included in the social package

The full social package includes several points of guaranteed security:

• medications prescribed by a doctor,

• sanatorium treatment if there are medical indications,

• travel on suburban railway transport, as well as on intercity transport to the place of treatment and back.

List of possible medications

The state annually allocates billions of rubles to provide free medicines to all groups of the population in need. The attending physician should tell you what medications are prescribed for a particular disease. The following table shows the main categories of medications issued to beneficiaries on prescription.

The list presented is far from complete. There are a lot of medicines that the state purchases for citizens in need. In addition, this list is constantly being updated. You can find out which medication is provided free of charge for a particular disease at the clinic or on the website of the Ministry of Health.

Benefits for pensioners

Pensioners receive benefits from the state and a corresponding social package if they belong to categories of citizens, the list of which is considered at the legislative level. That is, these are disabled people, blockade survivors, and so on.

Social package provided by the employer

When looking for a job, most job seekers are interested in what benefits the employer is willing to provide to its employees.

Just a few years ago, payment for vacation and sick leave was considered the optimal amount of guaranteed social security. In fact, according to the Labor Code, such payments do not depend on the wishes of the employer, but must be mandatory.

Fortunately, recently some employers have significantly increased the scope of benefits that are guaranteed to employees.

The social package of an employee today includes not only guarantees of comfortable and effective work activity, but also a full-fledged sanatorium-resort vacation.

What may be included in the social package of a modern employer:

• free medicines in case of registration of sick leave,
• food and travel around the city at the expense of the employer,
• payment for places in preschool institutions,
• taking PC courses at the expense of the employer,
• payment for mobile communications.

Some managers have gone further and provide benefits not only to their employees, but also to members of their families, for example, they allocate money for trips to a summer camp or sanatorium.

To motivate the effective performance of an employee, company directors also use individual types of benefits, for example, experienced workers are provided with benefits for obtaining a loan, year-end bonuses, etc.

For people with disabilities and disabilities, a social package can provide regular treatment.

For large enterprises, the presence of non-standard preferential conditions is a symbol of reliability and solidity, as well as an indicator of competent internal policy. According to statistics, just over sixty percent of Russian citizens consider their working conditions to be satisfactory, and the applicant’s priorities are determined by how diverse the social package is when applying for a job.

What is a social package for employees of organizations, what does it include?

And if in distant Soviet times no one was surprised by free medicine and education, or the distribution of free vouchers to sanatoriums and holiday homes, then today social values ​​have changed.
And the concept has become a common bonus for providing its employees with unique benefits or compensation, that is, social assistance either from the employer or from government agencies. Our working population naively confuses the term social package with social guarantees; in the latter case, they are qualified by labor legislation and guarantee all employees, for example, a standard lunch break or payment for sick leave, care for a minor family member, etc. What benefits are entitled to pensioners? find out about old age here.

Each head of an enterprise or commercial structure has the right to establish a list of assistance to his employees, because our legislation does not regulate this issue in any way, although the concept itself has long been part of our lives.

You can find out what your employer will provide you with a social package from the text of the concluded employment agreement, and it depends only on how much money can be allocated to each employee individually.

This clause of the contract significantly reduces the tax burden on the enterprise, so controlling structures may oblige management to list complete information about possible assistance in each individual employment contract. This material will tell you about benefits for working pensioners.

What is included in an employee's social package

A social package is an effective incentive for an employee to improve his performance, because if, for example, he has implemented an innovative solution that significantly increases the productivity of products, then such an employee will not only be provided with typical benefits and payment for various services at the expense of the employer, but may be given a prestigious trip to resort, or go on a trip abroad. This link will tell you about insurance premiums for compulsory medical insurance.

Or if the factor concerning the health of employees is important to management, then he can pay for subscriptions, for example, to a swimming pool or gym. Although everything here is strictly individual, and absolutely everyone may not need the same free services. This article will tell you what you can get a tax deduction for.

The full social package may include, although this is not the direct responsibility of the employer:

• Payment of lunches to employees.
• Registration of health insurance.
• Pension contributions for insurance at the expense of the employer.
• Separate payments for loss of ability to work at the enterprise or additional payment for women going on maternity leave.
• Free provision of vehicles for commuting to work, for example, from the nearest metro, or partial reimbursement of the cost of travel tickets.
• Free provision of children's New Year's gifts or tickets to New Year's trees.
• Allocation of funds to pay for sanatorium vouchers, children's health camps or boarding houses.
• Partial or full payment for the maintenance of children in preschool institutions, including free meals at school.
• Free rental of living quarters for some of its employees.
• Providing interest-free loans, for example, for the purchase of residential real estate.
• Purchasing, at the expense of the company, subscriptions to sports sections, gyms, swimming pools, etc.
• Organization of free advanced training courses, seminars, trainings.

An employer has the right to provide its employees with any benefits if it has available funds for these purposes.

The list of benefits for a partial package that is usually provided to temporary employees may include:

• Free lunch provision.
• Partial compensation for the cost of travel tickets.
• Receiving special clothing.
• In case of emergency, receiving funds from the employer's fund, for example, for the funeral of a loved one.

All of them can only be established by the company’s management; there are simply no legal requirements for mandatory provision of certain guarantees. Read about Article 219 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation on social tax deductions here.

Social package for old age pensioners

Since people of retirement age usually no longer work, the social package is provided to them at the expense of the state, usually it includes:

• Implementation of the opportunity to receive free medications prescribed by a doctor.
• Providing a sanatorium-resort voucher once every 2-3 years.
• Payment for travel to the place of treatment and back home.
• Payment for travel on surface and underground public transport.

This is the main list of benefits received, but some regional authorities make additional payments to their elderly citizens, for example, for the title of hero or labor veteran, for outstanding services to their small homeland, for example, if a pensioner has patented inventions that his region or region needs.

All this is the prerogative of local authorities, and only they can decide what social security services are available to them for implementation in relation to each person of retirement age.

Composition of the full social package for disabled people

Disabled people are the most vulnerable group of the population, therefore the state provides its own social package for them, which includes the following services:

• Purchasing free medicines.
• Providing annual sanatorium and resort vouchers to rehabilitation centers.
• Free travel tickets, in contrast to discounted travel for pensioners, for all types of urban transport, commuter rail services, or payment for travel to the place of treatment and back home.

Some categories of persons, such as the hero of Russia, combat veterans, may have benefits on paying for utilities and a landline telephone, a free call to the home of a doctor in a narrow specialty, or a free appointment with a specialist at a medical center. But all this can only be provided by the local administration, and may not be available as services from the main package in other regions.

Whether your employer or the state provides you with services under a social package does not matter at all; the main thing is to know what you can count on in a given situation.

How to refuse a social package: procedure

A beneficiary can waive the social package either completely or partially. To do this, you must contact the pension fund department before October 1 of the current year with an application.

When a pension is assigned, the social package is automatically provided in kind, and if the pensioner wishes to receive its cash equivalent next year, the application must be submitted strictly before October 1 of the current year. If a citizen has already submitted a similar application earlier, a repeated application to the Pension Fund will be required only if his decision changes.

For certain categories of citizens of the Russian Federation, various social packages are provided, which include the right to additional monthly financial support. It will be included in the social package for disabled people of the Second World War due to injuries received during hostilities, as well as for minor prisoners of German camps. The right to receive such additional payment is granted regardless of place of residence. The benefit amount is one thousand seventy-five rubles.

Another type of DEMO in the amount of five hundred rubles can be received by categories of citizens who participated in the Second World War and who suffered in concentration camps.

To receive additional benefits, you need to contact the territorial authorities for the payment of pensions.

A citizen can receive benefits only on one basis, which implies the highest amount of payment.

Every citizen of the Russian Federation, even if he is not a pensioner, can receive additional benefits based on his application to the regional Pension Fund. For Russians living abroad, payments are also provided through the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.

Submit an application to waive the social package

Compensation for medicines to pensioners and other benefits in monetary terms can be provided only upon a written application from the pension recipient. The decision of a pensioner or disabled person to replace in-kind assistance with cash, expressed in the application, will be valid until a new application is submitted to the Pension Fund.

If you are late in submitting your application, that is, you do not apply before October 1, you will only be able to receive monetary compensation after a year. For example, if the application was submitted on October 16, 2021, then the cash equivalent will be paid only from January 1, 2021.

The application must be submitted to the territorial branch of the Pension Fund where the pensioner’s personal file is located. Personal appeal to the Pension Fund or through an authorized representative is allowed. You can submit documents through the MFC or send them by mail. In some regions of the country, you can even submit your application through the State Services portal or in the pensioner’s personal account on the Pension Fund website.

Procedure for refusing NSO

Disabled people themselves, as well as their relatives, are often interested in how to correctly formalize the refusal of medications due to disability, until what month the procedure must be completed. Everything must be done before October 1 of the current year. There is no need to renew anything annually, compensation can be used indefinitely, documentation only needs to be submitted once. A new package of documents will only be required if a person makes his decision and again wants to receive benefits instead of monetary compensation due to changed circumstances.

Refusal of the social package

Citizens of the Russian Federation who are recipients of an old-age or disability pension must make a choice by the end of September in what form they will use the social package guaranteed by the state next year.

According to the decision of the pension recipient, the social package can be indexed into a cash equivalent, which will be included in the amount of the basic pension.

The full social package in 2021 is 1075.19 rubles. and includes several points of guaranteed security:

• medicines prescribed by a doctor - 828.14 rubles,
• sanatorium treatment if there are medical indications - 128.11 rubles,
• travel on suburban railway transport, as well as on intercity transport to the place of treatment and back - 118.94 rubles.

A beneficiary can waive the social package either completely or partially. To do this, you must contact the pension fund office before October 1, 2021 with an application. In this case, the in-kind form will be replaced by monetary compensation from 2020.

When a pension is assigned, the social package is automatically provided in kind, and if the pensioner wishes to receive its cash equivalent in 2021, the application must be submitted strictly before October 1, 2021. To receive money in 2021, the application must be written before October 1, 2021. If a citizen has already submitted a similar application earlier, a repeated application to the Pension Fund will be required only if his decision changes.

For certain categories of citizens of the Russian Federation, various social packages are provided, which include the right to additional monthly financial support.

It will be included in the social package for disabled people of the Second World War due to injuries received during hostilities, as well as for minor prisoners of German camps.

The right to receive such additional payment is granted regardless of place of residence. The benefit amount is one thousand rubles.

Another type of DEMO in the amount of five hundred rubles can be received by certain categories of citizens (persons who participated in the Second World War; former prisoners of concentration camps who had reached adulthood at that time; survivors of the Leningrad siege).

To receive additional benefits, you need to contact the territorial authorities for the payment of pensions.

A citizen can receive benefits only on one basis, which implies the highest amount of payment.

Every citizen of the Russian Federation who has the right to additional benefits can receive it on the basis of his application to the regional Pension Fund. For Russians living abroad, payments are also provided through the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.

When looking for a job, most job seekers are interested in what benefits the employer is willing to provide to its employees.

Just a few years ago, payment for vacation and sick leave was considered the optimal amount of guaranteed social security. In fact, according to the Labor Code, such payments do not depend on the wishes of the employer, but must be mandatory.

Fortunately, recently some employers have significantly increased the scope of benefits that are guaranteed to employees.

The social package of an employee today includes not only guarantees of comfortable and effective work activity, but also a full-fledged sanatorium-resort vacation.

• free medicines in case of registration of sick leave,
• food and travel around the city at the expense of the employer,
• payment for places in preschool institutions,
• taking PC courses at the expense of the employer,
• payment for mobile communications.

Some managers have gone further and provide benefits not only to their employees, but also to members of their families, for example, they allocate money for trips to a summer camp or sanatorium.

To motivate the effective performance of an employee, company directors also use individual types of benefits, for example, experienced workers are provided with benefits for obtaining a loan, year-end bonuses, etc.

For people with disabilities and disabilities, a social package can provide regular treatment.

In order not to receive the services listed above, but to add a certain amount to your pension, you should submit an application to the Pension Fund (also at the place of residence of the beneficiary). The appeal will be considered in a timely manner if you contact the territorial department before October 1. If the refusal was issued once, an annual request is not needed (of course, if there is no need to return in-kind benefits or refuse, for example, not only medicines, but also a travel voucher). If your decision changes, the application is written again.

Making a decision to replace social services with money is quite easy if you consider each of the opportunities provided separately and in order.

Medicines are free. If we are talking about a disease that does not require expensive medications (for example, a missing limb), you do not have to use the benefit for free medications. But, let’s say, diabetes requires insulin, which is provided free of charge within the NSO. In addition, there are other complex conditions that do not allow such a service to be excluded, so an additional consultation with a doctor on this issue would not hurt.

A trip to the sanatorium. Receiving procedures at a sanatorium once every two or three years - at first glance, this is not enough. But a simple calculation shows that in three years you can get approximately 4,500 rubles. Obviously, for the indicated amount you cannot purchase an 18-day vacation with food and treatment (plus, disabled people of group 1 travel with an accompanying person).

Travel to the place of treatment. Taking into account the fact that a trip to a sanatorium is an infrequent occurrence, in three years you can lose a little more than 4,000 rubles. That is, if it is possible to get to the place of treatment for 200-300 rubles, there is little point in maintaining the service (as a rule, in such cases, medical institutions are located nearby).

How to receive a cash payment

It takes 10 working days to make a decision on assigning the monetary equivalent of social assistance. The period is counted from the moment of registration of the application. Pension Fund specialists are given another 5 days to inform the applicant about the decision.

Cash compensation for medicines to pensioners is made simultaneously with pension payments and in the same way as the pension is paid. If a person is kept in a social institution, then compensation can be transferred to the account of this institution.

The amount of monetary compensation for a social package for a disabled person

The cost of services included in the social package in 2021 is 1086 rubles 64 kopecks. Of these: medicines in the amount of 837 rubles, sanatorium treatment in the amount of 129 rubles 47 kopecks and travel in the amount of 120 rubles 19 kopecks.

This does not mean that you will only be given medicines worth 837 rubles, no. If you vitally need expensive drugs, they will provide you with them. This means that if you basically don’t need medications, you can receive 837 rubles into your account every month. The same applies to other services. Travel by train to the place of treatment will cost 3-10 thousand, but if you don’t need to go anywhere, you can receive 120 rubles and kopecks every month.

Compensation for expenses incurred

If a disabled person purchases some medicines with his own money, if they are entitled to them, but were not available in the pharmacy, he has the right to receive compensation for them (according to Order of the Ministry of Health No. 57 of January 31, 2011).

To do this, you need to visit the Pension Fund, having in hand:

• passport,
• medical policy,
• individual rehabilitation program,
• preferential prescription,
• receipts indicating the name of the medicine, its price, date of purchase, name of the pharmacy chain.

People with disabilities often wait for several years to receive the necessary technical means provided for by their rehabilitation program. If a beneficiary can purchase the product he needs himself, he has the right to compensation from the state.

It is worth considering two important nuances:

1. Compensation is due only for the rehabilitation aid that is provided for in the rehabilitation program.
2. The state pays only the compensation amount that is prescribed in the Law and established for a specific subject of the Russian Federation. So if a beneficiary has purchased some super modern and very expensive thing (for example, an automatic wheelchair), you should not expect that the state will fully reimburse its cost. They will pay as much as the cheapest regular wheelchair costs without any bells and whistles.

You can find out more about prices and compensation on the FSS website.

Changes in the amount of compensation for medicines for disabled people

Medicines are constantly becoming more expensive, which is why compensation for them to disabled people is regularly increasing. Indexation occurs annually, and the material expression of the NSO increases from February 1.

How to receive monetary compensation

If for some reason a pensioner does not want to use the benefits from his social package, he has the right to replace them with a cash payment. You can receive money both for all required social services and for any benefits from it. To do this, you need to submit an application before October 1 of the current year to the territorial body of the Russian Pension Fund. Then next year it will no longer be possible to use the benefits, but compensation will be paid along with the pension.

The application must be written on a standard form and must indicate:

• surname, name, patronymic of the applicant;
• passport details of the pensioner;
• address of registration and actual residence;
• SNILS of the applicant;
• a list of benefits that need to be replaced with cash payments;
• information about the management of the Pension Fund where the application is being submitted.

After receiving the application, the Pension Fund will begin paying monetary compensation for the corresponding benefits next year. Payments will continue until the pensioner submits a new application (again before October 1), which asks to cancel the compensation and return benefits in kind.

How to get money back for medicines

Before making a decision to refuse to receive preferential medications, you should carefully weigh the pros and cons. The benefit in kind is subject to restoration only after a year.

It is important to clarify how to return money for medicines to pensioners. There is also a procedure for obtaining a tax deduction for medical expenses. The concept of medical services includes not only therapeutic measures, but also the purchase of pharmaceutical drugs. The main condition for receiving a deduction is completing a course of treatment.

You can receive a deduction (partial reimbursement of expenses) after the end of the year in which medical services were provided. The maximum amount of expenses for which a refund of 13% of expenses is made is 120,000 rubles per year. Based on the maximum amount, the deduction will be 15,600 rubles.

The procedure for obtaining a deduction for medical services is the same as for refunds on other taxes:

• an application is submitted to the tax authority;
• a 3-NDFL declaration is drawn up;
• Documents confirming treatment costs are attached.

However, tax deductions are only available to those individuals who pay personal income tax. If a pensioner does not work, does not receive dividends, or has no other income that is subject to personal income tax, then he is not entitled to deductions.

Is it worth abandoning the state? privileges

Many disabled people sign up to waive the disability benefits package, preferring to receive money monthly. It is reserved for those categories of people who need to receive expensive medications, use public transport to travel to various examinations, and undergo treatment in a sanatorium. If your health has deteriorated and a more serious disability group has been assigned after the MSEC, it will be possible to return benefits.

Is it worth giving up free medicines in favor of compensation?

In some cases, it is better for a person not to replace the benefits provided by the state with monetary compensation. This applies to disabled people who need expensive medications and regular sanatorium treatment. Each region creates its own list of medical and health institutions to which beneficiaries can apply for a voucher. But the institution must be specialized in the human disease. An adult can be treated for 18 days, a child – 21 days (no less). For diseases related to mental health, brain, and spinal cord, the period of sanatorium care is increased to 42 days (minimum).

You should carefully compare all the facts and think about whether it is worth refusing this category of services if the patient requires an annual stay in a sanatorium. The amount of compensation is not so high, for a year it will be a little more than 2,000 rubles, and it is impossible to purchase a voucher on your own without a significant additional payment. If there is no need to visit a sanatorium, you can refuse this benefit. The same applies to medications. If you refuse medications due to disability, you should think about the fact that some expensive drugs simply cannot be purchased with monetary compensation. And others cannot be obtained in pharmacies.

It must be remembered that the monetization of benefits does not apply to the accompanying person. That is, if a disabled person requires the constant presence of a stranger who helps him move, accompanies him to the place of treatment, he has the right to a number of benefits, such as free or discounted travel with his ward. When monetizing, all benefits of the accompanying person are not compensated.

Some people are not interested in the monetization of the social package, but in the question of whether it is possible to refuse disability. For example, if a child has been diagnosed with schizophrenia (psychiatry), but upon reaching the age of 18, no manifestations of the disease have appeared for a long time, and because of the diagnosis, the young person’s path to universities and a good job is closed. In this case, you can write a statement to VTEK. If it is proven that his state of health allows him to exist normally in society, the disability will be removed. Accordingly, the social package is also liquidated.

The social package is an important help for citizens in need. It is especially relevant for those who need expensive medications, regular spa treatment, and provision of technical equipment. But there are beneficiaries for whom it is more profitable to receive at least small cash payments in exchange for guaranteed benefits. Before refusing a disability benefit, you need to think it over carefully and analyze your health status in order to make the right decision.

The most popular questions and answers regarding waiver of benefits

Question : I am a victim of the Chernobyl accident and have a disability. I receive a pension and have been disabled for several years now. From a friend of a Chernobyl survivor I learned that he is paid two EDVs at once . Is it possible? On the Pension Fund of Russia website it is written that if there are two grounds, one is selected.

Answer : The information presented on the official portal of the Pension Fund is correct. But it contains no exceptions to the basic rule. In your case, this exception comes from Federal Law No. 1244-1 , which talks about the social protection of victims of radioactive emissions. According to it, you, as a Chernobyl survivor, have the right to a monthly payment even if there is another reason for receiving it (in your case, it is a disability).

We recommend that you contact the Pension Fund for clarification of the lack of a second payment. You may need to present documents confirming your status as a Chernobyl survivor.

According to the law, EDV is paid from the moment the right to it arises. That is, you have the right to demand payments from the Pension Fund for all missed deadlines.

Answers to frequently asked questions

Question No. 1: A citizen of the Russian Federation (lives in the Oryol region), applied for an early retirement pension. Is he entitled to receive a single social travel card?

In the Oryol region, this issue is being resolved in relation to the norms of regional government Decree No. 365 of October 18, 2010 (current edition of 2021). According to this legal act, the ESPB was introduced in the region from the beginning of May 2015. At that time, its cost was 350 rubles.

As of today (this also applies to 2021), a social travel pass is issued to a preferential category of citizens, which is noted in this Resolution. All beneficiaries receive social support from the Oryol region. These also include people who receive their pension early. Therefore, they are also entitled to ESPB.

Question No. 2: Is it possible for a beneficiary to receive cash compensation in exchange for the ESPB?

No, regional legislation does not provide for such a possibility. The social travel card reduces the actual cost of travel several times. This is its main purpose. Paying a reduced fare does not justify itself in itself.