Rules for obtaining a disability pension certificate

How to apply for disability for a pensioner - where to start in 2021:

1. Get a referral for medical examination from your doctor.
2. Collect documents.
3. Pass a medical examination.
4. Receive a decision on disability and contact the Pension Fund.

Registration of disability for pensioners is an opportunity to receive a significant increase in pension. The status of a disabled person gives a citizen the right to receive free medicines and devices that are necessary for certain diseases. Let's figure out whether older Russians have the right to apply for a disability pension, and how to do it correctly.

Innovations for spring 2021

In connection with the coronavirus epidemic, on April 9, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted Resolution No. 467 dated 04/09/2020 “On the Temporary Procedure for Recognizing a Person as Disabled.” According to this document, the extension of previously assigned disability from March 1 to October 1, 2021 is automatically extended for 6 months. Later, Resolution 467 expired, but a new Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation dated October 16, 2020 No. 1697 was adopted, which extended the temporary order until October 1, 2021.

The established temporary procedure with absentee examination means that:

1. A person does not need to write an application, take tests or see doctors.
2. He does not need to pass a commission.
3. The decision to renew is made automatically.
4. A certificate of extension of disability will be sent to him by registered mail or through the State Services portal (if there is an account there).
5. The data is sent to the Pension Fund and the Social Insurance Fund via intradepartmental communication channels. A person does not need to go to funds on his own.

Those who were previously recognized as a disabled child, and have now reached the age of 18, are automatically assigned disability group 1, 2 or 3.

Can a pensioner apply for disability?

Any Russian, regardless of gender and age, who has significant health limitations has the right to receive disability: both a child and a pensioner.

The requirements and conditions for assigning this status are set out in Government Decree No. 95 of February 20, 2006.

There are three types of disability pension:

1. insurance,
2. state,
3. social.

Insurance is assigned to a citizen only if he has the required work experience (Law No. 400-FZ). If there is no work experience or it is not enough to assign pension payments, then a social benefit is assigned (Law No. 166-FZ). Certain categories of citizens are awarded state pensions (military personnel injured while serving).

Design features for a child

If you need to formalize payment of social assistance to a disabled child, then this process will not differ from the same procedure carried out by adults.

But in order to pass the commission you will have to provide a wider range of documentation. A minor child may receive a disability pension based on:

1. Statement provided by the legal representative.
2. Applicant's passports.
3. Identification cards of the child, if he is 14 years old or older. For younger children, a birth certificate will be required.
4. Certificates of registration.
5. Health insurance policies.
6. Health certificates.

You need to visit the relevant authorities with these documents and their photocopies. No additional data is needed. A medical commission will decide whether to assign a certain disability group or not.

When assigning assistance, the age of the citizen is not taken into account. When assessing a person’s health status, they are guided by the same principles. Payments can be credited to a bank card, to a bank account, sent by mail, or the postman brings the money home. If it is not possible to arrange a pension yourself, then you need a notarized power of attorney.

If a person cannot engage in work for health reasons, he can undergo a commission to assign him a disability group. After this, you should collect documents and visit the Pension Fund to assign a pension. But you will have to comply with certain conditions. For example, in the second and third groups, the period is limited, so you will have to undergo an examination annually to confirm your disability.

What does disability give to a pensioner?

Disability is a status that provides additional benefits and privileges. All types of assistance are aimed at helping people with disabilities.

When registering the status of a disabled person and collecting documents for disability, a pensioner should count on the following benefits:

1. Assignment of pension. Its size is determined depending on the group of health restrictions.
2. Free medications and supplies. Issued by prescription from the attending physician.
3. Compensation for spa treatment. Part of the funds to pay for treatment is reimbursed by the state.
4. Rehabilitation according to special programs. Aimed at the adaptation of citizens in the social environment.
5. The right to social benefits: free travel, compensation for utilities, tax breaks and exemptions.

Part of the social guarantees can be monetized, that is, replaced with money: when applying for a disability pension, a citizen has the right to refuse free medicines and replace them with a monthly cash supplement.

Conditions for granting a disability pension

The procedure for obtaining disability pensions occurs only on an application basis, when applying to the Pension Fund.

The degree of a person’s ability to work is determined depending on the disability group, which is established by the ITU bureau, there are 3 in total.

The third group includes people who have suffered minor harm to their health, but have deviations that make their work possible, but not in any position. The second group is not working, but the certificate may indicate the permitted type of work, for example, “at home.” Persons with disabilities of the first degree are considered completely incapacitated and therefore cannot get a job.

To establish a pension payment, the following conditions are necessary:

• filing an application;
• collection and provision of documents;
• insurance experience.

If an applicant submits documents to consider receiving a pension due to disability, but does not actually have insurance contributions, then he is entitled to a social pension.

Conditions for recognition as disabled

There are only five groups operating in Russia:

1. First group. Characterizes significant deviations in health. The first group is assigned to bedridden patients, citizens who are unable to care for themselves. In simple words, a group 1 disabled person is a person who cannot exist without outside help and requires constant care and supervision.
2. Second group. Persons in the second group include citizens who have health limitations and whose normal existence is impossible without special medical devices, medications and supervision. Such citizens can move independently or with the help of special means. But they cannot work and provide for themselves without proper arrangement of the workplace.
3. Third group. Working group. Persons with the third category can work without special devices and equipment and provide for themselves independently, but have persistent disorders of body functions.
4. The fourth group is children with disabilities. Minor citizens who have persistent and pronounced disorders and dysfunctions of the body.
5. A disabled person from childhood is an adult who received injuries or illnesses as a child.

A pensioner has the right to receive only group 1, 2, 3 or childhood disability status, but only in the presence of diseases and disorders of body functions.

So to the question whether pensioners are given disability, we answer: Yes, but not vice versa: reaching retirement age does not provide grounds for assigning a disability pension.

Who is entitled to payment?

Social pension is awarded to persons recognized as disabled, who have, or a disability group.

Also, social assistance is provided to people with disabilities since childhood or disabled children. To obtain this status, they undergo a state medical expert commission.

They pay the money within the time period established by the commission. For groups 2 and 3 this is usually a year, and for group 1 - 2 years or for life. Upon expiration of the period, re-examination is carried out.

The following conditions are important for calculating pensions:

1. Availability of “disabled” status.
2. Citizenship of the Russian Federation.

Even if incapacitated, a person can work if his health allows.

But often enterprises refuse to hire disabled people because they need special working conditions. People with the third group of disabilities have a greater chance of finding employment.

What documents to collect and where to go

First of all, you should contact your local physician for consultation. The doctor will order an examination and determine whether there are grounds for assigning disability. The requirements for applying for a disability pension are quite strict. And one illness is not enough to receive government payments.

If there are grounds, then the attending physician refers the citizen to a special medical and social examination (MSE).

What documents are needed:

1. Application for conducting ITU.
2. A referral for medical examination is prepared by the attending physician, representatives of social protection of the population, or the territorial branch of the Pension Fund.
3. Passport.
4. SNILS (insurance certificate).
5. Pensioner's ID.
6. A certified copy of the work record book, if the pensioner continues to work.
7. Medical report, tests, extracts from outpatient records and other documentation confirming the presence of diseases and disorders.
8. An industrial accident report, if the injury or injury occurred at the workplace.

How to register disability for a bedridden sick pensioner? He will have to issue a power of attorney to a relative or other representative. To issue a power of attorney, you can call a notary to your home.

If the patient is incompetent, they receive permission to take actions on his behalf only through the court. First, the court appoints an official representative - a guardian. Then the patient’s representatives or relatives turn to the attending physician for a conclusion that MSE should be performed at home.

The procedure for registering disability step by step

Step-by-step instructions on how to apply for disability for a pensioner will help you:

Step #1: Seek a consultation.

You can get advice not only from your attending physician at a local clinic, but also from the territorial department of social protection of the population or from the Pension Fund. Another doctor can also give a referral to MES if the citizen was examined in another city or region.

Step #2: Collect and submit documents.

Take care of medical documentation, which should confirm the existence of grounds for recognition as disabled. An application and referral to medical examination are not all the documents needed to register a disability for a pensioner; the medical commission will request additional confirmation of the tests, treatment, and examinations completed. These are extracts from the outpatient card, doctor’s reports, test results, ultrasound, CT and MRI. In each case, the list of required documents is individual.

Documents are also submitted electronically through the single portal “State Services”:

Step #3: Wait for the invitation.

The ITU Medical Commission will consider the application and send a notification about the appointment of a date and place for the examination. For bedridden patients, the examination is carried out at home or in a hospital at the citizen’s location.

The notification is sent by mail or electronically: if you submitted documents through your personal government services account, the notification will be sent electronically.

Step No. 4. Pass the commission.

IMPORTANT!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, examinations at ITU institutions until 10/01/2021 are mainly carried out in absentia.

You must appear at the appointed time. Take your passport and SNILS with you. The commission members will make a decision immediately after the examination. If the decision is positive, the applicant will be issued a special certificate confirming disability. If the decision is negative, the commission members will explain the reason for the refusal.

If the ITU commission refused to assign a disability, then you have the right to challenge the decision. Read on to find out how to do this.

Step No. 5. Contact the Pension Fund.

Submit the received certificate to the territorial office of the Pension Fund to assign payments. If there is no PFR service in the locality, then it is permissible to contact the MFC.

It is possible to submit an application for a disability pension through your personal account on the official website of the Pension Fund or through the Gosuslugi portal.

Please note: the certificate remains in the citizen’s hands for the entire validity period. The certificate is not submitted to the Pension Fund, social security or MFC. A copy is sufficient to assign a pension and other social benefits.

Step No. 6. Contact social security.

After applying for a disability pension, visit the social protection center. If there is none, then contact the MFC. This is necessary to obtain social benefits for a pensioner: to reimburse utility bills and receive compensation for free travel.

Procedure for applying for a pension

Registration of a pension begins with passing a medical and social examination, where the applicant applies in person. If the patient has a prospect of recovery, the group is established for a certain period, at the approach of which the citizen must undergo the next commission. If there is no possibility of restoring lost functions, the group is assigned indefinitely. If health is restored, the group will be canceled.

List of required documents

After the diagnosis is carried out and the conclusion is issued, it is necessary to prepare documents for submission to the Pension Fund:

• statement;
• passport data (copy);
• SNILS;
• ITU conclusion;
• in case of sending information by an authorized person, his power of attorney and passport data are required;
• employment history.

Depending on the situation, the specialist may require additional information.

A representative has the right to prepare and submit documents under a notarized power of attorney.

Appointment dates

The payment is assigned from the date of establishment of the fact of incapacity for work, if the application is submitted before 12 months from the date of receipt of disability. In other cases - from the date of submission of the application.

Will they pay two pensions?

If, before receiving disability, the pensioner had already been assigned an insurance pension, then he is not entitled to a second pension, but is entitled to an additional payment. The amount depends on the number of accumulated pension points during the period of employment, the cost of one point and the size of the fixed payment.

From 01/01/2021, the amount of the fixed payment for disabled people of group II is 6044.48 rubles. For disabled people of group III, such payment is set at 50% of the specified amount. Group I disabled people are entitled to an increased fixed payment - 12,088.96 rubles. If you have dependents, you are entitled to higher payments.

IMPORTANT!

The annual February and April indexation of the fixed payment is suspended until 2025 (Part 13 of Article 10 of Law No. 350-FZ of October 3, 2018).

If there is no insurance experience or it is not enough to assign insurance payments, then a social pension is assigned:

• for disabled people of group I since childhood and disabled children - 13,912.10 rubles;
• for disabled people of group I, disabled people of group II since childhood - 11,593.58 rubles;
• disabled people of group II (except for disabled people since childhood) - 5,796.76 rubles;
• for disabled people of group III - 4927.29 rubles.

IMPORTANT!

From April 1, 2021, these amounts are indexed!

State pensions for disabled people are not assigned to everyone, but to representatives of law enforcement agencies and departments (military, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Penitentiary Service, security services, etc.). Current legislation provides for the appointment of two pensions simultaneously. For example, military disability pension and old-age insurance pension.

Registration procedure

There are no age or work experience requirements to receive this payment, but some conditions must be met.

What documents are needed

To receive social benefits, you need to collect a number of documents. You should contact the relevant structures with:

1. Statement. To fill it out, you can download the form on the website or take it from the Pension Fund itself. The future pensioner needs to indicate the name of the fund, personal data, registration and residence address, information about the legal representative and other details.
2. Passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation . If you do not have permanent registration, you must present a certificate of temporary registration.
3. Certificate of compulsory pension insurance.
4. The conclusion of a medical examination. This document proves that doctors have confirmed that a person has serious health problems.

If a person wants to apply for a disability insurance pension, then he needs to contact:

1. documents to confirm the duration of work;
2. a certificate of the average salary for the next five years until 2002, if necessary;
3. documents confirming additional circumstances. For example, information about changing your last name. You also need to indicate if you have dependents.

To receive a state disability pension, you also need documents confirming the applicant’s category. You need to contact the Pension Fund with a veteran’s ID or military ID.

If a legal representative applies, then in addition to an identity card, documents are needed confirming that he has the right to act on behalf of the disabled person . To do this, you need to use the act of the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, or a notarized power of attorney.

Contacting the Pension Fund

If circumstances arise that make a person entitled to a pension, he can apply for it without any time restrictions. You need to send an application to the Pension Fund, which accepts citizens at their place of residence with the appropriate application.

You can also visit the multifunctional center for these purposes . The application must be submitted independently, submitted through a legal representative

If the application is submitted by mail, then the date on the postmark is taken as the day of application. When submitting documents to the multifunctional center, the countdown begins from the day the application was received.

The application can be submitted online using the Pension Fund website . If a disabled person has chosen this form of application, then the day of application is considered the date of sending the electronic document.

Russians who live outside the country and cannot confirm their place of residence by registration should contact the Pension Fund of Russia, which is located in Moscow, on Shabolovka Street, 4.

To start paying a disability insurance pension:

1. The citizen must be recognized as disabled and assigned a group. For this purpose, a medical and social examination is carried out.
2. It is important to have insurance experience. If there is not a single day of service, then a social disability pension is awarded.

Appointment dates

Gives ten days to study the documents provided by the future pensioner. Insurance payments are assigned from the day when the person was recognized as disabled , if the application was made no later than a year from that moment.

Important! The law establishes that a disability pension will be paid only during the period for which the degree of labor loss has been established.

Disability is established for different periods. In this case, the nature of the disease or injury received is taken into account, as well as for a lifelong period.

After a re-examination for certain diseases and injuries, the period of disability is extended or removed. Since a pension is assigned for a period during which a citizen’s capabilities are limited, he must visit the pension fund every year and bring there a certificate of disability.

The benefit is assigned from the first day following the month in which documents confirming the right to payments were provided.

Is it possible to challenge an ITU refusal?

Applications for disability status are often denied. But this is not a reason to give up. The pensioner has the right to challenge the decision of the ITU medical commission, but in a higher bureau. If the refusal is received at the regional ITU, then the decision will have to be contested at the regional office.

If the pensioner is rejected by the regional branch of the ITU, then you have the right to challenge this decision. But already in court. But it will not be possible to challenge a court decision. If the court refuses the pensioner, then filing a cassation or appeal will not be possible. But a court decision is not a sentence. It is worth waiting and contacting your doctor again. Then go through the examination again, confirm the pensioner’s health status and begin the registration procedure from the very beginning.

About the author of the article

Natalya Evdokimova Accountant-expert, practical experience - more than 15 years.

Author of articles in online media on accounting, taxes, and personnel issues.