In connection with recent events related to the reform of the current pension system in the Russian Federation, many citizens have begun to pay more attention to issues related to their payments in the future.
This applies to a greater extent to older people who do not have much time left before they retire. However, even for relatively young citizens, pension topics have become of significant interest.
People, first of all, are concerned about the size of their future pension and whether they will be able to maintain their usual standard of living in old age, associated with their current financial security. After all, it’s no secret that pension payments in Russia are quite low, and their average level is significantly lower than the average salary.
However, the law provides mechanisms for how they can be increased . One of them is the transfer of the funded part of the pension to a non-state pension fund (NPF).
What is NPF
The pension system in our country is based on the principles of compulsory insurance. In practice, this is expressed in the fact that for each working citizen, cash contributions are periodically made to the Pension Fund of Russia, which is, in fact, the main insurer of compulsory pension insurance. The responsibility for transferring them lies with the employer.
Reference! If a citizen works privately - as an individual entrepreneur, lawyer or notary, then he pays insurance premiums for himself at established rates.
The amount of contributions depends on the size of the official salary, amounting to 22% of it. It should be noted that this amount is not used in its entirety to form the employee’s pension. So, 6% goes to the current needs of the Pension Fund. This is a solidarity tariff.
The remaining 16% goes towards retirement. At the same time, the majority of the working population has the right to choose how it will be formed. So, a citizen can decide that all 16% will go towards the insurance pension.
Or he can choose the option that, along with the insurance (10%), a savings fund (6%) will also be formed. It is not provided for all citizens, but only for those who have decided to do so. In addition, the formation of a funded pension through insurance contributions is impossible for persons who were born before 1967.
A working citizen also makes a decision on how to dispose of the funded part independently, but within the framework of the alternatives proposed by law. So, he can leave it at the Pension Fund or transfer it to a non-state fund. The latter should be understood as a private structure that carries out compulsory pension insurance activities for citizens on a contractual basis.
The non-state pension fund, to which funds are transferred for the savings part, accumulates them and invests them in various projects, that is, it carries out inversion. The income received from this allows you to significantly increase the size of your pension in the future.
A funded pension can be formed not only from insurance contributions, but also from voluntary transfers from citizens , the amount of maternity capital allocated for these purposes, as well as within the framework of a co-financing program, which is currently frozen.
Today, there are a large number of non-state pension funds represented on this market, and choosing the most reliable and profitable among them is quite a difficult task.
The choice has been made: how to transfer pension savings to a non-state pension fund?
If the issue of the activities of the non-state pension fund (which one to choose for transferring the low-income pension) has already been resolved, then workers have another problem: how to transfer the pension to a non-state fund?
In order to conclude a mandatory security agreement with a non-state pension fund, you must contact the office of the non-governmental organization at the place of registration. The only documents you need to take with you are your passport and SNILS. After completing the documentation, the client is given a copy of the agreement confirming the desire to transfer pension savings from the Russian Pension Fund to the Non-State Pension Fund.
But for the final transfer of private entrepreneurs to another fund, confirmation is required from the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation. This can be done in several ways:
- During a personal visit to the Pension Fund of Russia, filling out an application form with consent to the transfer.
- By confirming by phone specified in the OPS agreement (or with “feedback” from a specialist at the NPF contact center).
- By sending consent via email or SMS message.
In 2021, 25% of non-state funds (for example, NPF Sberbank) offer to confirm consent to transfer the private entrepreneur “without leaving the office”: when registering an OPS, the client receives an SMS message within 2-5 minutes with a code that must be communicated to the manager. The employee enters the code into the program and the application is automatically sent to the Pension Fund. Repeated confirmation and a personal visit to the Russian Pension Fund are not required.
List of non-state pension funds in Russia
Non-state pension funds, like any commercial structure, have different levels of reliability indicators. Leading expert agencies regularly compile corresponding ratings of non-state pension funds based on this criterion.
Below we will look at the 10 most reliable non-state pension funds according to RA. It is relevant for the period from 2021 to the beginning of 2021.
NPF "Sberbank"
This foundation is one of the oldest in Russia, it was founded back in 1995. The founder, as its name suggests, is Sberbank of Russia. According to open sources, the clients of Sberbank NPF are just under 8 million people, and the volume of assets is almost 480 billion rubles. In addition, the fund shows the best profitability. In previous periods it amounted to more than 10%.
"VTB Pension Fund"
The founder of this NPF is also a banking structure - the VTB Group. It is the second fund after Sberbank NPF in terms of the number of clients and disposable assets. Experts rate its rating as “very reliable.”
"GAZFOND pension savings"
This fund was formed quite recently, only in 2021. This happened as a result of its separation from the NPF GAZFOND, which was located lower on the list. In 2021, its capitalization amounted to more than 500 billion rubles, which gives it the status of one of the largest in the country.
"GAZFOND"
It is also one of the oldest foundations in the country, founded in 1994. NPF shareholders are many structures that form the gas industry, including the state corporation Gazprom. It was the largest in the country in terms of assets.
JSC NPF NEFTEGARANT
The main owner of the fund is the state corporation Rosneft. NPF is known for being the legal successor to the obligations of another large fund, Soglasie, which was merged with it at the end of 2021. Currently, more than 1.6 million people keep their funded pension here.
NPF "Atomgarant"
The fund has been present on the pension insurance market for more than two decades. The main shareholder is Rosenergoatom Concern JSC.
"National" NPF
It was created in 1997 to provide pensions to Tatneft employees. “National Non-State Pension Fund” is one of the largest funds among those established in the regions. The shareholders are the largest Tatarstan industrial and financial organizations, but at the moment the head office is located in Moscow.
"Alliance"
This NPF was created in 2004. The main shareholder is PJSC Rostelecom, in which the state participation is more than 53%. The reliability of the fund has been confirmed by numerous expert assessments.
"Diamond Autumn"
One of the very first funds, which was created in 1995. The largest shareholder is PJSC AK Alrosa, which is a world leader in the mining of natural diamonds. The NPF has assets of almost 30 billion rubles with an average annual return over the last three years of 9.69%.
JSC NPF Surgutneftegas
It was created in 1995 for the needs of employees of Surgutneftegaz OJSC, which remains the main shareholder of the fund to this day. The NPF has assets of 26 billion rubles and is one of the largest organizations providing services in the field of non-state pension insurance.
Rating of non-state Pension Funds of Russia by profitability
When choosing an organization to invest your pension savings, the most important thing is to look at the profitability of the organization, at the dynamics of its performance in recent years. On the website of the Central Bank you can find information about the profitability of each operating NPF for each year of its operation.
If the NPF works efficiently and invests client funds in good assets, then the client receives income, and the amount of the funded part of the pension will increase. Accordingly, if there is no profit, then there will be no growth.
For comparison: VEB is engaged in investing the funds of citizens who are in the Pension Fund itself. At the end of 2021, it reported a profitability of 6.07%.
If you study the rating of non-state Pension Funds in recent years, you will find that over the past two years their profitability has decreased significantly. In 2015 and 2021, many companies gave excellent results; in many non-state pension funds, the profit of citizens reached 10-12% per annum. But based on the results of 2021 and 2021, it is clear that profitability has decreased significantly.
For a more objective understanding of the picture, we will compile the rating of the Russian NFR using the following algorithm: in descending order of profitability based on the results of work in the 1st quarter of 2021. To understand the dynamics of profitability, we will look at the profitability of the same company for 2021 and 2021.
Non-state Pension Fund, company rating:
- Hephaestus. The yield for the 1st quarter of 2021 is 12.42%, for the end of 2018 - 3.94%, for the end of 2021 - 9.97%. This is a leading fund, but, as you can see, its performance cannot be called stable. The clients of this company are only 30,400 people (as of the 1st quarter of 2019).
- Construction complex. The yield for the 1st quarter of 2021 is 5.82%, for 2018 - 3.94%, for 2021 - 7.96%. The indicators are also unstable, but they cannot be called low for the current years. At the beginning of 2021, Stroykompleks’ clients included 38,750 people.
- Surgutneftegaz. The yield for the 1st quarter of 2021 is 10.67%, for the end of 2021 - 5.32%, for the end of 2021 - 8.74%. The current client base is almost 38,000 people.
- Discovery, this NPF was previously called Lukoil Garant. Profitability for the 1st quarter of 2021 is 10.04%, for 2021 - minus 10.8%, for 2021 - no data. Last year the company experienced problems (reorganization of Otkritie Bank), but now the situation has leveled out. Customer base: more than 7.1 million Russians.
- Neftegarant. The yield for the 1st quarter of 2021 is 9.97%, for the end of 2021 - 5.12%, for the end of 2021 - 8.13%. The number of clients is 1.47 million people.
- Khanty-Mansk NPF. The yield for the 1st quarter of 2021 is 9.55%, for the end of 2021 - 4.15%, for the end of 2021 - 8.16%. The number of clients is almost 135,000 people.
- Sberbank. The yield for the 1st quarter of 2021 is 9.35%, for 2021 - 4.64%, for 2021 - 8.7%. The number of clients is 8.7 million citizens.
- First industrial alliance. The yield for the 1st quarter of 2021 is 9.25%, for the end of 2021 - 5.04%, for the end of 2021 - 8.14%. There are 31,850 Russians as clients.
- UMMC-Perspective. The yield for the 1st quarter of 2021 is 9%, for the end of 2021 - 4.47%, for the end of 2021 - 9.19%. The number of clients is 92,500 people.
- Big. The yield for the 1st quarter of 2021 is 8.79%, in 2021 - 2.21%, in 2021 - 7.16%. Serves approximately 430,000 citizens.
Information on profitability was obtained from an official source - information provided by the Central Bank of Russia.
Which NPF is better to choose?
When choosing a non-state pension fund, you should not rush or immediately succumb to the persuasion of agents. It is important to conduct a thorough analysis of the organization to which you should entrust your future retirement. The choice can be made according to the criteria indicated below.
When was it created
Obviously, the earlier the NPF was organized, the more practical experience its management has in managing pension savings. In addition, organizations formed in the 90s deserve high marks according to this criterion. This indicates that, despite the economic turbulence of those years, the fund was able to survive, having at the moment experience of working in crisis conditions.
Founders of the fund
Preference should be given to non-state pension funds that have large companies as founders, including financial and resource companies, which is relevant in Russian conditions. Thus, the reliability of the fund is ensured by the multi-billion dollar assets of the parent companies.
Profitability
In fact, it is the receipt of investment income that is the reason why citizens place their funded pension in a non-state pension fund. You can get acquainted with this indicator from the Central Bank data posted on the regulator’s website.
Important! The most successful funds have returns of about 10%.
Reliability level
The reliability of NPFs is assessed by independent rating agencies, which publish their research data in the public domain. All funds, information about which is posted in this article, have a very high level of reliability.
Place in the ranking
Rating agencies analyze the performance of non-state pension funds according to several criteria, where, in addition to reliability, the following are considered:
- capitalization;
- number of clients;
- volume of current pension payments.
Anyone can view the ratings.
Transparency of activities
In accordance with current legislation, non-state funds are required to publish information about current activities on their official websites. In addition, many NPFs offer to register a personal account, where the client can familiarize himself with the status of his savings and other confidential information.
Criteria for choosing a non-state pension fund
- Reliability. This is one of the most important parameters for assessing a pension fund. The pension system is organized in such a way as to protect cash deposits - the entire volume of savings is fully insured, so a person can be sure that he will not be left without money in old age. There are various annual ratings conducted by special analytical agencies. As a result of comparing the list of parameters, each background is assigned a specific category. The highest rating of such an institution is AAA, which indicates the best reliability among all competitors.
- Work period. The longer the organization has been active in the field of pension provision, the more experience it has, the larger its base and the ability to adapt to any market conditions.
- Number of insured. This indicator tells you how many people work with this organization. If a company has less than a million clients, it is not recommended to trust it with your money.
- Profitability. This indicator has a comprehensive assessment and is compiled based on several components. You need to understand that some rating agencies specifically select indicators in such a way as to bring the organization they need to first place. This is due to the fact that the profitability parameter has several modifications - profitability for the last year, average profitability over 10 years, accumulated profitability, and they are all calculated differently, and some also depend on the period of activity.
- Accompanying services. This parameter is not so important when choosing a company, but it affects the ease of using its services. According to the recommendations of experts, it is necessary to clarify whether the company has an official website, a personal account for each user, and how quickly and efficiently the technical support works.
- Office location. It is best to choose a company that has a branch in your hometown, since some issues can only be resolved by visiting the organization in person.
An important nuance. You can change your pension fund no more than once a year. However, if 5 years have not passed during the period of work with the company, you lose all interest on the investment. Many people do not know this nuance, as a result of which they lose significant amounts of money that could work and earn income. In order to find out what period of your work with the insurer, you need to go to the State website. After receiving the document, you will learn about the amount of savings you have and with which organization you have a contractual relationship. Here you can find out the date of conclusion of the agreement with the fund.
NPF or Pension Fund
It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally. It should be noted here that there are no risks associated with the loss of pension savings in the event of liquidation or bankruptcy of the fund. If a non-state pension fund ceases to exist, then all the funds located there become the responsibility of the Pension Fund.
At the same time, it should be understood that the activities of a non-state fund are associated with risk. A non-state pension fund cannot guarantee profitability as such, while in the Pension Fund, savings are periodically indexed. At the same time, the size of the increase is extremely small and does not even cover the real inflation rate. In this regard, it is more profitable to place a funded pension in a non-state pension fund, which has a high level of reliability and good profitability indicators.
When choosing a non-state pension fund, citizens do not have to worry about their savings, since they are insured . However, you should be careful when choosing a fund. There are quite a few of these organizations, so you should choose the NPF that is the most reliable and has a well-thought-out investment policy that ensures high returns.
NPF's license was taken away: what should clients do?
In case of cancellation of the fund's license, the client is given the opportunity to transfer his savings to another private company. If you refuse to choose another NPF, pension savings will by default be transferred to the Pension Fund of Russia, retaining 6% of the NPF.
Within the framework of Law No. 422-FZ, which regulates the rights of insured persons when concluding compulsory insurance in the Russian Federation, at the end of 2015, 32 non-state pension funds entered the private private enterprise guarantee system. This means that pension savings of citizens, indexed by the Pension Fund or Non-State Pension Fund (protected by the Deposit Insurance Agency), are guaranteed by the state.
Rating of the best non-state pension funds for citizens of the Russian Federation by profitability
In order to understand the real profitability of non-state funds, we will compile a rating based on the profitability of investing pension savings minus remuneration for management companies, a specialized depository and a fund. According to these criteria, at the moment, the most profitable institutions include: JSC NPF "Gefest" (12.88%), JSC NPF "Volga-Capital" (11.37%), JSC NPF "Surgutneftegas" (13.10% ), JSC NPF Otkritie (11.97%), JSC NPF Evolution (11.66%). We considered the last representative in the previous rating based on the criterion of reliability, so we will not repeat it.
JSC NPF "Gefest"
Address: Moscow, Ozerkovskaya embankment, 28, building 1.
Phone: ☎.
Opening hours: Monday-Friday - from 09:30 to 17:30, Saturday, Sunday - closed.
Official website on the Internet: https://www.npfgefest.ru.
The fund was created in 1993 for workers in the mining and metallurgical industry. In 2015, the institution was transformed into a joint-stock company. In addition to the head office in Moscow, the organization has 9 more branches in the regions. The main investors of the fund are JSC United Metallurgical, JSC Chusovsky Metallurgical, PJSC Blagoveshchensk Reinforcement Plant.
The institution offers the following types of services: non-state pension provision, pension co-financing program, compulsory pension insurance. The first type allows you to conclude a security agreement not only for yourself, but also for any other loved one. You can pay contributions by writing an application to the accounting department at your place of work, as well as through bank branches. The investor independently determines the amount of contributions and their frequency.
Co-financing of pensions is possible only for those investors who joined the state program for co-financing savings before December 2014. The third type of service speaks for itself by its name.
Each client can use a personal account, which displays all the necessary information. There is a technical support service that will help you understand all the nuances of working with it.
Advantages:
- high profitability;
- convenient website;
- a long service life indicates a good indicator of the company’s reliability.
Flaws:
- small amount of capital raised.
JSC NPF "Volga-Capital"
Address: Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan, st. N. Ershova, 55E.
Phone: ☎ (calls within Russia are free).
Official website on the Internet: https://www.volga-capital.ru.
The organization has been on the market for more than 10 years. According to expert advice, it is more profitable to store your savings here compared to budget organizations, since the percentage of return is on average 3-4 points higher. Each client of the fund annually receives an account statement indicating the remaining balance, as well as the income received from the investment. You can also control the growth of savings using your Personal Account on the company’s website.
Payments of additional pensions begin from the moment the relevant grounds arise. The amount will depend on which accrual scheme the client has chosen, as well as on the volume of contributions. According to the description on the organization’s website, the client can terminate the contract with the NPF at any time by receiving the redemption amount in hand or transferring it to another fund.
The company's website is simple and contains the minimum necessary information. For new clients, it will be a problem to even find out the operating hours of a particular office, not to mention solving emerging technical issues. For a person savvy in this regard, understanding all the nuances will not be difficult.
Advantages:
- high profitability over the past year;
- There is non-state pension provision, compulsory insurance and co-financing.
Flaws:
- there is no office in Moscow and the Moscow region;
- inconvenient and uninformative website;
- small amount of capital raised.
JSC NPF "Surgutneftegas"
Address: Surgut, st. Entuziastov, 52/1, office 209.
Phone: ☎ 8-800-200-14-29 (calls within Russia are free).
Opening hours: Monday-Friday - from 08:30 to 17:00, lunch from 12:40 to 14:00, Saturday, Sunday - closed.
Official website on the Internet: https://npf-sng.ru.
The history of the foundation begins in 1995 - the date of creation and legal registration of the institution. The first payments of non-state pensions were made in 1999; since 2008, the organization has been providing compulsory insurance services.
An NPO (non-state pension provision) agreement can be concluded not only for yourself, but also for a loved one. All funds in the depositor's account are subject to inheritance not only during the accumulation period, but also during the payment period. The organization states that even in a situation of force majeure, when an investment may not generate income, 0.01% of income is necessarily credited to the investor’s account. The contract can be terminated at any time at the request of the client, and he will receive not only the amount of savings, but also the accrued profit from the investment.
You can pay contributions in the following ways: by writing an application to the employer’s accounting department - in this case, payments will be made automatically, through your Personal Account using a Visa or Maestro card, through any bank branch, through branded ATMs. Employees of Surgutneftegas PJSC can take part in the Partnership program, in which not only the employee, but also the employer provides the accrual of an additional non-state pension.
Advantages:
- the highest real profitability among all non-state pension funds under consideration;
- favorable conditions for investors;
- additional bonuses for employees of Surgutneftegas PJSC.
Flaws:
- there is no head office in Moscow and the Moscow region.
JSC NPF "Otkritie"
Address: Moscow, st. Gilyarovskogo, 39, building 3.
Phone: ☎ 8 800 200-5-999 (calls within Russia are free).
Opening hours: Reception is by appointment.
Official website on the Internet: https://open-npf.ru.
You can enter into an agreement with a company online without visiting an office, which is especially important during a pandemic. The same can be done with changed phone numbers, residence/stay addresses, etc.
The organization’s website has an online calculator that, depending on a small list of entered characteristics, will allow you to determine the final pension amount. All emerging issues can be resolved using the hotline, which is open on weekdays from 08:00 to 20:00 Moscow time. Unlike other similar organizations, on the official website of Otkritie, in the most visible place, there is a button “Contact the quality service”, where you can complain about any difficulties in working with the NPF. Also, many clients note the convenient “General Questions and Answers” section, where you can find almost all the information you need.
The fund has been operating in the investment market for more than 25 years and has proven itself well. During this time, more than 7.1 million Russians acted as clients. The volume of pension savings currently amounts to 516 billion Russian rubles. More than 230,000 people are already receiving their accumulated pension.
Advantages:
- all necessary operations, including concluding a security agreement, can be carried out online, without visiting the office;
- high profitability over the past year;
- convenient and understandable website;
- there is a hotline with convenient opening hours;
- a long period of activity indicates the high reliability of the company.
Flaws:
- not detected.
