The expert told how it can be done.
In 2023, Ukrainians will face a number of important changes, including an increase in the insurance period and the introduction of a cumulative pension system.
Read also: Voluntary pension insurance: how it will work in 2023
Pension expert Serhii Korobkin told how it is possible to increase the salary that will be taken into account when calculating the pension, writes “Social information platform”.
He emphasized that in order for the pension to be higher, it is desirable to have more experience and a much higher salary. At the same time, the salary should be high throughout the years, not only in specific periods.
There is also such a concept as optimizing earnings. This is when the period of up to 60 consecutive months of the least profitable salary is excluded from the period for which the salary is taken into account for the calculation of the pension, provided that the specified periods are no more than 10% of the duration of the insurance period. These can be periods of military service, care for a person with a disability, periods of quarantine, martial law, and some others.
Very large salaries are not taken into account when calculating the pension, that is, there is a certain limitation. If we are talking about the salary in Soviet times, then no more than 5.6 average salaries are taken into account for each month in those years.
According to the expert, the modern rules are slightly different.
“Suppose a person officially receives a salary of UAH 120,000. To calculate her pension, only 100.5 thousand will be taken into account. The single social contribution (22%) per month is paid only from the salary, which does not exceed 15 minimum salaries. From October 1, the minimum wage in Ukraine is UAH 6,700. That is, the minimum contribution per month is UAH 1,474, and the maximum is UAH 22,110,” Serhiy Korobkin noted.
However, a person who officially receives the minimum wage has recently been able to independently increase his individual wage rate. As already mentioned, the minimum contribution is UAH 1,474, i.e. 22% of UAH 6,700. Suppose a person voluntarily pays an additional 1,474 hryvnias to the state in a certain month. In this case, when assigning a pension, it will be considered that the person's salary this month was not 6,700 hryvnias, but twice as much – 13,400 hryvnias. If you do this regularly, the picture with the size of the salary will improve, which in the end can play a positive role in calculating the pension.
Of course, all this is provided that a person has the opportunity to make such contributions. We will remind that the innovation appeared after the adoption of the Law “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Simplifying the Mechanism for Participation in Mandatory State Pension Insurance”, which entered into force in December of last year. As you can see, this law concerns not only the ability to buy seniority, but also the ability to influence the size of the salary, which is taken into account to calculate the future pension. However, for those who are already retired, such an option, unfortunately, is not provided.
Related video
Will pensions be increased in 2023 and what all pensioners should be prepared for, read in Andrii Pavlovsky's article “Pensions in 2023: disappointing prospects” on ZN.UA.
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