The Social Protection Fund for the Population explained how self-employed citizens can secure their old-age pension

How Self-Employed Citizens Can Ensure Their Old-Age Pension?

According to the current legislation, the formation of service record for pension assignment occurs under the condition of paying mandatory insurance contributions to the Social Protection Fund of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (hereinafter referred to as the SF).

In accordance with the pension legislation of the Republic of Belarus, the required insurance service record with payment of mandatory insurance contributions to the fund's budget is being gradually increased until 2025 (2022 – 18.5 years, 2023 – 19 years, 2024 – 19.5 years, 2025 – 20 years).

Working citizens are protected regarding their pension future. According to the legislation, mandatory insurance contributions for working citizens are accrued, withheld, and transferred to the fund's budget by their employers.

Those citizens who independently carry out activities not related to entrepreneurship (the full list is contained in Article 1 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus) and are not notaries or lawyers (hereinafter referred to as self-employed individuals) are granted the right to voluntarily participate in ensuring their pension future.

To form their pension future, a self-employed individual needs to:

• register with the Social Protection Fund bodies of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (hereinafter referred to as the Fund bodies) at their place of residence (submit an application and present an identity document and a copy of the receipt for payment of a single tax (or other document confirming the performance of activities not related to entrepreneurship);
• annually pay mandatory insurance contributions no later than March 1 of the year following the reporting year (for 2022 – no later than March 1, 2023);
• annually, no later than March 31 of the year following the reporting year, submit a personalized accounting document to the Fund body.

After a self-employed individual is registered with the Fund bodies, they are issued a state social security certificate and an individual personal account (IPA) is opened, on which information used in the calculation of pension is accumulated.

for the further appointment of a pension.

More detailed information can be obtained from the district departments (sectors) of the Fund at the place of residence or through social networks (name of the official account (group, page, channel) – "FSZN: officially, simply and accessibly": www.instagram.com, www.vk.com, www.ok.ru, www.tlgrm.ru, www.facebook.com.