The Russian Pension Fund website has opened a new section about the Social Fund of Russia (SFR) that is to begin operation on January 1, 2023. The merger of the Pension Fund and the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) will facilitate access to social support – it will be possible to receive all federal payments in the one-stop mode. The merger envisages full continuity of payments, services and obligations of both funds. This means that all services or information currently provided by the PFR and the SIF will continue as is after the New Year.
At the same time, SFR will reduce the administrative load on business and will broaden the categories of Russians entitled to social security. The number of online services will grow, families with children and pregnant women will start receiving a single benefit, and reports from policyholders will be received in a new procedure.
Starting January 1, 2023, SFR visitors will be received at joint client offices located at the following addresses. Many of these offices are on the trial run. In the future, all federal social benefits will be available at one request. Pensioners, families with children and disabled persons can choose either the nearest office of the joint fund or a multifunctional center convenient to them.
The PFR-SIF merger due next year will have a positive effect on the payments and services, acting Russian Pension Fund Board Chairman Sergei Chirkov said. “The Russian Pension Fund has undergone a complex transformation over its 30-year history. It has evolved from an organization that merely funded pensions into a strong social institution supporting a person from birth to the end. The PFR-SIF merger due in 2023 is a necessary and natural step,” he said.