Aleksandr Lukashenko signs decree to abolish cap on pensions for working retirees

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed Decree No. 402 "On Social Support" on 29 October.

The document was adopted in order to strengthen social support for certain categories of citizens. The decree abolishes the restriction on the size of pensions for working retirees, which will increase the efficiency of the use of the labor force of retirement age.

The document envisages a further reduction in the pensionable service period from 10 to 5 years for mothers of 4 or more children. The decree provides for additional guarantees for the appointment of an early pension (5 years earlier) to fathers of disabled children who raise and care for a child without the participation of the mother.

Disabled children shall be entitled to an increased pension in connection with the death of one of the parents. The amount of such an increase will depend on the degree of loss of health of the child. Thus, taking into account the pension received, the child shall actually be compensated for the income that he/she could have received during the lifetime of the parent. 

The decree also simplifies the procedure for collecting documents on income for calculating a pension, optimizes the deadlines for submitting an application for a pension.  

In addition, certain categories of citizens (with health problems, living with a disabled person of group I or caring for a disabled child) shall retain the right to receive a pension through a post office. Such an opportunity is also provided to all pensioners in case they pay for this service themselves (at the postal rates set out for the extra-budgetary social security fund).

The main provisions of the decree shall come into force on 1 January 2025.