Elena Gladysheva, Managing Partner of RI-Consulting for BANKI.RU about what happens if a non-state pension fund leaves the market? What happens to pension deductions of citizens if a non-state pension fund leaves the market voluntarily? If its license is withdrawn? If the non-state pension fund acquires another fund? Do the mechanisms for the return of participants' money differ in these situations? Is it realistic to get back all your investments and investment income? If there is a sense to go to court, if only the amount of savings is returned, but the investment income is not?

You can read the Expert's opinion by clicking here https://www.banki.ru/news/daytheme/?id=10955464

 

Elena Gladysheva: "According to the Review of Key Indicators of Non-State Pension Funds No. 4 for 2021, prepared by the Research and Forecasting Department of the Bank of Russia: "The number of citizens forming savings in non-state pension funds (NPF) decreased in 2020 mainly due to an increase in the number of fund clients retiring. This trend will intensify in the coming years. The number of participants in the voluntary pension system declined during the first three quarters of 2020 due to the deteriorating economic situation. In the last quarter there was an increase in the index. Non-state pension funds are actively developing new products to increase the client base of the voluntary pension system.

For the second year in a row, the return on pension savings of non-state pension funds as a whole was higher than that of the expanded portfolio of the Pension Fund of Russia, which accounts for the bulk of pension savings managed by the state management company. A number of individual funds also demonstrated higher yields than the PFR government securities portfolio.

<…>

In 2020 the Pension Fund of Russia transferred 12.2 billion rubles to NPFs based on the results of the previous year's transition campaign. The return flow of funds from the non-state pension fund to the PFR exceeded 8 billion rubles, and the growth of the client base of non-state pension funds at the expense of the PFR was the lowest in the history of the industry. On the whole, the 2019 transition campaign turned out to be much less massive than in the previous years, which is largely explained by the new rules for changing the fund.

Despite a small net inflow of insured persons from the PFR to NPFs, the number of persons accumulating savings in non-state funds decreased by 160 thousand, to 37.1 million people in 2020. This is caused by a gradual increase in the number of fund clients retiring - most of them receive a lump sum payment and are excluded from the number of insured persons.

In 2020, the process of consolidation continued on the NPF market. The number of funds was reduced by four units, and at the end of December, there were 43 NPFs operating on the market, of which 29 funds were engaged in mandatory pension insurance, and 41 funds - in non-state pension provision (NSPF). By the end of the year, the shares of the top 5 funds by size of liabilities within the mandatory pension insurance and non-governmental pension insurance systems amounted to 78% and 77%, respectively. Concentration on the NPF market is generally higher than in other segments of the financial market.

Russia has a mandatory system of guaranteeing the rights of insured persons in the mandatory pension insurance system, which is implemented in accordance with Federal Law No. 422-FZ of December 28, 2013 "On guaranteeing the rights of insured persons in the mandatory pension insurance system of the Russian Federation when forming and investing pension savings, establishing and making payments from pension savings”.

The main task of this system is to guarantee pension savings of individuals who form and receive a funded pension (insured persons) in the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation (PFR) or in one of the non-state pension funds that are participants of the system for guaranteeing rights of insured persons (participating fund).

The list of non-state pension funds participating in this system can be viewed on the website of GK State Corporation at the following link: https://www.asv.org.ru/pension-funds. The procedure of entering and excluding the member-funds from the register is carried out by ASV State Corporation on the basis of the decisions of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

While ensuring the functioning of the system for guaranteeing the rights of insured persons, GK State Corporation performs the following functions:

- forms the pension savings guarantee fund, including the collection of guarantee contributions and control over the completeness and timeliness of the receipt of guarantee contributions to the pension savings guarantee fund;

- pays guarantee compensation;

- invests funds of the pension savings guarantee fund in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation;

- performs the powers of the liquidator and bankruptcy manager of the member funds in the cases stipulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Pension savings are guaranteed by ASV State Corporation through the payment of guarantee compensation, which is made upon the occurrence of one of the following events (guarantee cases):

cancellation of the member-fund's license to carry out pension provision and pension insurance activities and (or) declaration of its bankruptcy and opening of bankruptcy proceedings in respect of such member-fund;

- lack of contribution denominations as of the date of establishment of a funded pension and (or) a fixed-term pension payment or a lump-sum payment at the expense of pension accruals to the insured person;

- reduction of the size of the PFR reserve for mandatory pension insurance, which ensures stability of fulfillment of obligations to the insured persons, below the minimum level established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

ASV State Corporation guarantees compensation of pension savings reflected in the pension account of the funded pension (individual personal account) of the insured person, excluding the investment income. At the same time the amount of assigned pensions (funded pension and (or) a term pension payment or a lump sum payment) in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Law of November 30, 2011 № 360-FZ "On the procedure of funding of payments from pension accruals," is fully guaranteed and may not be reduced.

Consequently, if the NPF was a member of the system of guaranteeing the rights of insured persons in the system of compulsory pension insurance, pension savings, except for investment income, are returned to the insured person by ASV State Corporation.

However, claims for investment income may be recovered as follows:

1. If the NPF is liquidated, one must apply to the official receiver for inclusion in the register of NPF creditors' claims for payment of investment income accrued before the license was revoked / decision on liquidation is made.

For example, as part of case No. A40-154873/2015 considered the claim of the Committee for Social Protection of the Population of the Leningrad region for inclusion in the register of claims for the payment of investment income for 2014 and the first half of 2015 by creditors of Sberegatelny NPF JSC (before the revocation of the Pension Fund license to carry out pension provision and pension insurance activities) in the amount of 20 051 857, 59 rubles.

By judicial acts of the courts of the first, appellate and cassation instances, the requirements of the Committee for Social Protection of the Population of the Leningrad region in the amount of 20 051 857,59 rubles are included in the fourth order of satisfaction of the register of creditors of ASV State Corporation at the expense of pension reserves.

Similar claims of individuals are included in the third order of the register of NPF creditors' claims and are subject to satisfaction at the expense of pension reserves (determination of the Arbitration Court of Moscow from 13.12.2018 on case № A40-140115/16-101(92)-1204).

2. Claims for inclusion of investment income in the register of claims of creditors of the NPF, in respect of which bankruptcy proceedings have been opened, shall also be included in the register of claims of creditors of the debtor NPF.

3. At reorganization of NPF the procedure for transfer of pension savings is regulated by provisions of Article 36.6 of the Federal Law of 07.05.1998 № 75-FZ "On Non-State Pension Funds”.

In this case, the funded pension savings in case of reorganization of funds are transferred to the fund established as a result of a spin-off, division or merger, or to the fund to which the merger is made.

During the reorganization of the non-state pension fund, the pension savings recorded in the pension savings account of the respective insured person (except for the savings recorded in the pension savings accounts of the insured persons who submitted applications for transfer to another fund or the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation due to the fund's reorganization):

- in the case of reorganization of the fund in the form of an acquisition - they are transferred by way of legal succession to the fund, to which the rights and obligations of the acquired fund are transferred in accordance with the transfer act;

- in case of reorganization of funds in the form of merger - they are transferred by way of legal succession to a newly established fund to which the rights and obligations of each of the reorganized funds are transferred in accordance with the transfer act. In this case transfer of pension assets to the fund established as a result of the merger is carried out by means of transfer of rights and obligations under the contracts of trust management of pension assets by way of legal succession;

- in case of reorganization of the fund in the form of spin-off - are transferred by way of legal succession to the fund established as a result of the spin-off, to which the corresponding rights and obligations of the reorganized fund are transferred in accordance with the separation balance sheet. In this case, transfer of pension assets to the fund established as a result of spin-off is carried out by means of transfer by way of legal succession of rights and obligations under contracts of trust management of pension assets;

- in case of reorganization of a fund in the form of a division - they are transferred by way of legal succession to newly established funds to which rights and obligations of the reorganized fund are transferred in accordance with the separation balance sheet. In this case, the transfer of pension savings to the funds created as a result of the division, is carried out through the transfer of rights and obligations under the contracts of trust management of pension savings," - noted the lawyer.