Hi all!
Of course, this question seems naive and even funny to young people - they say that I am still very, very many years away from old age and there is no need for me to think about it from now on. I would like to object to such young people, because... no matter how old you are currently, Before you know it, old age will set in.

If you hope for the state that it will provide you with a good pension, then in vain! In the West, they have long understood this and, starting from the beginning of their working career, they begin to save - not for a mattress, but by concluding contracts for insurance savings programs, which fortunately have reached us (in the CIS). Do you think that Western pensioners go on vacation all over the world using their state pensions? NO!

Exactly at the expense of their private savings, which have accumulated throughout my adult life! It is clear that the longer the accumulation period, the greater the amount of savings. For those who are older and missed this opportunity, there are children's savings programs for their children and grandchildren. These are very profitable programs because:
Firstly: with pension savings programs, your income grows annually with a decent percentage - 2-3 times higher than banking and with capitalization;
Secondly: throughout the entire period of accumulation and receipt of a pension, your life is insured against disability and death for any reason.
Third: these programs are long-term, while bank deposits are for a maximum of 3 years.
The same benefits apply to the children's savings program, only in this case both the child and one of the parents are insured.

1. Don't waste your precious time– immediately enter into insurance savings programs;
2. Provide your children and grandchildren with a decent life, creating start-up capital for them to enter an independent life;
3. Remember that your life and your health are the most valuable that there is in life and no one knows what will happen to him tomorrow.
4. No matter how much money you have, it is never enough. Imagine that, getting used to a certain standard of living (when you have strength and a good salary), one day you come to the point of being assigned a state pension, which at best is 50% of your former salary, and there are no serious savings... Therefore, When receiving any income, first pay (save) yourself at least 10% of it, and then spend the remaining amount, and not vice versa.
5. Money is harder to save and increase than to earn.– learn this art from a young age and teach it to your family and friends, they will be grateful to you all their lives.

Best regards, Pavel Druzhko
Kishinev, Moldova.

*This article was written as part of a competition . Are you participating?

Greetings! According to my observations, retirement is the most popular topic among those over forty. The situation in Russia with social payments is too difficult...

How to ensure a comfortable old age on your own? I offer my solution and will be happy to listen to your options in the comments. 🙂

Dry statistics. In recent years:

• The funded part of the pension has been frozen since 2014. In other words, “voluntary-compulsory” contributions from working Russians were aimed at paying current pensioners.
• Experts argue that raising the retirement age in Russia is inevitable. And this will happen, most likely, immediately after the next presidential election (a little outdated, but I didn’t delete this line, these were my words in 2016).
• This year the government again refused to properly index pensions.
• In previous years, pensions were not always adjusted even to the official inflation rate. In 2014, inflation was 11.36%, in 2015 – 12.91%. But everyone understands perfectly well that the real level of inflation is much higher than what Rosstat shows. So it turns out that every year a pensioner can afford less and less goods and services.

And now the worst part. According to the Russian Pension Fund, as of April 1, 2016, the average old-age pension was... 9,227 rubles. Roughly speaking, that’s 300 rubles a day! THREE HUNDRED (!!) rubles for everything: utilities, food, medicine, clothes and much more...

The word “average” hints that there are smaller pensions in Russia. In the regions, many pensioners live on 6,000 rubles a month! To be fair, I note that in some countries of the former USSR the situation is even worse. For example, in Ukraine, many pensioners have “earned” a pension of $40 over their entire lives (at the current hryvnia exchange rate).

Why should you rely only on yourself?

I’ll say right away that in prosperous Canada, the USA and Great Britain, high pensions (which we envy so much) are not guaranteed by the state!

For example, in the United States, an American’s pension is formed from several sources throughout his “adult” life. These are mandatory contributions by the employer and the employee himself, plus voluntary investments in private pension plans.

In Russia, the state is also slowly removing its obligations to pay pensions, shifting this “duty” onto the shoulders of the population. I feel incredibly sorry for today’s pensioners, who are cynically presented with the fact: “There is no money, but you hang in there!” All their lives they chased in vain for continuous work experience, were afraid to change jobs, and women left maternity leave a year after the birth of a child...

Looking at them, today's 20-30-40-year-old Russians got scared and, I hope, drew conclusions.

My solution to the problem

Personally, I am still far from retirement, thank God. But I believe that it is better to think about how to live after 60 sooner rather than later. And better late than never.

What am I planning to do?

• 1. I will refuse state (or “near-state”) pension insurance programs.

All these NPFs from Sberbank, VTB and others do not inspire confidence.

Firstly, taking into account the level of inflation, in 10-20 years my savings in rubles will turn into dust. Moreover, the profitability of pension funds still leaves much to be desired.

Secondly, the “take care of your pension yourself” system is just being formed in Russia. And as you know, the first pancake is always lumpy... Legislation will change a hundred times, new companies will appear and old ones will close, the conditions of pension programs will be adjusted. Against such a background, entering is too risky and troublesome.

• 2. I will open an insurance savings program with a foreign insurer.

It is a pity that the famous company Generali with its unit-linked product left the Russian market. For Russians, this was an ideal option: savings in dollars (from $100 per month), withdrawal of funds outside of Russia, guarantee of capital protection, tax exemption and the opportunity to invest in a bunch of reliable instruments abroad.

With the unit-linked program, you can combine insurance, savings and investing in one product. There are no similar programs on the Russian market yet. Some analogues are already appearing, but they are too “raw” to be considered as a full-fledged replacement for foreign programs. Plus, our legislation in the field of “private property”, by Western standards, looks simply frivolous.

Therefore, I decided to open a savings insurance in some. I understand that there will not be high returns, so I consider such a product solely as a “piggy bank in foreign currency outside of Russia.”

What can a savings insurance program do?

• Build capital little by little by the time you retire.

For example, I like that every month (quarter or year) the amount specified in the contract will be automatically transferred to the account. And the farther this money is from me, the less temptation there is to withdraw and spend it. Moreover, in many products it is either impossible to do this ahead of schedule, or it is possible, but with the loss of a decent part of the savings.

• Protect money from “purely Russian” risks.

Unfortunately, in Russia there is not yet a single asset for safe long-term investment. All our banks, insurance companies and mutual funds are, at best, 15-20 years old. This is too little to talk about serious statistics.

But abroad you can find institutions created at the beginning of the 20th century. They value their reputation. Each action is controlled by a dozen inspection structures and regulated by hundreds of legislative acts. Clients' money is reinsured three times.

Don't forget about devaluation. Still, 10-20 years is a very decent period even for a stable and strong currency. And to predict the ruble exchange rate for such a long period...

• Protect your loved ones in case of force majeure.

We are all human, and no one knows in advance when he will die.

Of course, the conditions of insurance programs in different companies differ significantly. But almost all products provide for significant payments to heirs in the event of the death of the program owner. Moreover, as a rule, you do not need to wait six months to enter into an inheritance. Money is paid to heirs automatically if they are specified in the insurance contract.

This “insurance topic” is actually very broad, so I will try to cover it in one of the following articles.

Something else?

• 3. I will form a portfolio of conservative assets with dividend yield.

The less time remains until retirement, the more conservative investment instruments should be. I decided that for now I can afford to invest in more aggressive assets with high risks and high returns (the same, for example).

As I wrote above, I plan to form my fixed capital through a good savings and insurance program. But closer to the “hour X” you can additionally create several of it, an annuity, a reverse mortgage, or even bank deposits. Your personal “pension fund” can be distributed among several assets (there should be plus or minus five).

By the way, I don’t consider investing in stocks and real estate conservative. The first ones are too volatile, the second ones require constant personal participation (investments in square meters require your regular participation). Well, and of course, the sooner you start investing in your old age, the higher the chances of living with dignity after retiring...

It is clear that over time my plans will be adjusted. Maybe I’ll aim to buy real estate abroad or create my own bank. 🙂 But it’s worth starting at least small...

How do you plan to ensure a comfortable old age for yourself? Subscribe to updates and don't forget to share links to the latest posts with your friends on social networks!

07/13/2018 at 11:01 · Johnny · 17 210

10 ways to ensure a comfortable old age and not count on a miserable pension

Rely on the state, but don’t make a mistake yourself. While one half of the residents of our country work for a salary, hope for a bonus and live from paycheck to paycheck, the other is seriously thinking about ways to accumulate money so that they themselves will have something to live on in old age, and their grandchildren will have something to live on. Unfortunately, you can't count on retirement. For the average pensioner, the funds allocated by the state are only enough for the bare necessities. You need to take care of your comfortable future in advance, while you still have health, opportunities and time, which is inexorably running out. Good news: we've put together a dozen ways to help everyone achieve financial independence.

10. Start saving now

About 90% of people admit that they constantly lack money. And the reason is that they do not know how to manage them wisely and do not create a financial cushion for unexpected expenses. Even if your salary is below the average, you can always find an opportunity to save 10-15% of it. This amount may seem negligible to you, but multiply it by 365 days a year and you will get an impressive result. The path to financial independence begins with small things. The main thing is to make it a habit, set aside funds every month and under no circumstances take money from this amount, or, if a vital need arises, return it back with interest.

9. Don't get into debt

If you already have several loans, try to pay them off. Remember, credit is a trap for a person who does not know how to count and wait. This is an opportunity to get the goods right now, but at two to three times more expensive than its price. This is the essence of “credit thinking”, which is quite firmly rooted in the heads of our fellow citizens. All kinds of credit cards that bank employees actively offer to issue are not beneficial to anyone except the banks themselves. Remember this and refuse to live beyond your means. Scientists have proven that when paying in a store with a plastic card, we unknowingly spend 15% more money than if we paid cash at the checkout.

8. Don't be wasteful

Planning expenses is the key to success. But before you start with theory, look at what you can do in practice. Get into the habit of writing down all your expenses for at least a couple of months. This will allow you to determine the most costly expense items. When starting planning, highlight several mandatory items that must be paid in any case. These are utility bills, education costs, monthly payments for kindergarten, school, and loans. Necessary expenses include food. But, for example, you can save money on entertainment and lunch in a cafe. The main thing is to separate needs from immediate desires.

7. Buy real estate

At all times, investments in real estate were considered the most profitable, because prices for these objects are constantly rising. However, not everyone knows how to invest money correctly. Let's say you managed to save some money. You can use this money to buy an apartment, a garage, or an office space. They can be rented out and later sold to make an even better investment. However, if there are not enough funds for the purchase, you can invest the money in one of the real estate investment funds. There are quite a lot of such funds. In essence, by concluding an agreement with the fund, you become the owner of investment shares in a building under construction. However, this method comes with some risks.

6. Endowment insurance

In Europe, the practice of endowment insurance has been used for a long time and quite successfully. In Russia, this type of investing in one’s future financial stability is just beginning to gain popularity. The advantage of endowment insurance is the long-term nature of the programs. If in a bank the term of a deposit with interest can reach a maximum of three years, after which the conditions and interest rate are likely to change, then in the case of endowment insurance the contract is concluded for a period of 5 to 50 years. In essence, endowment insurance combines the services of a bank, a pension fund and an insurance company. Study the insurer market and choose a proven, reliable organization.

5. Buy stocks

The essence of this point is simple. First, you buy shares of different companies, and then either receive passive income from them in the form of dividends, or sell them for a higher price. It is most profitable to buy shares during a crisis. During this period, many companies sell them cheaper than usual. It is important to understand that not all stocks are profitable; for investment it is better to choose well-known large companies that are sufficiently developed and will remain on the market for a long time. Focus on short-term deposits. To profitably increase your capital, you need to become a real analyst who is able to predict changes in stock prices several days in advance.

4. Don't keep money without interest.

Money must work. There is no point in storing them under the pillow, or in grandma's box. In order for any savings to be profitable, the minimum that needs to be done is to put them in a deposit account at a bank. Study the most profitable deposits and interest rates on them. Many banks make it possible to open an account with a minimum initial deposit of 1000 rubles and top it up throughout the entire period. Bank deposits, if they do not increase your savings, will protect them from inflation, the level of which is approximately equal to the interest on the deposit. Opening a bank account is the most common and risk-free way to save your savings.

3. Don't neglect tax deductions

If you are officially employed and regularly receive a salary on which your employer withholds income tax at the rate of 13%, you can count on a tax deduction. In most cases, this phrase refers to the return of part of the amount of money from the state budget spent on treatment, education, purchase of real estate, etc. You can submit documents for a tax deduction for the previous year within 12 months. Today there are five types of tax deductions: property, social, standard, investment and professional. To receive compensation in the form of “real” money, you need to submit a declaration to the tax authority at your place of residence.

2. Choose NPF wisely

Before concluding an agreement with a Non-State Pension Fund, you need to check whether it is on the list posted on the website of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation. Each non-state pension fund also has its own website. Information that is worth paying attention to: the date of creation of the NPF, its experience in insuring pension savings, reputation or place in the ranking of similar organizations, investment income. You can learn about the latter from the annual report of the NPF to its investors. If the work of the selected non-state pension fund does not suit you, you have the right to change it, but this can be done no more than once a year.

1. Attend financial literacy seminars

In large cities, finding such events is not a problem. You will have to pay a certain amount of money to participate in them, but this can be considered a profitable investment in your education. You can attend free financial literacy training. They are usually carried out by banks in order to attract potential clients. Another platform for increasing your knowledge in the matter of financial distribution is the Internet. Often, the authors of webinars and courses provide the first lesson for free. Research has proven that financially literate people tend to have a high quality of life and are successful in their chosen field.

What else to see:

When you are young in soul and body, it seems that retirement will never come. But, as experience shows, it still comes to the majority. Let's figure out how to ensure a comfortable old age.

State pension

The Pension Fund advises you to think about retirement long before it arrives - from the first working day. Here they pay attention to the fact that the key to a decent pension will be a good “white” salary and work experience. If you have worked officially all your life and have an entry in your work book, it means that your employer makes contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation for you. And you have a legal right to .

In 2017, the average pension in Russia will be 14 thousand rubles, said the head of the Pension Fund of Russia (PFR) Anton Drozdov, Vesti-Finance writes.

“Based on the budget for 2017-2019, a further increase in pensions is envisaged, their indexation according to the inflation that actually developed over the past year and an increase on average of more than 1 thousand rubles, that is, to 15 thousand rubles,” noted Drozdov and added that for some categories of citizens, for example, veterans and war participants, the pension will be more than 40 thousand rubles.

Realizing that it will be difficult to live on money from the state, many Russians generally refuse to make payments to the Pension Fund and go into the shadows, without also paying taxes. Such people are called self-employed, and in Kaliningrad every fifth person is employed in this status, said Kaliningrad business ombudsman Georgy Dykhanov. And this is about 100 thousand people, writes RBC-Kaliningrad.

“We took the initiative to legalize these people in a simple, understandable form - you bought a patent and you don’t go anywhere else. You legalized your relations with the state, you receive a pension, you have the right to social support. The apparatus put forward a bill to the State Duma, and there they began to shred it,” said Dykhanov.

That is, the initiative to introduce patents for self-employed citizens has not yet passed. And today these people are entitled only to a minimum state pension, which is more like a subsistence minimum.

Non-state PF - choose wisely

If you want a decent retirement, think about it when you are young. One option is to invest money in (NPF).

It is enough to open a personal account there and regularly deposit money into it. The fund will invest your savings in securities, bonds and other financial instruments with a low level of risk to provide a stable income. And when the time comes for you to retire, the accumulated amount will be given to you in parts or all at once. This is called additional non-state pension provision.

In terms of compulsory pension insurance, at the very beginning of the pension reform, in 2002, it was believed that entrusting the savings of NPFs was much more profitable than leaving money with the state - because NPFs had much more opportunities for investment than the Pension Fund. Now their capabilities are equal. If a NPF is deprived of its license, then the funds, according to the law, must be transferred to the Pension Fund; in addition, NPFs are included in the guarantee system. And payments to legal successors are made equally by both NPFs and Pension Funds.

The NPF system has its own risks - the fund may lose its license, while this does not threaten the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation. But NPFs also have their advantages: savings, although legally the property of a non-state pension fund, are de facto the personal funds of a citizen. And he will receive them upon retirement. Also, the accumulated funds can be paid to legal successors, and will not be transferred to the state in the event of the death of the insured person before the assignment of a funded pension or the death of a pensioner who was assigned a fixed-term pension payment during his lifetime. Therefore, when choosing where to invest, carefully weigh the pros and cons.

Personal savings

It just so happens: Russians do not like to save and prefer spontaneous spending, says Andrey Fedyaev, executive director of the Institute of Financial Planning. In Kaliningrad, he took part in a seminar on financial literacy, where he shared the secrets of savings.

“Very rarely in Russia, a financial goal is a pension. We prefer spontaneous purchases, this greatly undermines our systematic path to happiness,” says Fedyaev. “Let’s do the math: let’s say you want to save for retirement. And then over the course of 20-25 years you yourself pay yourself, for example, 40 thousand rubles a month. For this you need 12 million rubles. If you start saving at the age of twenty, then you need to save only 1.5 thousand a month. If you remember that you you will retire in ten years, you will have to save 55 thousand a month, which not everyone can do,” says the expert.

If you want to live well in retirement, start saving money while you're young. By and large, this is the only way out to not change your standard of living too much in retirement, Fedyaev notes. Let it be yours.

Get into a good habit and save at least 2-3% of your income. If you do this systematically and over a long period of time, a decent amount will gradually form.

Endowment insurance

Another option is endowment insurance. Essentially, it is a hybrid between a bank deposit and life and health insurance. You pay insurance premiums over a long period of time, and after this time they are returned to you with interest. All these years, your life is also insured.

According to experts, this type of insurance is chosen by those who want not only to save money, but also to have insurance. This is a significant difference between the service and the same bank deposit.

30% of regular contributions should be directed to accumulative life insurance, says Stanislav Novikov, deputy chairman of the board of the BCS Federal Group for retail business, as quoted by Village.

In addition to a small guaranteed return (about 3%), investment return is accrued annually. This is another 6–12% per annum, which depends on the success of the placement and market conditions. By the way, it is very important that an endowment life insurance policy can be opened in foreign currency - euros or dollars. This way, the pension portfolio will be protected from exchange rate fluctuations, that is, the risk of devaluation will be largely neutralized.

But perhaps the main problem in the formation of personal pension capital is self-discipline. If you change your mind about making contributions, you may lose some money. According to the terms, insurance premiums must be paid regularly and on time, and late payments can lead to early termination of the contract and loss of income.

Passive income

If you have a rental property, this is a great source of income. In retirement he will definitely not be redundant. Invest in securities, think about bank deposits.

It is important to understand: obtaining a passive type of income without investments - money, time, effort - is impossible. But it's really worth it. Passive income will provide you with a stable future. Therefore, increase your level of financial literacy and look for options for generating income.

The material was prepared within the framework of the Project of the Ministry of Finance of Russia "Promotion of increasing the level of financial literacy of the population and the development of financial education in the Russian Federation."

Additional information by calling the hotline (toll-free): 8-800-555-85-39 or on the website

Axiom: a prosperous old age occurs only among those who prepared for it from a young age. Saving for retirement is good practice even in prosperous America. But putting bills under the mattress is not the answer: money must work. To get them to work, it makes sense to follow seven simple rules. And bread and butter at the end of your days is guaranteed.

Nothing lasts forever, and even a young and energetic manager must be prepared for the fact that sooner or later he will have to retire. It doesn’t make much sense to wait for mercy from your native state: only security officials, deputies and honored retired workers of raw materials companies have pensions on which you can live with dignity. We believe that among the members of the Community there are neither the first, nor the second, nor the third. And if so, well-being during a well-deserved rest is a personal matter for each of us. And deal with this issue, in an amicable way, even before you reach your fourth decade.

American citizens are sophisticated in matters of long-term money management, so they can give a hundred points ahead to anyone. The CNN website guides future retirees on the right path and reveals seven secrets to how to ensure a dignified old age. If your dad's name is not Bill Gates or Ingvar Kampard, and if you are open to everything new, the American experience may be useful in Russian conditions.

Secret No. 1. Imagine in detail and in colors how you would like to live in retirement

Where will you live after retirement? What will you do during your well-deserved rest? Which country will you go to immediately after receiving your pension certificate?

Details, details are important here. To achieve your goals, you need to see them. What color will the tiles on the roof of your house be? What type of wood will be used to cover the floor of your carpentry shop? Which province of Italy will you travel to and what will you order for breakfast on the first day of your stay? All these seemingly meaningless installations charge you to achieve your goal.

Right thoughts generate right actions. Understand it, feel it, write it down and live it. And everything will work out.

Secret No. 2. Compete!

The desire to be better and more successful than others sits in a person at the genetic level. Change jobs to find yourself among ambitious and strong people you want to follow. Declare publicly your plans to ensure a comfortable old age.

This trick, by the way, works surprisingly well when quitting smoking or if you want to lose weight. This kind of “public speaking” obliges us to do a lot and forces us to mobilize. After all, the promise is given to the general public, which means that the chances of getting out of fulfilling the order under a convenient pretext are zero.

Interesting fact. The international financial holding company ING decided to take the desire for competition into account. The company has opened a special website where users can freely and anonymously compare their financial situation with the well-being of 140 thousand other savers. Seeing yourself at the bottom of the “tournament table”, you will certainly mobilize and become more jealous of your savings. The paradigm shift will occur subconsciously: we all want to feel at least as good as other individuals.

Secret No. 3. Use all kinds of “reminders” that will not allow you to deviate from achieving your goal

The effectiveness of this secret, simple in its genius, has been proven by specialists at Yale University. They studied the behavior of savers in Asia and Latin America and noted that 16% of bank account holders saved more money by regularly receiving various “reminders” from the bank about the importance of savings in a person’s life.

This pattern can also be used when accumulating private capital. For example, set messages in your Outlook calendar about the need to replenish your bank account with a specific amount by a certain date. Clear time frames and understandable amounts of money to save are better imprinted in the brain than the abstract “save a lot of money by the time you retire.”

You can do it even simpler: put a photo of your future ranch, where you want to spend your old age, on your bedside table, and look at it at every opportunity.

Secret No. 4. Monitor your current savings situation frequently and respond accordingly

Even experienced investors from time to time make mistakes in assessing the size of investments and in assessing the volumes returned. Don't think about a million dollars. It's better to focus on monthly income figures and compare the amount of contributions with your needs in the future.

Are your royalties keeping up with your appetite? This means it’s time to increase the amount that goes into the money box every 30 days.

Secret No. 5. Become a little rentier

The main type of business in Russian (receiving income from some existing assets and doing nothing at the same time) turns out to be not disgusting to Americans either. Even a small income received from property once acquired makes retirees happier. In their own eyes, they do not stupidly eat away all the money they earn, but compensate for expenses - at least partially.

In this regard, the future pensioner vitally needs some kind of real estate that would be in demand among borrowers. Although, if you have two free apartments in Moscow for rent, you can forget everything that the smart guys from CNN told you. Your retirement will pass in cloudless bliss even without their advice.

Secret No. 6. Calmly accept the possible loss of part of your savings

No one is immune from mistakes and losses. Even if you were Warren Buffett three times over, you won’t be able to constantly increase your capital: something will be eaten, something will be destroyed by the fluctuations of the stock market. Losses are inevitable in the fate of an investor. If you have read books on the topic of investing money, you are well aware of this.

Financial literacy will also help you redistribute your investment portfolio and weather stock market storms in commodity futures or bonds. The main thing is calm!

Secret No. 7. Know how to protect your future financial well-being

Older people are often more optimistic than younger people. This is by no means a manifestation of senile insanity, but simply the result of a restructuring of the brain in accordance with age.

Perestroika, however, can play a cruel joke on you. The effect of a positive outlook on life lulls your guard, and the likelihood of losses if something goes wrong increases. That is why old people are more vulnerable to all sorts of crooks with vacuum cleaners for the price of a slightly used domestic car.

In order not to “get caught up in money”, try to maintain your youth for as long as possible. Play sports, read more. And, of course, simplify your investment portfolio before retirement - for example, shift from stocks and derivatives to currencies, gold and bank deposits.

So that you have something to praise yourself for while drinking juice on the porch of your own house on the lake.