1) Hello! Three years ago I transferred my pension savings to an insurance organization, tell me, can I return part of this money?
According to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the Regulation and Development of the Insurance Market and the Securities Market, Banking, a number of changes are introduced to regulatory legal acts, including from September 12, 2022 to Article 60 Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Pension Provision in the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter - the Law).
Clause 14 of Article 60 of the Law establishes that persons who have entered into a pension annuity agreement have the right not earlier than two years from the date of its conclusion to apply to an insurance organization with an application to change the terms of the agreement in terms of reducing the amount of insurance payments and returning money to the UAPF. The amount of money to be returned to the UAPF is equal to the difference between the redemption amount under the pension annuity agreement as of the date of making changes to it and the amount of the insurance premium calculated based on the amount of the benefit determined by paragraph 2 of Article 59 of the Law, as of the date of making changes to the pension annuity agreement.
In other words, the insurance organization must retain an amount that ensures for life the size of the monthly insurance benefit of at least 70 percent of the subsistence minimum in force on the date of amendments to the pension annuity agreement.
We emphasize that this paragraph also applies to legal relations arising from pension annuity agreements concluded before the entry into force of the Law.
In order to return money to the UAPF, the contributor (beneficiary) should contact the insurance company with which the contributor (beneficiary) has concluded a pension annuity agreement, with a statement about changing the terms of the agreement in terms of reducing the amount of insurance payments and returning money to the UAPF.
2) Good afternoon, I am an active pensioner and have pension savings above the sufficiency threshold, can I now withdraw pension savings for medical treatment?
According to paragraph 1 of Article 30 of the Law (the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Pension Provision in the Republic of Kazakhstan), pension benefits from the UAPF are paid from pension savings formed at the expense of compulsory pension contributions (CPC), compulsory occupational pension contributions (COPC), in the form of monthly pension benefits according to the established schedule and (or) insurance benefits from the insurance company in accordance with the pension annuity agreement at the expense of pension savings, as well as in the form of lump-sum pension benefits in order to improve housing conditions and (or) pay for medical treatment to the persons specified in paragraph 1-1 article 31, in paragraph 1-1 of article 32 of the Law.
Thus, paragraph 1-1 of Article 31 and paragraph 1-1 of Article 32 of the Law provide that the right to lump-sum pension benefits at the expense of CPC and (or) COPC, including for the purpose of paying for medical treatment for oneself or a spouse, or close relatives have persons who have pension savings in the UAPF, if one of the following conditions is met:
if the amount of pension savings at the expense of CPC and (or) COPC, available on the individual pension saving account (IPSA) of the contributor, exceeds the minimum pension savings sufficiency threshold;
if the amount of the pension, and for retired judges, the amount of the monthly allowance ensures the replacement rate of the beneficiary's average monthly income at a level of at least 40 percent, determined in the manner determined by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
if the contributor has concluded a pension annuity agreement with an insurance company.
At the same time, it should be noted that the Rules for the use of lump-sum pension benefits for treatment, which regulate the procedure for using lump-sum pension benefits for treatment, establish, among other things, a list of medical services paid for at the expense of lump-sum pension benefits, which includes:
- treatment of orphan diseases;
- dental services;
- reconstructive and restorative operations (plastic);
- radionuclide treatment and radioiodine therapy;
- radiosurgical treatment;
- proton therapy;
- ophthalmological services.
Subject to the foregoing, if you fall into one of the above categories, you are entitled to lump sum pension benefits.
You can see information about the amount of pension savings available for withdrawal in a statement from the IPSA, which can be viewed in your personal account on the UAPF website and mobile application (note that the amount available for withdrawal is reflected automatically), or on the e-government website or application.
3) Good day! Can I receive UAPF services without an identity card, but with its digital copy?
Yes, today it is also possible to receive individual pension services without presenting an identity card. To do this, it is enough to have its digital (electronic) version on your smartphone in the eGovMobile application.
Only citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan have this opportunity and only when they personally apply directly to the UAPF office.
4) Good afternoon! My husband is a Turkish citizen, but has been working in Kazakhstan for a long time and has savings in the UAPF, tell me if he can use his money in excess of the sufficiency threshold for dental treatment?
In accordance with Article 2 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Pension Provision in the Republic of Kazakhstan, foreigners permanently residing in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan enjoy the right to pension provision on an equal basis with citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, unless otherwise provided by laws and international treaties.
According to subparagraph 14) of Article 1 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Identity Documents, a document proving the identity of a foreigner on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan and confirming that he/she has received a permit for permanent residence in the Republic of Kazakhstan is a residence permit for a foreigner in the Republic of Kazakhstan (permit).
Therefore, foreigners permanently residing in the Republic of Kazakhstan, confirming the fact of permanent residence in the Republic of Kazakhstan with a residence permit, have the right to use part of their pension savings (if any) in order to improve their living conditions and (or) pay for medical treatment, as well as to transfer them to a trust management of the investment portfolio manager in accordance with the requirements established by law.
Thus, paragraph 1-1 of Article 31 and paragraph 1-1 of Article 32 of the Law provide that the right to lump-sum pension benefits at the expense of CPC and (or) COPC, including for the purpose of paying for medical treatment for oneself or a spouse, or close relatives have persons who have pension savings in the UAPF, if one of the following conditions is present:
if the amount of pension savings at the expense of CPC and (or) COPC, available on the individual pension saving account (IPSA) of the contributor, exceeds the minimum pension savings sufficiency threshold;
if the amount of the pension, and for retired judges, the amount of the monthly allowance ensures the replacement rate of the beneficiary's average monthly income at a level of at least 40 percent, determined in the manner determined by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
if the contributor has concluded a pension annuity agreement with an insurance company
5) Hello! I am a citizen of Russia, but due to the geopolitical situation I live and work in Kazakhstan, how is the issue of my pension provision resolved if I have not changed my citizenship?
In accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 98 of the Treaty on the EAEU dated May 29, 2014, pension provision for workers of the EAEU member states and family members is regulated by the legislation of the state of permanent residence, as well as in accordance with a separate international agreement between the EAEU member states. Such an international agreement is the Agreement on Pension Provision for Workers of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union dated December 20, 2019 (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement), which entered into force on January 1, 2021.
The main purpose of the Agreement is to form the pension rights of workers of the EAEU Member States on the same conditions and in the same manner as citizens of the state of employment, that is, each EAEU Member State must guarantee citizens of other EAEU Member States the scope of rights to pensions equal to scope of rights granted to its citizens under similar conditions.
Thus, if you, as a citizen of the Russian Federation, temporarily carry out labor activities in the territory of Kazakhstan on the basis of an employment or civil law contract concluded with an employer of Kazakhstan, then the employer is obliged to withhold and transfer pension contributions (CPC / COPC) to the UAPF when accruing income to you. At the same time, individual pension saving accounts (IPSA) for recording CPC and COPC are opened in the UAPF automatically when the initial amount of CPC / COPC received from the employer is credited.
In the event of termination of an employment contract or a civil law contract with an employer, you will have the right to pension payments from the UAPF only upon the occurrence of the conditions provided for in subparagraph 2.3 of paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the Agreement, namely:
1) upon reaching retirement age;
2) when establishing disability of the first and second groups, if the disability is established indefinitely.
In this case, if the above conditions arise, you will have the right to apply for a pension benefit to the UAPF, which is the competent authority in Kazakhstan for the implementation of the Agreement, or to the competent authority of the state of residence, for example, to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation with the provision of documents established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.