Early assignment of pensions to medical workers

The concept of “medical experience”

After receiving a specialized education in a special educational institution, in this context we are talking about universities and colleges that teach medicine, doctors of various categories begin working in hospitals, clinics, laboratories and other healthcare organizations. From this period, the countdown of work experience begins. It is required so that by the time they retire, medical employees (and not only) will have additional allowances, benefits and a decent pension.

Based on the duration of continuous production, employees are calculated their years of service, and for this they are also entitled to additional pension benefits.

Assignment of early pension to medical workers

The procedure for assigning pension benefits to medical workers is practically no different from its assignment to other categories of citizens. To establish it, the future pensioner must contact the pension fund branch at the place of his registration or residence in any of the following ways:

• personally or through a proxy;
• through the post office;
• via the Internet by registering on the State Services website;
• through a multifunctional center (if it has an agreement with the Pension Fund);
• through the employer.

Since we are talking about early pension provision, it is advisable to contact the Pension Fund in advance to clarify which periods of work the employee has will be counted towards the preferential length of service and whether it has been worked out.

Registration and necessary documents

To register a pension, you must submit the following package of documents to the pension authority:

1. application for an old-age insurance pension;
2. passport;
3. SNILS (certificate of compulsory pension insurance);
4. work book;
5. Additionally, you may need documents clarifying working conditions or confirming periods of work included in preferential medical experience, as well as other periods taken into account when calculating it.

The pension benefit is assigned after 10 days from the date of submission of all required documents and is established from the day of application for it , but not earlier than the day the right to assign it becomes available.

If the PFR information base does not contain any information necessary for the correct calculation of the pension benefit, the future pensioner will need to obtain this data from the employer who did not provide this information in a timely manner and submit it to the PFR.

What does medical experience give to an employee?

Due to changes in legislation, employees today accumulate not the amount of a certain length of service in a medical institution, but the insurance part of it. This means that based on the amount of contributions made to the Pension Fund, made every month by the employer, coefficients are accumulated that will play a critical role in calculating pension payments.

For medical workers, the law establishes a grace period for retirement, which means that the total period of activity granting the right to retire is reduced.

Preferential long-service pension

Health workers are a special category of employees whose activities are related to saving human lives. Therefore, the state provides doctors with the opportunity to retire a little earlier than established by general legal norms.

To receive a preferential pension, a person must work as a physician for a certain period of time.

By the way, neither the number of years of the doctor himself nor his total work experience affect this indicator. The most important thing is to qualify for one of the positions defined on the list to receive benefits. This was the case until the beginning of this year.

Probably everyone has already heard about pension reforms. They started with the beginning of the new 2020.

The essence of the measures is to gradually increase the total number of years for the end of employment for pensioners.

Many people of pre-retirement age were very afraid that, based on changes in legislation, preferential pensions would be abolished for all types of workers. However, this did not happen.

Instead of canceling it, government officials decided to provide the benefit, but delay it.

That is, after working as a doctor for 25 years, a person has the right to an improved pension, but he can only realize this opportunity after some time.

What is included in the concept of medical experience?

Before moving on to how long medical experience is interrupted, it is necessary to understand what this concept includes. Years of work in medicine include the duration of work, starting from the first working day in a medical institution and ending with the onset of the period when a person has worked in this field for 25–30 years. The number of years worked has legal force, since on the basis of this data the calculation and accrual of pension payments for age/disability and many other social benefits paid by the state are carried out.

The preferential retirement period is available only to medical workers of certain qualifications:

1. Nurses.
2. Midwives.
3. Laboratory assistants.
4. Doctors of all specialties.
5. Forensic experts.

The grace period for doctors begins after 25 years of service in the village and 30 years in the city.

The concept of preferential length of service

The right to receive an early pension is a privilege that comes with preferential service.
What does this concept mean? Federal Law No. 173-FZ of December 17, 2001 “On Labor Pensions in the Russian Federation” defines preferential service as the standard of social guarantee that medical workers and other categories of citizens receive. Using this right, doctors become pensioners not upon reaching a certain age, as prescribed by law for citizens on a general basis, but as they complete the established period in a medical institution, in accordance with the norm of Art. 30 of Federal Law No. 400-FZ.

The minimum length of service for health workers in rural areas and urban settlements before retirement is 25 years, for employees in cities, rural areas and urban settlements (or only in cities) - 30 years.

A common situation is when an employee has managed to change several jobs, having worked in the field of medical services both in the village and in the city. Then special rules for calculating length of service are applied, using the established coefficient.

When calculating length of service, only those places of employment where the health worker was employed full-time are taken into account

Excluded periods are also taken into account. Download to view and print (free)

Features of calculating length of service

Federal Law No. 173-FZ of December 17, 2001 “On Labor Pensions in the Russian Federation” defines the rules for calculating preferential length of service that grants the right to early retirement.
According to the rules, 1 year worked in the medical field is added to the length of service as 1 calendar year. But there are a few exceptions.

Under the terms of the Law, workers in rural areas receive pensions 5 years earlier than their urban counterparts.

How is the length of service calculated in the event of a change of place of residence and work? For this, a coefficient of 1.3 is used, which is applied to work experience in rural areas. This means that one calendar year of service is equal to 1 year and 3 months, that is, the length of service accrues faster.

In this case, the employee has to prove the very fact that the enterprise is located in the village, since this circumstance is not indicated in the work book. If the case seems doubtful for the employees of the Pension Fund, then the health worker is asked to provide a certificate from the village council or other self-government body of the locality where he worked.

The procedure for calculating length of service for some specialties that differ in working conditions is not without nuances.

Thus, using a coefficient of 1.6, the length of service is calculated for the approved list of positions in the following departments:

• Surgery.
• Resuscitation.
• Prosektura.
• Forensic examination.

The coefficients when calculating length of service are summed up if a medical worker claims benefits for several positions. Thus, an employee of a pathology department in a rural area applies for a calculation of length of service in which 1 year is taken as 1 year and 9 months.

A special procedure is provided for those who worked part-time in their position, or accumulated experience while working two part-time jobs.

The law requires such health workers to confirm that they have fully completed the standard in the position that entitles them to the benefit. These rules do not in any way affect the calculation of the length of service of nurses.

When calculating length of service, the peculiarities of the work schedule associated with public holidays or other events are not taken into account - if the working week was shortened, this will not affect output in any way.

Periods counted towards length of service

In addition to the main periods of employment, the following periods are counted towards the preferential length of service:

• The periods during which the employee received temporary disability benefits (sick leave, labor and employment leave).
• Annual paid holidays.
• Passing a probationary period when hiring.

The experience does not include:

• Unpaid vacations.
• Child care leave up to 1.5 and up to 3 years.
• Residency period.
• Periods during which violations of discipline by the employee were detected (working while intoxicated, failure to comply with safety regulations, etc.)

The subject of ongoing debate is the issue of including in the length of service periods during which the employee improved his professional qualifications.

Since advanced training and completion of such courses is the responsibility of a medical worker, dictated by law, it is considered fair to include these periods in the length of service for receiving an early pension.

The territorial body of the Pension Fund does not count these periods into the preferential period. To include them, you will need to go to court.

Are residency and internship years included?

Internship does not count towards medical experience. In accordance with the law, internship is postgraduate practice, which a former student undergoes in a medical institution for 1 year. This period is prescribed in the curricula of universities, that is, until the end of their internship, newly minted specialists are not certified physicians.

Is medical experience interrupted in case of residency training? Definitely yes, since residency is a full-time training for medical personnel. Upon completion of classes, young specialists are issued certificates giving them the right to carry out professional activities. The residency trains medical practitioners who are not working at the time; classes last for 1 year. Since during this time period the work of the young specialist is suspended, no contributions to the Pension Fund are received from him, therefore, residency is not included in the medical experience.

Latest changes for 2020: delayed retirement

The very concept of preferential pensions for doctors and special medical experience remains for all these health workers both in 2020 and in subsequent years. However, actual retirement will now be carried out with a delay, which will range from six months to 5 years.

The left column indicates the year when the medical worker would have to retire if the previous retirement age was maintained (55 and 60 years). The right column indicates the actual year when the pension will begin, in accordance with the latest changes in legislation. The deferment is constantly increasing by 1 year, with the exception of 2020 and 2020, when it will increase by 6 months and 18 months, respectively.

Thus, doctors have now received a deferment in receiving their pensions. Therefore, upon achieving special medical experience, they can choose between 3 options:

1. Continue to work in a medical organization and begin receiving a pension at the beginning of the corresponding year.
2. Continue to work in any other place (not necessarily in the medical field) and also begin receiving a pension in the corresponding year.
3. Quit and do not work anywhere, expecting to receive a pension in the corresponding year.

Therefore, the state did not actually increase the amount of special length of service for doctors, although it refused to pay a pension upon achieving it.

When is medical experience interrupted after dismissal?

The circumstances under which seniority can be maintained after termination of an employment agreement depend on what served as the basis. There are several options:

• The employment agreement is terminated without good reason at the request of one of the parties. In this case, the employee has a period of one month to find a new job, otherwise the length of service will be considered interrupted. And in what cases the medical experience is interrupted, read on.
• A medical worker receives a period of two months for employment without interruption of work experience if the previous place of work was in the North or abroad.

From the above it follows that when leaving work, a citizen has one to two months to get a job, depending on certain conditions. This time period is included in the general period, but after its end, the subsequent time will no longer be counted as length of service.

Under what conditions is the length of service considered continuous?

Continuous work life is the duration of the last continuous work, other socially useful activities and other periods specified in the law. Continuous work experience has legal significance only for social security, namely the assignment of benefits and only for temporary disability. In particular, the amount of temporary disability benefits will be for continuous work experience of less than 5 years at the rate of 60%, from 5 to 8 years at the rate of 80%, and for continuous work experience of more than 8 years - 100% earnings. It does not affect the calculation of pensions. If the break in work activity when moving from one job to another does not exceed the deadlines established by law and the dismissal is not caused by the employee’s guilty behavior, then the length of service is not interrupted. Currently, the Rules for calculating the continuous work experience of workers and employees when assigning benefits for state social insurance are in force, approved. Resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers of April 13, 1973 N 252.

For example, upon dismissal under Art. 31 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (termination at the initiative of an employee of an employment agreement (contract) concluded for an indefinite period) continuous work experience is not interrupted if the break in work does not exceed 3 weeks. It should be borne in mind that continuous work experience is not preserved in case of repeated dismissal of one’s own free will without good reason, if 12 months have not passed since the date of the previous dismissal for the same reason (clause i) of paragraph 7 of the Rules). To maintain continuity of work experience upon dismissal due to the expiration of the employment contract, the break in work should not exceed 1 month, and upon dismissal under clauses 1) and 2) of Art. 33 Labor Code (termination of an employment agreement (contract) at the initiative of the administration, in particular, in the event of liquidation of an enterprise, institution, organization, reduction

Also read: Compensation for a place in kindergarten 2020

Interruption of service upon dismissal at the initiative of the employee

The situations given above also apply when leaving a previous job at will, that is, the employee has one month to find a new place.

Even if the medical worker does not intend to continue working at all or simply intends to rest for a while, then the mentioned one month will still be added to the length of service. At the end of this period, the medical experience is interrupted; in what cases this still happens is described below.

How can medical workers apply for a preferential pension?

A long-service pension for medical workers is assigned after the provision of a certain list of documents and the presence of confirmed medical experience.

See also: Benefits for combatants in Afghanistan

Where to contact?

Initially, you should contact the HR department at your place of work and obtain certain documents. The personnel officer can also calculate the medical work experience. If a person does not work, then he should immediately go to the branch of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation at the place of registration.

You can submit documentation:

• personally;
• through a representative (in this case, a notarized power of attorney will be required);
• by post (papers are sent by registered mail with a list of attachments).

Required documents

To apply for a preferential pension you will need:

• application for early retirement for a medical worker;
• passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
• work book with records of work experience for a specific position;
• SNILS.

In some cases, additional paperwork may be required:

• a certificate from the registry office confirming a change of surname or provision of a marriage certificate confirming the change of surname;
• certificate of presence of dependents;
• document confirming the disability group (if available);
• certificate of earnings for 60 months before 2002 and other documents.

Documentation is reviewed within a period not exceeding 30 days. After the specified time, a response is provided in writing.

Interruption of service after dismissal at the initiative of the employer

Termination of an employment agreement at the initiative of the employer presupposes a gross violation on the part of the employee. As a rule, such an act becomes grounds for dismissal under the article. In this case, there is no reason to provide time to look for a new job while maintaining seniority, since the employee grossly violated work discipline or in some other way showed his inability to work in his previous place.

So, in what cases is medical experience interrupted? In case of dismissal under this article, the employee’s length of service is interrupted immediately after the calculation and is resumed only upon employment in a new place.

What length of service is included in the calculation of a preferential pension?

The length of service taken into account in the process of calculating the total working medical experience, which is the basis for assigning a preferential pension, includes (and will include after 2020) the following periods:

1. all periods of actual performance of labor functions in the specialty by a full-time employee (periods of part-time work are not taken into account here);
2. a full-time employee being on maternity leave;
3. all periods of paid temporary disability;
4. paid business trips;
5. annual paid vacations due to employees;
6. periods of participation in advanced training and training courses, when the employee retained his average earnings.

Regarding the periods deducted from the total length of work experience, this should include:

• all types of unpaid leaves when the employee retained his job;
• residency training.

It should be noted that to establish preferential pension benefits, it is not the work experience, but the working medical experience that is taken into account. Therefore, certain periods of being on leave without pay or maternity leave will be counted here.

Additionally, it should be taken into account that all periods of probation that a citizen passed before the final appointment to a position are fully taken into account in the preferential length of service that allows early retirement.

If, during his working life, an employee was illegally fired, and subsequently, by a court decision, he was reinstated in his position, the entire period of forced absence will also be counted in the process of calculating the total duration of preferential service. The time interval of work of a full-time employee on a reduced schedule is taken into account in the process of calculating preferential length of service in full.

It is important to note that the work of medical personnel in private clinics cannot be taken into account in the process of calculating preferential length of service, which allows early retirement. These categories of doctors can apply for insurance pensions like ordinary citizens. At the same time, all periods of malicious violation of labor discipline, properly documented, are deducted from the preferential length of service

Such periods include being at the workplace in a state of alcohol or drug intoxication, a malicious violation of safety rules that created, or such that could create a threat to others

At the same time, all periods of malicious violation of labor discipline, properly documented, are deducted from the preferential length of service. Such periods include being at the workplace in a state of alcohol or drug intoxication, a malicious violation of safety rules that created, or could create, a threat to others.

Cases in which medical experience is not interrupted

Similar situations include:

1. Dismissal from scientific or teaching activities following work in health care and social welfare organizations.
2. Temporary disability or illness, the causes of which were the consequences of dismissal from bodies and positions prescribed in subparagraphs 1/1–1/3 of the Regulations, as well as when leaving a job to which the employee was transferred for the reasons stated earlier.
3. Continuous medical experience after dismissal continues to be valid after leaving the position of medical personnel working in preschool and educational organizations, collective farm and state farm dispensaries, following work in medical institutions and population protection funds.
4. Dismissal from institutions and organizations, regardless of the form of affiliation, performing the functions of healthcare institutions in the established regime, provided that prior work was carried out in medical institutions and social security funds.
5. Dismissal from healthcare and social welfare institutions.

Medical experience for retirement

The main condition for the retirement of medical workers is the number of years worked in healthcare institutions. As noted earlier, medical workers have the opportunity to take advantage of the benefit, subject to working for 25–30 years, depending on where the activity was carried out.

When calculating medical experience (we have already found out when it is interrupted), age does not matter; the main criterion is the number of years worked in the provision of medical services.

There are certain indicators for calculating the length of service for certain categories of medical workers, for whom, for example, one year worked is considered one and a half years. This list has been approved by the government and is reflected in the relevant resolution.

Preferential pension for medical workers - list of positions

Currently, the list of positions for which early retirement is granted is established by Government Decree No. 781 of October 29, 2002, as well as Government Decree No. 665 of 2014.

See also: What benefits are provided for the loss of a breadwinner?

The list of positions for which early retirement is possible is established by Government Decree No. 1066 of September 22, 1999. The validity of this regulatory act applies to the period from 1999 to 2001.

Accounting for labor activities carried out in the period from 01.01.1992 to 31.12.2001 for medical positions was established by Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR dated September 6, 1991 No. 464.

The list of medical personnel for early retirement before 1992 was established by Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of December 17, 1959 No. 1397.

The list includes the following positions of medical personnel that give the right to early retirement:

• medical specialists and medical leaders;
• nursing staff;
• chief nurse;
• manager;
• paramedic, nurse, midwife;
• medical laboratory assistant;
• senior paramedic;
• senior midwife;
• dentist;
• community nurse; ward; reception department; treatment room, operating room, dressing room, massage room, physiotherapy room, nurse anesthetist, general practitioner nurse, patronage, medical office;
• medical technologist;
• laboratory technician;
• x-ray technician;
• assistant to an epidemiologist or entomologist;
• instructor-disinfector.

Does continuous service affect the size of the pension?

To calculate the amount of pension benefits, state benefits and other accruals, the continuity of medical experience today does not matter, since the insurance experience accumulated in the process of employment is taken as the basis, which, in turn, covers the terms of official employment, regardless of whether whether there were gaps in work or not.

What periods are counted towards length of service?

As a general rule, the insurance period (hereinafter referred to as SS) includes such periods as:

• Work or other activities within the Russian Federation.
• Work or other activities outside the Russian Federation.
• Voluntary contribution by a citizen himself or another person for him to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Pension Fund) as part of compulsory insurance. Moreover, the duration of such a period should not exceed 50% of the length of service required to establish an old-age pension.
• Other periods listed in the law.

The latter include:

• time of military service;
• illness confirmed by sick leave;
• maternity leave (but only in terms of maternity leave and the first 1.5 years of parental leave, in total no more than 6 years);
• time of receipt of unemployment payments;
• the time of arrest of persons groundlessly accused of a crime or groundlessly repressed and subsequently rehabilitated, and the time of stay of these persons in prison by court verdict;
• caring for a disabled person of group I, a disabled minor or a person over 80 years old;
• the time when the spouse of a contract serviceman was unable to find a job after moving to an area where there are no suitable vacancies (in general, such a period should not exceed 5 years);
• the length of stay of spouses of diplomats or consuls in a foreign country, but not more than 5 years;
• time spent working under a contract in agencies engaged in operational investigative activities;
• the time when a person, groundlessly accused of a crime and subsequently exonerated, was suspended from work.

IMPORTANT! The main condition for including the above periods in the SS is the insurer making payments to the Pension Fund (Article 11 of Law No. 400-FZ).

Is medical and teaching experience summed up?

The current legislation of the Russian Federation does not contain rules that allow teaching and medical experience to be added together in order to obtain the right to a preferential pension as a result.

If, for example, a citizen worked in a preschool institution for 10 years and 20 years as a medical worker in a clinic, then in total it turns out to be 30 years. But this is not enough to retire early. In order to take advantage of the benefit, you must work for 30 years only in the healthcare sector in a city, or 25 years in a village, or 25 full years only in an educational institution.

The presented material clearly states what constitutes continuous medical experience, but do not forget - everything is individual! Calculation of continuous service for people of mature age is an exclusively individual process, since it depends not only on the number of years worked, but also on the affiliation of the institution where the activity was carried out, as well as on the position held.